Fill Up on Your Layover: Best Airport Restaurants
As the holidays approach and travelers anticipate airport meals with dread, Planet Eye's local experts are offering their assessments of the best (and worst) restaurants at their cities' airports.
Mexico City's Benito Juarez International Airport is a massive structure composed of two terminals that are connected by an airtrain. Terminal 1 currently offers the most numerous restaurant selections, but the newer Terminal 2 is quickly adding sit-down restaurant options as well. A full list of restaurants available in both terminals--broken down by type (cafeteria, packaged food, fast food, and restaurant/bar)-- can be found here.
Choosing a "best" restaurant at the airport isn't an easy task, though. Neither terminal strays far from standard airport fare: predictable pasta, burger, and chicken dishes you could find on the menu of any diner or chain restaurant in North America. If that's your dish, then you'll be happy at Flaps (the restaurant in Terminal 1 with the huge airplane hanging at the entrance). There's also a handful of restaurants that offer Americanized versions of Mexican dishes: tacos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and burritos. Wings is the best spot for this kind of food, and there's a Wings outpost in each of the two terminals.
If you're looking for lighter fare or would be happy with a cup of coffee, then stop by Illy Cafe in Terminal 1. Their coffee is the best you'll find in the airport.
Although you're unlikely to enjoy a really satisfying meal at Benito Juarez, you will be able to find a hot, filling meal almost any time of the day or night at Mexico City's airport. If you find a favorite, send me your suggestion at writingjulie@gmail.com.