Most airports aren’t necessarily revered for their dining options, especially when it comes to quality and taste. However, one takes the stale cake for serving abysmally poor food.
Newark Liberty International Airport in Newark, New Jersey, is officially the most disappointing airport for good eats, says a recent study conducted by Altezza Travel. An astounding 70 percent of Newark Liberty’s restaurants are rated below three stars, with an average rating of just 2.6. Additionally, at $23.10 per meal, the airport has the highest average food prices in the country.
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Newark Liberty has grown infamous for a slew of issues that extend well beyond its woeful cuisine, fueling a fleet of punchlines on late-night shows. In May, Newark Liberty was mocked on “Saturday Night Live” following a widespread telecommunications outage — the second in a two week span — that disrupted hundreds of inbound and outbound flights. The airport was also ridiculed in an episode of “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” and a segment of “The Daily Show,” which joked that its official slogan is “Newark Airport: Where Dreams Are Crushed.”
Following Newark Liberty is Chicago O’Hare International Airport, which has an average restaurant rating of 3.2 stars and the highest number of visitors per restaurant across all major U.S. airports. In third place is New York City’s John F. Kennedy International Airport with an average restaurant rating of 2.6 stars. Orlando International Airport came in fourth place, while Los Angeles International Airport came in fifth.
Altezza Travel determined which U.S. airports had the worst restaurant experiences based on a compilation of restaurant reviews, prices and overall congestion levels.
As for the airports with the best dining, Denver International Airport earned the top spot with an average restaurant rating of 3.8 stars and an average low price of $16.70 per meal. Coming in second is Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, which flaunts an average restaurant rating of 3.5 stars. Third place was awarded to Minneapolis–Saint Paul International Airport.
