The Airport Cafe

Another fun, unique spot in Urbana! Great place to go for breakfast. Get a seat by the window or on the patio and enjoy watching the planes come in!

We came for the pie. Everyone in the area talked about the pie, so how could we pass it up.
The diner is in the air terminal on the grounds of the county airport. Next to the really excellent air museum.
We took a table that had a great view of the helicopter pad. One even landed during our stay. The four of us ordered four different special choices. Success! Each offering was fresh with a perfect top and bottom crust.
Servers are friendly, the Buckeye game was playing, coffee was fresh.
Bathrooms are well tended to.
Make sure you check it out when you’re in the area.

Went here for breakfast FINALLY. The service was prompt and courteous and they didn’t screw up our order. The value was tremendous. The food was also good. It was also neat to see planes coming and going.

A fellow Unilocaler, Valerie W, recommended The Airport Café when I asked her about good restaurants near Ohio Caverns. I was skeptical at first, but after reading her review and a few others, I figured we’d try it and if nothing else we’d like the pie. ;)
It was perfectly on our way to Ohio Caverns, and we were starving on our way home. (I’m reviewing that in a minute.) So, we stopped. I immediately enjoyed the historic airfield sign for Grimes Field and the great Ohio Farm Country environment. People (staff and patrons) greeted us in a friendly manner and chatted with us throughout our visit. It just had a great hometown dinner feel. The atmosphere was awesome. Even though we decided to eat inside, we sat near a huge window so enjoyed seeing the planes taking off and landing while we waited for lunch.
Let me say, the menu completely distracted me though! This hole in the wall, local divey diner had local bologna and locally raised buffalo! Color me impressed!!! Hubby ordered the fried oysters with mashed potatoes and gravy. I ordered the buffalo burger and french fries. We both enjoyed our lunch for what it was — good diner/​café food. :) The buffalo was cooked tender, the potatoes weren’t boxed, and they did a good job with the oysters! Then came dessert and the reviewers are right! Do NOT skip dessert! Hubby had the black raspberry pie warm and while I only got a taste, it was an awesome taste!!!
While the food was good, its the kitschy atmosphere and locally raised food that really brings the rating up for me! I’d definitely stop for lunch again if I’m in the area!

First, and foremost, save room for dessert! The pie is outstanding. The daily specials are usually a good bet, or go with a hamburger. Two rooms, so if you are into aviation at all, then try to sit in the one facing the landing strips.

I think this is the only place in Urbana that is open on Sunday!
They have outdoor seating to watch the small planes take off and land.
The menu is very basic but it’s super cheap! A hamburger was only $ 3.99 …it wasn’t humongous, but still!!!‘
They are suppose to have really good pie but I didn’t save room for dessert.

Beautiful late afternoon/​early Saturday evening… We were lucky enough to get a seat outside, because on a perfect late spring day, the show’s outside at this great local gem!
The menu includes breakfast items available all day (the omelets sound great!!) and basic dinner fare. I had a perfectly cooked buffalo burger (not dried out/​overcooked at all, which is easy to do w/​low-​fat buffalo meat) with fries (not greasy at all!) and a side salad with excellent homemade honey mustard dressing, while Mr. M&P enjoyed the 6oz sirloin and hash browns. Good, basic, «homestyle» cooking, nothing fancy, but you can tell they put an effort into what they do. Gotta try the pies everyone’s raving about here, but we were stuffed! Quick, friendly service and VERY reasonable prices. Mr. M&P LOVES all things flight-​related, so seeing two planes land (and the pilots and families come in to grab a bite), one take off, and a Careflight helicopter come in to refuel was an added bonus!
Take «flight» up Rt. 68N to Urbana to have a tasty meal and to get a great view of what’s going on «in the wild blue yonder!!» **Closed Mondays**

Food was good. Atmosphere is eclectic. Not surprisingly — aircraft themed :)
They are always busy — folks love this place.
Pie was incredible! If I were rating them on the pie alone, I’d go with a 5.
If you’re looking for a fun outing with comfort food and possibly the best pie you’ve ever had, give them a visit. Nice folks and worth a try.

Stopped in for lunch on a sunny Sunday — the place was packed! Our server was nice, and the food came out quickly and was pretty good. This is a diner type place, so don’t expect a fancy environment. Very good in its category.
Price is more than fair for what you get. In the back room, you have to share a long table with other people. Not really my thing, but I guess to accommodate the crowds, you gotta do what you gotta do.

It was an average diner. Food was average, prices were average. I had the turkey club sandwich. It had just a little too much mayo for my taste, and the sweet tea was way too sweet for me. Hubby had the perch. He said it was pretty good. We got pie to try later.

A great place to fly in for a $ 100 hamburger (probably more like $ 200 nowadays…) Or you can just drive up.
I hadn’t been here for years, so I stopped by when I was in the area. It’s pretty small, and has a great view of the ramp. There’s usually something interesting there, and of course there are a couple of historic planes nearby which are worth taking the time to check out.
The service is great. The food is pretty good– standard café fare. I had one of the specials, smoked sausage. It came with two sides, so I got cole slaw and green beans, and a very fresh roll. It was all good. And of course some pie: black raspberry. Mmm.
It can get busy on weekends, and if you’re here for the Doolittle event in April, well, I’d eat somewhere else– a tiny place plus huge crowds…

A fantastic gem hidden on your way out of Urbana! It’s easy to forget in the hustle and bustle of Urbana’s other eateries, but I am glad I was finally able to stop here.
The Airport Café is located at Grime’s field, which is Urbana and Champaign county’s main airport.
You walk in, and down a small hallway to your right you walk into the hole in the wall restaurant. Confusing to most, including myself the first time, the locals will just walk right around you and plop down.
The main eating area has views out to the airfield where you can watch personal planes taking off, and coming in for landing. There is no bad seating in the main room, as the café has place a large wall sized mirror, so you can see from all angles, which makes it great from not having to turn around constantly and strain your neck.
Since it was past lunch my partner and I both had typical lunch fare, a cheeseburger, and a toasted sandwich, but someone ordered their breakfast and it looked killer. I will definitely have to bring my butt out of bed early to give it a try.
If you go you MUST-​MUST-​MUST try their pies. They are handmade, and the meringue is probably some of the best I have even had in my existence on earth. YUMMMM!
I even heard one of the locals mention that it gets insanely crowded with locals on the weekend, so you may want to show up bright and early for a good seat.
A nice, friendly, hole in the wall place. Will return.