restaurants near the jacksonville airport
February 24, 2010 10:52 AM   Subscribe

What are some good restaurants around the jacksonville fl airport?
posted by mealticket to Travel & Transportation around Jacksonville, FL (4 answers total)
 
There are several down Airport Road of the Longhorn Steak House, Ruby Tuesday type. Also a couple of hotels that probably have dining.
posted by lazydog at 11:07 AM on February 24, 2010


Jacksonville International Airport is about 18 miles from downtown Jacksonville, and there aren't a lot of top line restaurants out that way, but here's a list and map of those on Airport Road, towards I-95. Here's a list of airport terminal eateries, the best of which are probably Sam Snead's and Budweiser Stadium Club.

If you have a little time, and can head south a bit (say 33 miles down I-95 by taxi), you can visit some unique local institutions, like Clark's Fish Camp and Seafood Restaurant, or, you can go half that distance to downtown Jacksonville, where you'll find reliable top level chain outlets like Morton's Steakhouse, Ruth Chris's Steakhouse, and local top spots like Matthew's. Downtown Jax is about a 25 minute cab or shuttle ride from the airport, almost any time of day.
posted by paulsc at 11:57 AM on February 24, 2010


If your definition of good is "better than fast food" you've got some options. If it's "better than Chili's," you're mostly out of luck right around the airport. There is a large shopping complex a few miles east of the airport down Airport Rd., just across the interstate. It's got a number of big national anchors like Wal-Mart, Lowe's, etc., and the type of freestanding chain restaurants you'd expect to go along with that.

There's one restaurant in that complex, however, that's a step up - a Thai/Asian place called Green Papaya It's nice enough inside that it really doesn't belong in a strip mall. I've had better Thai, but this was still pretty good and has all the familiar curries you'd expect plus various other popular Asian items. It's not a home run, but it was a pretty respectable double on my one visit. I've heard others rate it as more of a triple.

I heard there was a good Mexican restaurant near there too but didn't notice it when I was there.

Otherwise you're looking at some of the usual suspects you'd expect to find in that kind of shopping complex: a Sticky Fingers barbecue (which isn't bad for chain bbq), a sports bar/grill called Boston's that has gross food, Olive Garden, and Chili's. I think there's a Five Guys burgers there, which actually has pretty good burgers. I wouldn't call any of those good restaurants, but they're there in a pinch.
posted by Askr at 1:36 PM on February 24, 2010


I happen to work right by the airport, and luckily there are many more options nearby then there were just a few years ago. Askr is correct, that there are a lot of chain places in the "mall" and on Airport Rd: Chili's, Panera, Cracker Barrel, Red Lobster, Salsarita's, Sticky Fingers Ruby Tuesday, and Boston's. The mall also has a sushi place, Japanese Steakhouse, and the aformentioned Green Papaya

The best of the bunch in the immediate vicinity is Millhouse, an oddity in that they serve southern cooking, steaks, stir fries, southern Italian cuisine, and seafood and manage not to make a hash of things. Entree prices range from about $12 and up.

Slightly further away there is Sol Cuban cafe, which offers fantastic cuban cooking at ridiculously cheap prices. When I worked a day shift I would go there and get a huge cuban sandwich and a mass of fries for less than 6 bucks.

If none of that fits the bill, just past the mall is Main St which has a decentish Mexican place, another sushi joint, and a wing place nearby, and about a mile down the road a good BBQ place called Rich's.

If you have any questions please feel free to send me an email.
posted by nulledge at 4:29 PM on February 24, 2010


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