Sure, it's technically in New Jersey, but at least the restaurant options at Newark Airport are solid.
LessStick to the pizza and stromboli at this grab-and-go counter in Terminal B. You can order by the slice or a whole pie, and everything is reasonably priced (by airport standards) at about $6-7 a slice. Go for the Jersey Devil with pepperoni and cherry hot peppers, or the Garden State, which is loaded up with zucchini, yellow squash, artichokes, and roasted red peppers. To go.
These small but mighty fridges are scattered through various airports, typically filled with healthy grain bowls, salads, and wraps that cost about $10. The meal items themselves range from fridge to fridge, but options like the baja bowl and BBQ ranch salad are satisfying and easy to eat in a cramped plane seat without making a mess. Plus, since you purchase items out of a vending machine, they’re available 24/7—perfect for grabbing a quick bite if other spots aren’t open. To go.
Terminal C is pretty massive, so if your flight is near gates C120-140, you’ll want to park yourself nearby. Thankfully, Flora is tucked away in this part of the concourse, and their tables even have built-in outlets so you can charge your phone while you dig into mushroom shawarma skewers and baba ganoush.
This ramen bar is located at the center of the main food court, so you can kill a few hours drinking sake, people-watching tourists decked out in sweatshirts they bought on Canal Street, and slurping noodles before your flight. The veggie miso ramen is the ideal bowl to get you feeling warm and cozy before passing out on a red-eye. You can also order a sashimi platter from Tsukiji Fishroom next door if you want to blow through your per diem on fish that was flown in from Japan.
Little Purse has two locations in Terminal C, a tiny dining room with one central velvet booth near Gate 75, and a larger space closer to Gate 103. Both make for a low-stakes meal you can have at a real table, without committing to spending hundreds of dollars on a dry steak. The prices are affordable for the airport—five dumplings will run you $11—and there are kid-friendly options like mac and cheese and chicken tenders if your toddler changes their mind about wanting lo mein for dinner.
This tavern near Gate 81 has a huge menu that covers just about every traveler’s needs, minus noise-canceling headphones. There are sandwiches, steaks, salads, and snacks like sidewinder fries—a cross between steak and curly fries—that can tide you over during a quick layover. The salmon kale grain bowl is one of those rare airport dishes that keeps you full but is still kind of healthy, and has a gochugaru glaze to keep everything zingy and moist.
Abruzzo is a surprisingly good Italian spot that has a tasteful amount of flatscreens and serves delicious meatballs and burrata. Split some apps and sip on a negroni with your travel companion before heading to the gate. Sit down.
This French bistro’s specialty is the croque madame, and thankfully they serve it all day. The cheese on top of the sandwich is beautifully browned, the bread still has plenty of bite without being too crunchy, and the egg is always perfectly runny. However, you could also go for the green salad, which is refreshing and has just the right amount of dressing—a true feat for any airport bowl of greens. Sit down.
Daily is one of the rare airport restaurants where you might actually forget for a second you’re about to get on a plane. There’s an open kitchen where you can see dishes like chicken shawarma skewers being prepared over an open flame, which is 100 percent an upgrade from watching plates come out of a mystery door to nowhere. Get their dip sampler, because it’s genuinely hard to pick between the labneh, hummus, and baba ghanoush—all of which come with a generous helping of warm pita. Sit down.
Classified is located behind a secret door in Saison, and is invite-only for certain United customers. Once you’re inside, it’s peacefully free from the standard airport noises of crying children and people talking too loudly on the phone, and there are even private bathrooms. Highlights include tableside cocktails like a very fancy (and $44) Manhattan made with 12-year rye and a plate of bluefin tuna crudo that’s paired with avocado and ponzu. Sit Down & Invite-Only.