I don’t typically review restaurants outside of hotels, but I’m going to make an exception here. A while back, I was talking to a friend here in Miami, who asked if I had eaten at the 94th Aero Squadron. I had never heard of it, so expressed confusion.
“It’s right next to the airport runway, and there are headphones at the tables so you can listen to air traffic control.” Wait, that restaurant exists, and I hadn’t heard of it, despite living in Miami for more years than I’d care to admit?!
Since I hadn’t heard of it, I imagine many OMAAT readers who are Miami locals may not be familiar with it either, so I’d like to report back with my thoughts. Now, whether you should actually dine here or not might be a different story…
The restaurant with MIA airport views & ATC audio!
The 94th Aero Squadron is open for lunch and dinner most days, and also has a Sunday brunch buffet. It’s located just to the south of Miami International Airport (MIA), off SR 836 (the Dolphin Expressway). Even if you’re not specifically familiar with the restaurant, you may recognize the distinctive exterior, if you ever drive on SR 836.
The building certainly has a quirky outside, with a bunch of military equipment, a barn, and a tower (not the airport kind), among other things.
The restaurant itself is nice enough, and is certainly classed up a bit by the white tablecloths that are used.
But really what makes this place special is that it has great views of runway 9/27 and the terminal. You’re just separated from the airport by a little lake, a train track, and a street… it’s Florida, after all.
Not only do you have the view, but at the tables you’ll also find headphones, streaming air traffic control audio, so you can really be on top of what’s going on at the airport (great group dinner concept for introverts, I might add!).
Miles has gotten really into airplanes lately, which I’m of course delighted by (though I’m not trying to force him into it, or anything). As it currently stands, he wants to be a pilot when he grows up… but only for Avianca Cargo on the A330. Don’t ask.
Anyway, he very much enjoyed being able to listen to air traffic control audio, and to watch planes the entire meal. Well, or at least for 15 minutes. He’s three… so that’s basically an “entire meal” for him, before he tells me “okay papa, let’s go.”
They really embrace the whole aviation theme, and even have little air traffic control themed coloring books and menus for kids.
I absolutely loved the views here, and couldn’t believe I didn’t know about this place. I did find the vibe to be a bit confusing. To me, this place seems designed for aviation geeks, between the views and the headphones.
At the same time, there’s no other aviation theme inside the restaurant, and I swear we were the only people eating there who were interested in planes. Everyone else seemed to be on a romantic night out, or something. That’s odd, because, well, that’s kind of the main redeeming quality of this place, if you ask me…
What about the food, though?
When it comes to food at the 94th Aero Squadron, don’t get too excited. I found the quality to just be okay, and the pricing to be on the high side (keep in mind we’re on the airport perimeter and not in South Beach). Below is the dinner menu, along with the three course pre fixe menu.
I decided to order the pre fixe menu (I’m a sucker for them when the price is so much lower than the individual courses, even if I wouldn’t otherwise order all of them… oops). I selected the greek salad, the baked salmon with crunchy pecans, and the key lime pie
The portion was huge (particularly the salmon), and ultimately the pre fixe menu was a decent enough deal. And Miles ended up being very happy that I ordered dessert However, I wouldn’t say the food quality or value are the reasons you’ll want to come to this restaurant.
Bottom line
Somehow I only recently discovered that Miami has a restaurant that has runway views and headphones at every table, so that guests can listen to air traffic control audio. The restaurant is called 94th Aero Squadron, and it’s just off SR 836, next to MIA’s runway 9/27.
On the plus side, the views didn’t disappoint, combined with the headphones. The food, meanwhile, is average, and the pricing is on the high side. Still, if you appreciate airport views, it could be a nice place for a meal.
And if planes are landing on runway 9, be sure to pair it with a trip to the railroad tracks just outside of El Dorado Furniture, located at the end of runway, which has incredible views.
Would you dine at the 94th Aero Squadron?