The Airplane Restaurant Colorado Springs Review
On our recent trip to Denver, Shawn and I headed to Colorado Springs after hosting our meetup. We had decided to check out what I believe is the only airplane restaurant in the US. I had put a story about airplane restaurants around the world in one of my roundups and knew we had to check it out. We had the chance to dine inside a piece of history and the food was pretty good as well!
History of the Plane
Here is the history of the plane from the restaurant’s website:
The Airplane Restaurant centerpiece is a fully intact Boeing KC-97 tanker. Built in 1953, this magnificent airplane refueled aircraft throughout the world. Then, in May 2002, it began its second mission~ to be the preeminent aviation restaurant in the United States. Forty-two passengers can actually eat in the plane of the 275-seat restaurant. Rich in aviation history, displaying 100’s of pictures, memorabilia and rare artifacts, Solo’s offers much more than great food, it offers a flight through aviation history.
Reservations Needed?
It was recommended that we get reservations for the airplane portion of the restaurant since it tends to fill up first. As you can see from the photo above we didn’t really need one. But we were there on a Sunday at 7:30pm so it wasn’t really prime time. I would say it is better to be safe than sorry.
Restaurant Set Up
When you enter the restaurant there is an open dining area to the leftand a bar area to the right. Both areas are pretty large and have a ton of memorabilia. Memorabilia is one the walls, hanging from the ceiling, and sitting on the ground. Any aviation geeks out there will love this place!
If you are dining inside the old Boeing KC-97 tanker then you will be led upstairs by the hostess. Two person booths hug the left side of the plane and four person booths hug the right side. The two person booths were a little tight for the two of us so it was nice that we were able to switch over to a four person booth.
While you wait for your food you can walk up and take pictures of the cockpit and even sit in the captains chair. I wish my kids would have been with me because they would have loved it!
Food
The menu is your pretty standard bar food fare. I am ashamed to say we didn’t get a picture of the food because we were starving and dug right in. To be honest we were talking and we completely forgot about it.
I can say the barrel rolls are a must get. They were highly recommended by our awesome waitress and they didn’t disappoint. The avocado ranch dipping sauce was stellar as well. We were in the snacking mood so I ordered some mozzarella sticks and Shawn ordered the nachos, which were massive. We both enjoyed everything we ate. And I have to say the service was some of the better service I have had in a while. The menu looks like a newspaper that you get to keep which is a nice touch. Better digital pictures of the menu here.
Final Thoughts
The Airplane Restaurant in Colorado Springs is worth stopping to check out if you are in the area. It is the only one of it’s kind in the US and you get to dine in a piece of history. The memorabilia is everywhere and most will find it very interesting. I wish we had been able to get there earlier in the day to check out more of it.
The food is pretty standard bar food but we enjoyed everything we ate. And the service we had was top notch!
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