Why We Love It: If you love planes or if your children love planes, then you must visit The Proud Bird in Los Angeles, just beyond Los Angeles International Airport. Not only can you get up close to the airplanes landing (although not as close as our #1 plane-spotting joint, In-N-Out), you can also take in some aviation history, let loose on the new playground and indulge in some chicken and waffles. Win, win!
A little backstory: The Proud Bird restaurant originally opened in 1967 and for several decades was THE spot to go to for plane-spotting and for rubbing shoulders with pilots and the engineers that helped build the planes. The restaurant closed down in 2013 while it first sought to renegotiate its lease and then undertook a $50 million renovation. It finally re-opened in 2017.
Today, The Proud Bird has ditched the formal dining room concept (although much of its event spaces remain) and now offers a “food bazaar” with six different stations serving barbeque, pizza, chicken and waffles, salads, poke bowls, and more. Plus, there's the Mile High Bar with sweet straight-on views of the planes landing at LAX.
But why we really love The Proud Bird is because of the new airplane park in the back which features a playground! Parents and grandparents can spread out on the turf grass next to the playground or on the patio above it, and eat their food while the kids run around. We really wish more restaurants had this.
The Proud Bird also has some incredible historic aircraft on-site, including the Bell X-1 plane flown by pilot Chuck Yeager, the man best known for being the first to break the sound barrier.
What Ages: All ages! Of course, you have to be 21 to drink.
When to Go: The Proud Bird is open for lunch from 11:30am to 2pm during the week and from 11am-3pm on Saturday and Sunday. Dinner is served Sunday-Thursday from 5pm to 8pm and until 9pm on Fridays and Saturdays. The Mile High Club Bar and Lounge is open during the week too, typically from 11:30am to 9pm but stays open later on the weekends.
How Much Does it Cost?: Since it's a similar to a fast-casual spot, the meals are totally reasonable. Kids chicken tenders are $6 and include waffle fries while Bludsoe's Bar-B-Que starts $8 for brisket. Salads, pizzas, and the chicken and waffles start at $10.
OTHER STORIES YOU MIGHT LIKE:
