As I headed out on my Italian & Croatian adventure, I killed a little time in the Atlanta airport by trying one of the most-talked-about airport restaurants in the country—One Flew South.

CNN recently named them one of the top ten airport restaurants (I think in America only, though not positive). Do they live up to the hype? We’ll see.

Updated at the bottom June 2020

I started with a cauliflower and parsnip soup, which was beautiful and hearty. It was maybe a little bland but overall pretty good.

Then I debated between the pulled duck sandwich and the awesome-sounding burger. At the waitress’s urging I went with the duck sandwich. It was pulled duck with duck confit, scallions, figs, some kind of peanut relish, and a sweet-spicy mustard. Overall it was delicious. The mustard was maybe a little overwhelming for me because I’m a total wuss, but the dish overall was great.

So I can safely say that One Flew South lives up to its hype. In addition to the creative and interesting menu, the service was great, the food came out very quickly without feeling rushed, and the prices were insanely reasonable. In fact, they were exactly what I would have expected to pay for the same meal in Atlanta regularly, not in the airport. My soup was $7, sandwich was $14, and wine (a pretty great Kung Fu Girl Riesling) was $8.

I had the chance to re-visit One Flew South for the first time in almost a decade in February 2020, while on a CRAZY thunderstorm delay while headed to Jamaica.  I feel like I got a starter, but can’t remember…what I do remember was re-visiting that pulled duck sandwich.  It was just as good as the first time!  I also had banana pudding and a couple drinks.  Their cocktail menu is interesting, and I particularly enjoyed the Nearest to Happiness (with Uncle Nearest whiskey).

If you end up in the E terminal at the Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta airport, or have a long layover in another terminal, definitely go check them out!