Six of the best airport bars

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This was published 4 years ago

Six of the best airport bars

By Ben Groundwater
Updated
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AIRBRAU BEER GARDEN, MUNICH

The best airport bars manage to capture the drinking culture and the atmosphere of the cities in which they reside, and there's perhaps no greater example of that than Airbrau, the Bavarian beer garden that's smack-bang in the middle of Munich International. The garden isn't quite open-air – it's covered high above by a transparent roof – but still, the feeling of drinking in Munich is there, complete with sausages, potato salads and pork knuckles washed down with gigantic glasses of beer that's brewed on-site.

See munich-airport.com

THE SUNKEN LOUNGE, JFK

If you long for the romance of air travel's heyday, and you fancy a classic cocktail served with a swizzle stick, presented by a waiter in vintage flight attendant garb, you're going to love the Sunken Lounge, the bar at the new TWA Hotel at New York's JFK. The hotel is set in the old TWA Flight Centre, decked out with appropriately retro styling, and the Sunken Lounge has all of the old-style trimmings, including floor-to-ceiling windows through which you'll spot the hotel's 1958 "Connie" aeroplane parked on the tarmac.

See twahotel.com

SUSHI KYOTATSU, TOKYO NARITA

Major transport hubs in food-obsessed Japan always have high-quality venues for eating and drinking, and Narita Airport is no exception. For the perfect send-off from Tokyo, call into Sushi Kyotatsu, airside in Terminal 1, and enjoy a top-notch sushi bar experience. Beautiful morsels of nigiri are served here in "kappo-zushi" style, each made by chefs to order, and it's a real treat to sit at the bar and watch the experts work with market-fresh ingredients that pair perfectly with local sake or beer.

See narita-airport.jp

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DESCHUTES BREWERY, PORTLAND

Much like Airbrau in Munich, Deschutes captures the spirit of its home city – in this case, Portland and its residents' passion for craft beer – plus makes its own brews on-site. Deschutes is one of Oregon's largest craft breweries, and passengers will no doubt have come across its fine ales if they've spent time in the state. So it's a pleasure to discover that even airside at PDX you can grab a Black Butte Porter or a Fresh Squeezed IPA either by the glass or in a flight-friendly takeaway container.

See deschutesbrewery.com

RUNWAY 34, ZURICH

Plane nerds, rejoice. You've just found the drinking hole of your dreams. Runway 34 is a bar and restaurant built to look like an aircraft hangar, and which houses an entire vintage Russian Il-14 plane that has been repurposed as a smoking lounge (which makes the inhalation of cigarette fumes almost worth it). If you prefer fresher air, the restaurant and bar have views through floor-to-ceiling glass of Zurich Airport, meaning all plane-nerd fantasies can be fulfilled while imbibing.

See runway34.ch

POOL BAR, SINGAPORE CHANGI

The name says everything you need to know, really. There's a swimming pool, with a bar, at Singapore Changi Airport. A small investment of $S17 allows passengers access to the Aerotel Airport Transit Hotel's rooftop pool area in Terminal 1. That means a chance to breathe in some fresh air, take a dip in the pool, soak in the jacuzzi, have a quick shower, and then enjoy a few drinks poolside. There can't be many better ways to prepare for a flight.

See changiairport.com

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