The Aviator Bistro — Restaurant in England

We visited this place to alleviate my fascination with planes even though pn the day there was no flying because of poor weather conditions. The Aviator is located next to the air side, so there should be a good view of air traffic on a good day. The building is fairly modern, and well thought out inside. It's a bit smaller than I expected from the photos I saw beforehand, and it could do with a bit of a refresh of the decor where the cheap laminate flooring has worn or lifted, for example. There are plenty of staff on hand, standing around looking for things to do when they don't have any direct customers to serve. Unfortunately, most of them lack experience and don't offer a friendly, hospitable service, being school kids or post-schoolers on their first jobs. We were disappointed that we missed breakfasts: they were advertised on the website but when we arrived we found out that they are only available until 11.30 (12pm on Sundays). This could usefully be mentioned on the website. The main meals and the drinks are quite pricey, in my view: £3 for a small pot of tea for one is quite high, considering a teabag costs a few pence. Mains average about £12-£14. Although, I was a bit surprised that the halloumi burger cost £2 more than the classic beef burger - I can't understand this price differential. Anyway, they are all the negative points. On the positive side, the food was really well cooked and adequately portioned when it arrived. We were surprised that the classic beef burger came with two large meaty patties. The halloumi burger came with breaded fingers of the cheese but seemed a lot smaller that the beef burger in size, somehow. The chips were well cooked and on the beef burger dish, there were plenty of them. The burgers were served on a metal tray, lined with a paper tray cover, which gets soggy and disintegrates during the meal. Personally, I would prefer it to be served on a plate without the flammery. Overall, we liked this venue. There are opportunities for improvement but overall we thought it was interesting. I would like to return when the breakfast is available to see if that is better value for money. I think the pricing is a little off for the drinks and general menu, but if that doesn't bother you too much, you know you will get a...

First and last time which is a shame as it was nice food but a bit expensive. Felt very pushed to order as soon as we basically sat down and trying to sort a 1 year old and 2year old out first so just picked the first thing off the menu as i hadn't had time to look. Food and drinks came quick and we all enjoyed them we ordered 3 cakes and more drinks but the 2 bairns wouldn't eat the cakes as not keen on cake so opened a packed of pombear crisps for them to share and was told they couldn't have them and had to get rid as they weren't purchased on the premises and no food or drink could be consumed that had been brought in. The bairns were upset, i was not happy at all. Id understand if we hadn't ordered anything and just sat down but we had already had 5 drinks 4 main meals and 3 cakes and to deny the 2 toddlers a packet of crisps because they don't like cake was totally out of order and unnecessary. Iv visited many eating establishments and worked in them also and have yet to come across a place that refused to let a small child eat something that has been brought in when food and drinks have been purchased for the adults. Will not be...

Not a good experience. Leaving this review in the hope that the owners will look into it because it could be an amazing place. Sat 8th July early afternoon.

Service was shocking, stood waiting at the "Please wait to be seated" sign while 3-4 members of staff milled around ignoring us until we just picked up some menus and asked if we could just find a seat. A moment later, head waitress/front of house came to our table without a greeting to announce that there's no chicken ready and we'll have to wait for more to be cooked.

We asked for a pizza, dirty fries, and hotdog, and a milkshake - she came back to tell us there aren't any hotdogs or milkshakes left.

The flatbread and dirty fries were disappointing.

The staff seemed miserable and were quite content to talk to each other loudly from across the room, ruining the nice peaceful atmosphere.

It's a shame because it's a really nice location, nicely done out - has the potential to be a...