The Aviator Cafe — Restaurant in Georgia

Overall I found this restaurant to be sub-par and my experience was quite unsatisfactory. A quick breakdown of the positive and negative aspects follows.

Restaurant- The restaurant itself was decorated nicely enough (I happened to enjoy their theme and decor), but when I entered the tables had not been bussed and the area around them was pretty filthy; crumbs, sticky unknown substances, and refuse scattered about.

Service- The service was very poor. A toasted sandwich and premade soup took over 15 minutes to prepare.

Food- The food itself was probably the worst of it. The soup (standard condensed foodservice fare) was cold and had not been diluted properly, leaving a cold, salty, lumpy gravy-like concoction that was entirely unpalatable. A young male staff member openly admitted that the items used to make the food advertised were purchased over the counter at the grocery store next door; a far cry from their "fresh ingredients" claim that is used to partially justify the prices charged. The sandwich wasn't that bad, but again, $7.00 for maybe a dollar's worth of ingredients purchased next door and repackaged.

-Overall, unless you just have to try this place I'd suggest trying somewhere else, or barring that just shopping at the grocery store next door for the same food at a quarter of the price. I admit that they may have been having a bad day and I haven't tried more of their menu, but if I were to judge from this one experience alone I wouldn't be hard-pressed to continue exploring it. My suggestions for the restaurant staff would be to keep better stock and a sharper eye on cleanliness/food quality, and for the love of God don't openly claim that your food is purchased next door even if it is (local grocers can indeed provide some satisfactory ingredients). The statement alone is enough to spoil the mood...

We ate here for the first time ever since the reopening at their new location and we were excited about having a new option for breakfast around here on Sunday's but unfortunately the breakfast was just okay. They should reconsider their coffee arrangement meaning the self serve location is not good. Cream to the right on one shelf were you can't fit your hand between the counter above and the creamer dispenser below to push down for cream. On the left side is the sugar, stir sticks, etc. and no counter space to make your coffee. We ate there three times for breakfast and today was the last time we'll ever eat there again. Today I used the rest of the cream, set the empty container on the counter and when I got my second cup of coffee I reached for the "new" cream and was surprised to feel that it was so light, I expected a new container. So after adding sugar and cream I started to notice clumping rising to the top and realized after smelling the cream that is was sour and no good so I dumped a large coffee. Why would they put souring creamer out for customers to use? Like nobody's going to notice? Now for the chicken wings. We were so excited to try the wings because they look great on the website and photo's, etc. but in reality they're terrible. So you get these very large and very fatty chicken wings that are saturated in the hot sauce to the point you can barely pick them up and hold onto while eating. After eating three wings the rest were just clumped together in one big soggy mess. Ate three wings and threw the rest in the garbage along with the grits for breakfast three time now. Only been there four times and had to throw food in the garbage every single time! Haven't had anything else there other than the wings and breakfast to comment on but we will...

Blairsville is my hometown, and though I have lived all over the world the last ten years, every time I visit this is a must stop place for me. The owners of this cafe are the sweetest and most down to earth you will ever meet, and the food is absolutely delicious. They have a great variety of items ranging from Greek gyros to hot paninis to quesadillas to soups to cold hoagies and salads. You cannot go wrong with any menu choice! I highly recommend this place to anyone! 5 stars :)

Update 6/2021: Sadly, I've felt the need to update my initial 5 star review from 2016 since The Aviator has moved to the new building. Their new facility is beautiful and I love the vibe, but it doesn't make up for the absolutely insane menu price increases and smaller food portions. The food is still tasty, they offer more selections now, but it is so overpriced and when you factor in the fact that a drink and a side are NOT included, it's just sad. You will pay around $10 for a sandwich only and by the time you add your side and a drink it's $15-$17 for lunch for one person. They nickel and dime you for EVERYTHING from charging for a pickle (yes, a little pickle spear) to upcharging for side replacements or a wrap instead of bread etc. They are not clear about their menu prices and what is excluded in that displayed price. I'm very sad to see it go downhill and I SO miss the original little hole in the wall place where it used to be in the Bi-Lo Shopping Center. Those were the good ol days! Three stars for tasty food, a beautiful restaurant and...