A recent study by travel booking site Wanderu finds it has a high density of well-rated restaurants
By Joel Lau Globe Correspondent, Updated January 28, 2020. 2:04 p.m.
Logan has 28 restaurants in total, and 14 of them are well rated establishments, according to the Wanderu study. CHRISTOPHER MUTHER/GLOBE STAFF
Logan has some of the best airport dining options in the United States, ranking fifth among the country’s 50 busiest airports in a recent study by travel booking site Wanderu.
Traveler’s favorite Logan restaurant? Shojo, which opened in 2019 as the second branch of its namesake Chinatown staple. The restaurant is known for its modern takes on traditional Asian dishes, such as breakfast congee and Sansho Fried Chicken Bao.
“We’re very excited about it, it’s a great honor,” said Shojo owner Brian Moy. “There’s lots of great restaurants that have come to Logan and continue to come in, so to be ranked as the number one inside the airport….I think what we really bring is something really different to the table.”
Tyler Moss, Wanderu’s director of content, said his team compiled Yelp reviews for every dining option offered at the nation’s 50 busiest airports. They ordered their rankings by the number of restaurants with an average of three stars or more.
If two airports tied, Moss said his team then gave preference to airports with a “higher density” of quality dining restaurants.
“The idea being, if you’re stuck in that airport, there’s a better chance if you randomly go to a place that it’s going to be a good restaurant,” Moss said.
Denver International Airport topped the list, with 51 total dining options, 19 of which were “high rated” restaurants. Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport came in a close second, followed by Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport in third and fourth place, respectively.
While Boston Logan International Airport had comparatively fewer dining options with 28 restaurants in total, the airport boasts 14 well-rated establishments, which Moss said was an unusually high proportion.
“Maybe there’s not as many options,” Moss said, “but I would say for the size of the airport, it has a high number of restaurants, and especially a really high number of good restaurants.”
Nashville International Airport came in last on the Wanderu list, with only 16 dining options – none of which met the three-star review threshold.
Moss said airports across the country are increasingly trying to “bring in the city’s personality through the cuisine.”
Of Logan, Moss said, “There’s something about it that feels quintessentially East Coast, quintessentially New England….And I think Logan is doing a good job helping build the Boston city brand.”