Jack & Benny’s Barnstormer Diner

Not your typical restaurant… Although it seems weird going to an airport just to get something to eat, this place is pretty cool. It has a diner feel to it. Servers are friendly and service is pretty good. It is a small place but you have a great view of the airplanes and it’s actually cozy.
Overall, good service, good food, and a happy tummy!

I was so excited to discover that we had a Jack and Benny’s near us! I love that you get to see airplanes in the hanger while eating breakfast!

i had the Max-​meat omelette, and it was god and meaty. There are many other items to try and some real good sandwich choices. Loved the wall hangings. It is a little small but nice to stop in for a quick bite and go.

What a great place for kids! Early Sunday morning found almost all families with young kids enjoying breakfast. TIP: Get there early, before 9, if you do not want to wait for a table. We luckily snagged the last one. Once again ordered the whole grain blueberry pancakes and they were great! The sausage patty is tasty as well. Grandson got the silver dollar pancake kids meal. He was served 4 3 — 4″ pancakes with airplane imprints. He and the other kids were excited to watch the airplanes from the observation deck and view the ones parked within our table view in the hangar.

This place wasn’t very good and it definitely did not live up to it’s 4-​star rating. It is aching with charm and potential, but it is cramped, not very clean, poorly equipped, and the staff just seemed stressed out or hungover or both. Some of the worst diner food I’ve ever had, needless to say I won’t be back.

I liked its old-​school atmosphere, homey décor. I liked its location. I liked the people there. I liked the service and the food was tasty and its price reasonable. I liked that its back door opens to a hangar where your kids might marvel at the airplanes inside.
I also liked it when I went there and it was open for business, unlike the times I’ve rolled by during business hours (every day, 8 – 3) and found their door locked, restaurant dark, with no signs, no explanation. Most recently this happened March 23, 2016, approximately 12:30 PM.
The first time I visited, I called the Jack and Benny’s on High to ask if indeed this place existed and whether they were open, necessary because the Barnstormer wasn’t answering the phone. I simply can’t do this each time; sadly I won’t be back.

We arrived at 9:30am on a Saturday morning with only 2 couples ahead of us. We didn’t wait long to be seated. The diner only has 30 seats with 2 waitresses. They were both very friendly & took our order promptly. The prices were VERY reasonable. I ordered the eggs (over medium) with hashbrowns, sausage patties, & white toast. The eggs, to my delight were not greasy (like at all). I absolutely hate when my eggs are covered in excess grease, it is just unnecessary. So my eggs were cooked to perfection, my hashbrowns (which I added onions to) were delicious, and the sausage was pretty good too! As we sat there I noticed they had a fresh squeezed orange juice machine. I had to try it. The orange juice was amazingly refreshing. I LOVED it. It was served at room temperature and oh so good! I have been searching for a good diner-​type breakfast spot in Columbus with reasonable prices… I think I finally found one! Plus they played Oldies to give the real diner-​type experience. We will definitely be back to this gem!

I was excited to try this place after seeing such good reviews and the awards it got. My husband and I had plans to meet friends for brunch on a Sunday morning. When we arrived there was a wait which ended up being around a half hour, which we had no immediate issue with.
We ordered our food shortly after sitting down and waited for our food to arrive. The table that sat down after us got there food and we were still waiting for ours. Eventually, our server came over and admitted to us that she had forgotten to put our order in. Every table that came in after us proceeded to get food while we continued to wait for ours. Finally, our server brought one of our meals for our table while the rest of us continued to wait. The person was able to finish their meal by the time the rest of the table got food.
The server did nothing for us to make the situation better or make the error right for us. When the check did arrive, we were informed that it could not be split in any fashion when paying with a credit card, which I never saw notice of on the menu.
I wish I could rate this experience 0 stars! This is by far the worst breakfast experience I have had in my life and the first experience that has gotten me to write a review.

If I could, I would give 0 stars!
I just left after having brunch here and will never go back. We sat down and ordered and 30 minutes later still didn’t have food. We noticed people that say down after us already had food and we’re almost done. Our waitress came over and said she had never turned in our ticket. Seriously, how do you turn in tickets after us and not realize there a ticket still on your pad?! It still took an additional 20 minutes to get our food as the kitchen didn’t halt preparing other tickets. We had a party of 4 and one plate came out. That person was already done eating by the time the rest of us received our food. The waitress kept apologizing, but when we got our bill it was full price. I couldn’t believe they didn’t comp anything. Then we asked to split the bill and she wouldn’t even do that because it charged the owner more to split checks. Well guess what, we won’t be back!

Yum! Had breakfast here! It’s a small place loaded with memorabilia and a small kitchen and grill that turn out very tasty meals! Prompt service and I was very happy with the portions too. I had a chorizo scramble (shown) which was nice and spicy with onion green onion and tomato. Just a fun place to eat!

Saturday about 10AM. The OSU airport signs and Unilocal photos made it a breeze to find. Lots of parking is available in the private lot. Sign-​in on the «WAIT» clipboard as soon as you walk in. There was a short wait to be seated. The waiting area is exactly as described by others. There is a coffee station set out for those waiting. I am not one who could tell you if it was great coffee. Our server, Alicia, was friendly and menu knowledgeable. There was no daily pancake, or daily special today. We immediately ordered a cinnamon apple pancake with our drink order to eat while we browsed through the menu. Since it’s old-​style order pads, there was a confusion in the kitchen that the pancake was supposed to come out first. Alicia caught that ahead of time. That warm apple smell permeated our table. Light, fluffy, and delicious. There is a treasure of eye candy to look at while sitting at your table. There is no Wi-​Fi. You may have a view inside the open door to the hangar next-​door. All three TVs were showing Nickelodeon. Not our choice in viewing. I suppose that if sports or news were on, people would linger longer. Because seating is limited, this is an eat it and go place. She had the Reuben omelette and added a side of well done hashbrowns. She remarked that the omelette filling was plenty for every bite. The thousand Island/​Russian dressing came in a Marzetti packet on the side. The potatoes were well done crispy the first time, and not sent back. Thanks for the special attention to the request. I had the cornbeef hash breakfast. Alicia said it was not served from a can. Although what was on my plate looked like what you see from a can. Perhaps it’s a frozen mix. It was no homemade Best Breakfast hash, but just OK. Putting it on the grill to give it that slight char helped it along. I had the home fries, that I asked for well done. The online pics made it look like cubes out of a fryer. They have no fryer. These must have been flash frozen fried cubes that went on the grill top. Nonetheless they were crispy and good. I dislike undercooked hash browns wet with oil. Bagel is a bread option that I opted the $.50 upcharge for. Most times just the individual cream cheese container is more than that. It was soft, toasted, and unburnt. Perfect. Table pre-​bussing and clearing was right on time. Drink refills were timely. NOTE* If you ask for a straw, they bring a glass of unwrapped straws for you to reach into. Not knowing the hand washing habits of others that came before me, I declined. They do that thing my wife loves. Which is, bring her a mug of hot water with the tea selection. Accompanied with the small kettle of hot water. It takes time to steep tea. Quit running the server, and waiting for your drink to be ready. Invest in the small kettles all (restaurants).
Now for my immediate perks. All three colors of sweetener accompanied the sugar. I didn’t have to go to the car to get a couple packets of mine. Hot sauce is on the table! Thank you. Now I don’t have to wait, while my meal cools, for the server, who I reminded twice. I wish the syrup was served hot, instead of on the table. The music selection was controlled by a server on a corded iPad. Nothing irritating. A well rounded mix playlist.
The bathrooms are not in the restaurant, but down the sidewalk about 40′ to the airport terminal. They were very clean, and handicapable. Surprisingly not a unisex one holer. His and hers, with room for multiple users.
We will return again for sure.

Only seats about 30 people but great little place. Clean, well decorated and cozy. Staff is always great and food is just great. Value for what you get and when done go over and watch some planes come and go. Great for kids and family.

Coffee:1
Eggs:4
Veggies:2
Grits:2
Potato pancakes:1
Price:1
Ambiance:5
Diner food done on the cheap, but not for the customer. $ 2 for avocado, $ 2.25 for one glass of milk, $ 2.95 for one potato pancake. Quality was not very good. We had the chorizo burrito and the huevos rancheros. Veggies were frozen and all good was prepackaged.
Our bill, including tip, for two adults and a four year old was $ 43. Really cool place if you like planes. Go for the ambiance, but just for a snack. Skip the food.

The Barn Stormer, just hiked up the list to most tasty breakfast in town– for the most part. It’s location and décor cannot be beat. Eating next to planes? Yes please. The food is plenty and delicious. It’s a diner so don’t expect frilly stuff, just great food for the common person. Sunday’s tend to get slammed so you’ll wait a bit but it’s worth it. Prices are decent. It’s crammed in there so enjoy listening and reacting to other people’s conversations.

Short Version:
Cute little diner that’s perfect even if you don’t love aviation. If you love aviation, you’ll be a very happy camper. Decently attentive service, and the menu has quite a few options. Very affordable. There isn’t a ton of space, so I imagine it can get crowded or have a wait sometimes, but I think it’d be worth waiting around.
Important to Know:
They don’t split checks. One check per table. Unsure why, but it’s clearly marked on the menu.
The menu listed on their website is NOT current as of August 7^th, 2015. It’s similar, but things like the split checks aren’t marked on the online version.
Long Version:
Adorable little café for avgeeks and non-​avgeeks alike. It’s located right near the OSU airport with a bit of clear signage on a separate building. Decent parking lot with good space. Once you go inside, you’ll find a tiny waiting area with aviation games and aviation magazines to read. Inside that area are about 6 – 8 tables varying with 2 or 4 seats. Not an insane amount of seating, but it’s what they have.
What I love most about Barnstormer is their aviation décor. They didn’t skimp on the décor at all. Some places love to have neat aviation signage but the interior actually looks like a regular restaurant. Not this place. It’s almost TOO decorated. There are cute little hanging planes from the ceiling, and the walls are covered in aviation photos, magazine articles, and more. There is a propeller hung over the door, and there’s a small open doorway that allows you to see straight into a hangar. (I got to look at an adorable Cirrus throughout my entire breakfast)
The restaurant has a decent amount to choose from — and it’s pretty affordable! They had pancakes, omelettes, burgers, cereals, and more. If you like standard breakfast fare, you’ll find something here you enjoy. They have a chocolate pancake that I really liked — and it was only $ 1.99 for a pancake the entire size of an 9″-ish plate. You could purchase as many pancakes as you wanted, but honestly, I was pretty good with just the single one.
Service felt a bit off but not horridly so. With my soda, I asked for a straw. The waitress brought me a cup full of 80+ straws. It was… weird. When we went to pay the check (they use Square via an iPad), the iPad was just left on the table and we felt a bit uncomfortable just leaving the expensive technology sitting there as we left. The waitress did a good job of refilling drinks and bringing checks promptly and whatnot, but service was a bit interesting.
Decent little diner with an interesting theme. Without the theme, I’d just be «meh» on the food itself or the diner, but with the aviation theme, for an aviation girl like myself, I’m a happy camper here. My biggest complaint was that, despite being at the airport, there isn’t a view of the runways themselves. You can easily hear the planes taking off and landing, but you can’t see any of it. Being able to watch planes take off and land would have been amazing.

My wife and I had breakfast here last Saturday morning. The food was good, the atmosphere was interesting and when we were done, she said, «We should come back sometime». As she is the pickier eater, I was happy to hear her utter those words.
I had the chorizo omelet, with some added avocado slices, which made the chorizo stand out even better. My wife had eggs, home fries, bacon and toast, which is what she usually orders when she wants to see if a new place can live up to her basic standards.
The restaurant is small but nicely set up, although it is a little hard to find. Good thing we had GPS!
I think there are only 5 – 6 tables, with a 3 person wait staff and they easily handled everyone in the place with what seemed like little effort, so they had obviously been working together for a while.
If the food is as good on our next visit, we will upgrade the rating to a five.

Great home style breakfasts in a really cool, if small restaurant at the OSU airport. Not many tables, so not really suitable for larger family groups, thus not five stars. However, the food was perfectly prepared and the service was great. We are great breakfast fans and we’ll be back to sample more of their «busters»…a breakfast stack which was incredible. They close at three.

What a perfect experience!
It’s awesome when you can still smell the food on your clothes after you leave.
Located in hanger 1 at The OSU Airport or as I grew up calling it «Don Scott Airport».
The walls were decorated with photos from long ago featuring JFK, John Glenn and various other people and scenes from the airport.
Service:
was excellent, our server was also the cook and based on the Unilocal pictures she is one of the owners.
Food:
The food was fantastic, tasty and delicious and as home cooked as it gets.
The Benny Buster & the Jack Buster both come with bacon, ham egg and cheese topped with country gravy and toast.
The Benny has potato pancakes and the Jack comes with hash browns.
The items are stacked and then topped with gravy, what a wonderful combination.
The coffee was good too.

Our experience here was decent. The servers were very attentive and welcoming. The menu was pretty standard for a diner, but that’s not a problem for me. I had the Gut Buster, which was ok. The gravy on it could’ve been better though. It tasted pretty bland to me. My husband had the biscuits and gravy, and he thought they were ok, but he also thought the gravy could’ve been better. We both loved the coffee though. It was very good, and the servers always kept our cups full.
The décor was a nice change of pace, but the location was a bit difficult to find. Nevertheless, I think we would probably give it a second try and maybe just test out some other options on the menu.

This Jack and Bennies offering is a fun little spot. A 1940s airmen’s milieu emanates off the walls. Situated in a somewhat iconic World War II hangar, with its grey and arching shape, it is filled with photos of airmen and vintage planes; subjects wearing flax jackets, emblem tagged aviator leather, and canvas caps and goggles themed most of them, while others show barnstomers doing show tricks. It really is a porthole to another time, impressing you while you chow down on J&B greasy spoon grub.
The food is no different from their Hudson and High location. I selected a western omelet that was wrapped just right and tasty; hash browns that were average, and a bagel that was nicely soft. Of course their coffee is good, though not strong enough for me but that’s typical for a greasy spoon. I also had some fresh squeezed OJ, which is the bomb. The price is a little heavy, 14 and change for portions that were on the skimpy side, but the service was attentive and kind.
To get to the place just enter tOSU Airport’s gate on West Case near the corner of Deirker and go past the fire station there. You should see three looping hangars that seemed to jump out of a Pearl Harbor movie. It is in hangar number three.
The place does not have a bar so if you go solo prepare to sit at a table. The spot isn’t that big, but they do make good use of space and can accommodate a party of several. They have a nice waiting area with vinyl loveseats, TVs, and magazines. There is an open door where you can see the keeping of two-​seaters and small planes.
My grandfather was a pilot; it really brought back memories of joy flights he would take my siblings and me on. Pilots are rare birds with a subculture all their own; this place captures their spirit.