Pilot Pete’s

The goal of the visit was to go somewhere the kids could have fun and enjoy the décor. The place looked great with all the decorations on the ceiling, the airline seats in the waiting area, and we were lucky to catch some air traffic while we were there.
Unfortunately the food wasn’t all that great.
The Chicken strips were the best item and overall they were good. I’d get them again but wouldn’t go out of my to make it happen. Overall service was great and the refills were quick too.
We got the Mega Platter
4 large skins, potato had no flavor but texture good.
no frills quesadilla.
The wings were good but a little dry inside. Light jerk flavor (I wish I had known about sauce earlier.)
The kids got Spaghetti and pizza. These were bad as the sauce was too sweet and both kids (4 and 7) said it tasted weird and didn’t even eat a quarter of their meal.
Stroganoff pasta. Tender meat but they don’t use egg noodles. Instead it was an al dente fettuccini noodle. I like al dente but that didn’t work in this Stroganoff dish.
The BIGGEST let down? Lobster Nachos. The meat was room temperature. The cheese was barely warm. I was really looking forward to this and I could barely eat the second piece. Without being hot this was just plain gross.
We won’t be going back unless the kids are excited for the airplane theme again. If so, we’re all getting chicken strips.

Calamari had no flavor.
French onion soup was too salty.
Lobster roll was subpar at best.
Green beans were watery and not even salted.
Alcoholic beverages were too sweet.
Only good thing was the deep fried cheesecake. It was actually fantastic. Everything else was below average. This place is only good for the atmosphere, not the food. If you’re looking for a place for the kids to have fun and be happy then go here! If you’re looking for real quality food then I would avoid it.

Lobster nachos. That’s all you need in life. :)

Good place to go with my boys. Fun, clean, and close by. My boys enjoyed the kids chicken fingers and I liked the fire cracker shrimp tacos! We will be back again.

My son’s are obsessed with this place. Mom? Not so much. Food is hit or miss. so is the service. But, the boys have a blast watching the planes while they eat their chicken tenders. Last time we were there, the server never put in our appetizer order. When we inquired about it as our entrees arrived she claimed we told her «never mind about the appetizer» which did not happen. A manager came over and offered free dessert, which was nice, but we wanted nachos! Fun place for kids, but go somewhere else if the kids stay at home.

We came for lunch on Memorial Day (called first), and they said they’ll be open until 7.
We got a great window seat, looking out at the runway and a plane (at the moment), preparing for take off.
The food was surprisingly much better than we were expecting.
Pros:
+lots of parking
+planes all over the place inside
+planes outside to watch (Windows all around)
+clean
+food was very good
+kind servers
+prompt servers (water refills)
+moderate sound
+casual dress
+good for families and kids
+sweet potato fries for $ 1 more
Cons:
–can’t think of any yet.
We’ll be back. :)

We have been here a few times and love the atmosphere. Each experience has been great.
From food to beer, we enjoy each bite and sip. We plan on having a girls night here thanks to me pushing for it. Hope you are ready Pilot Pete’s!

We went there with friends who have been there twice before and were raving about it. Ordered the chicken pot pie. It was terrible. The sauce in the pie was very watery. It was like a very thin soup there was a hardly a half cup of solid veggie and chicken. We also had the meatloaf at our table it did not look appetizing had a taste it also was not good.
Our waitress was not very good. She was not very friendly. Needless to say don’t think we will go back. Guess our friends were wrong.

We went on a night they had $ 4 margaritas… and they were much tastier than I expected a $ 4 margarita to be! Food was very good, except I must say my chicken was very dry (I got the lemon chicken). Great atmosphere for a night out with friends… or family! Window seats are the best!

This place is a neat little concept. We decided to go with our daughters as it seems to pretty kid friendly. It is, and there are quite a few good kid options too!
As you walk in, there is a window repair hanger to the side where you can see some planes that are being worked (no idea if this is staged or actual repairs?). There are some waiting area seats which are actually airplane seats. Kinda fun, you can take some pictures with the kids if it isn’t too busy. The bathrooms are also out here near the entrance.
We went fairly early on a weekend for dinner so it wasn’t too packed. I wanna say it was around 4:30, but it did get busy by the time we left around 6pm. They don’t take reservations on the weekend, which makes sense.
The service was pretty good, it wasn’t the best ever, because we had to wait sometimes for our server to make his way around, but overall he was attentive and courteous and prompt.
The food was pretty standard American fare. We got the onion blossom, which was a bit disappointing. The onion was not well cooked and had some raw bits in there, but was tasty. I ordered the French onion soup which was pretty delicious, and I ordered the pot roast tacos for my entrée. They were delicious. The fries were crispy.
Drinks here are reasonably priced.
We got to see a few planes land and take off, and even got to see a helicopter flying around (it looked like he was training). If available the windowed seats are obviously the best for plane watching.

This place will never disappoint. Favorite place in town by far. Everything on the menu is delicious!

Pilot Pete’s is always a great experience! I bring all the family who visits Chicago to this place. The experience starts with the fun purple airplane seats in the waiting aisle and continues into the dining area where we always request to sit next to the windows so we can watch the small Schaumburg runway and see a passing Metra train.
Oh wait! This is a restaurant! Back to the food. The Million Dollar burger is good, but I love their pan bakes. I’m disappointed that the three cheese tortellini pan bake is off the menu, but you’ll be sure to find something that tastes scrumptious! (Maybe steer away from the AYCE fish fry or wet side salads though.)

The location always makes it fun because it’s in a hanger at the Schaumburg Municipal airport. The food portions are huge. They have more options on their kids menu than most places and for $ 4.50 including the drink and scoop of ice cream you can’t beat it. The fried calamari is good. We also had an avocado chicken sandwich on a pretzel bun that I would get again if we return.

Awesome location!
Pilot Petes is located off Irving Park rd just outside of the Schaumburg Airport. Plenty of parking!
Inside the interior is decorated with many model airplanes from different generations of flight. Also, first class airplane seats for those that have to wait in the waiting area.
The food is delicious and tasty. Huge portions so please share! I had the fried Onion for app and a burger with rib meat. As someone who loves to eat I must say even I wasn’t able to conquer all the food in my plate.
Only downfall is the bar. The drinks are not that great but that can easily be solved by ordering something that is already bottled.
Lastly, customer service is good! Very impressed

Let me start out by saying if I could leave zero stars I would. This isn’t the first time we have had a bad experience. But we thought we’d give them another chance. Today was hands down the worse service I’ve ever had in my life. We will never be going back.
We waited 75mins to get a table when we were told 45 mins. We kept getting told «it’ll be another 20mins» everytime we asked what was going on. Once they realized we’ve been there forever they said they were super sorry. It didn’t make up for the fact that we were starving and had kids with us!
Once we got seated we realized we got up on the back room. Where there was 4 table with adults who didn’t want to watch their kids. They ran around like it was chuckie cheese. We had to get a manager to tell them to relax. That’s not okay. My sister in laws 9 year old was even annoyed with them. And that says a lot.
All we wanted was a nice dinner. To start we order the nachos and they gave us dirty plates to eat off we had to send those back. Than We order our food took about normal time to get to us. Once we all started to eat While cutting up my daughters pizza we found hair I didn’t know if it was mine or someone else’s so I looked closer it seems okay and I thought it was mine so I let my daughter eat it anyways then…
My sister is laws boyfriend was eating a cowboy burger and stopped eat it than shows us that there was a piece of plastic cooked into his food. Like you’ve got to be kidding me. That has to be the against health code of some sort. He could get really sick!
Even though the whole bill was on the house (which we had to fight for) it was ridiculous to think how they are still in business. It really makes you wonder what service you are really getting.
My family won’t be going back nor will I. I suggest you all rethink going there as well.

There’s a lot to say about Pilot Petes and I don’t want to make this a five paragraph essay so I’m going to break it down for you:
1) Some of the food is really good and there’s a huge variety of cuisines so it’s good for a big group. But it’s inconsistent in quality so watch out… you never know if it’ll be good the next time you come.
2) Somehow this place is always busy. And there never seems to be enough staff on to make it a smooth experience. (AKA…long waits on drinks, food, check, all around service, etc)
3) Even though I have a child I don’t want to be around a million of them at once. This place is family central. Seriously. Almost every table has kids at it and they’re always making a mess, running around, and causing a scene. Not Pilot Petes fault, but still annoying.
4) You may find the idea of being at an airport with all the kitschy décor fun or you may absolutely hate it. Just know what you’re getting into before you trek out here.
5) The balloon room for parties is nice (and free!) and they have a pretty decent and cheap menu for parties too if you’re looking to throw a fun baby shower or bday party. But again, be aware that you’ll probably only have one or two (poor, stressed-​out) servers running around trying to take care of everything.
Overall, this is a decent family place to go to if you live in the area but I certainly wouldn’t make a special trip out here unless your (hopefully well behaved) child is obsessed with planes.

Such a fun place! The décor is perfect for the aviation enthusiast in your family, regardless of their age.
The restaurant has a great view of the ramp and runway and is very convenient for us pilots as it sits right above the FBO. If you are vegan, they make a great vegetable pasta dish and the drinks at the bar are really good, too!
The portion size of the food is enormous so you definitely get your money’s worth and compared to city prices, you won’t believe it!
I highly recommend Pilot Pete’s — I will bring all my friends and family here and we are becoming regulars here every time we go fly.

It was worth the drive my son loves airplanes and was so happy to see this place. Service was fast and friendly the food was alright but overall I would definitely come back and recommend this place. Food came out in large portions and hot.

First night in town, staying right around the corner, we’ll be bringing the airplane down in a few days, and we’re hungry. Pilot Pete’s seemed like the perfect match, especially after reading the reviews.
And the Unilocalers didn’t disappoint again. The place is adorable, full of aviation kitsch and a great view of the ramp. We got seated pretty quickly in a booth near the windows. Our only complaint was that the hanging light fixtures over those booths are set at the perfect level to wish you had a ball cap. They are 6″ above your head and blinding, so you can’t see anything in the room but your table mates.
The food portions are gigantic; I’m pretty sure my buffalo sandwich had a *whole* (as in double) chicken breast on it, plus the fries and soup that came with it.
Service and pricing were just fine– friendly enough on both fronts. We didn’t venture to the drink or dessert menus, but will next time.

This place has improved for me over the years. If I didn’t give it an additional shot this place would have been a 2 to 3 star place. I’ve been happy with it.
Nachos are awesome. Chicken fingers rock! The burgers are good. Drinks are worth a trip. You may have to wait on weekends but that’s like anywhere.