(360) 435-4777

Top Gun-themed · Pilots fly in just to eat · Walk-in only

Breakfast with a front-row seat to the runway

All-American diner on the ramp at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO). Big plates, runway views, and the Pacific Northwest's quintessential "$100 hamburger" stop.

Call (360) 435-4777 See the menu
Executive chef LeeWay Morris in the Ellie's at the Airport kitchen

Executive chef LeeWay Morris (photo: Andy Bronson / The Herald, March 2020)

The $100 hamburger, Arlington style

Pilots taxi to transient parking, shut down, and walk two minutes for a plate of comfort food with a view.

Ellie's at the Airport sits right on the ramp at Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO), where 500-plus aircraft are based and Arlington SkyFest draws flyers from across the country every August. The building looks like a cozy house beside the tie-down ramp, but the plates are enormous and the runway is the backdrop.

Executive chef LeeWay Morris arrived in Washington from Alabama in 2013 while homeless and worked his way up through small local kitchens. Profiled by The Herald in March 2020, he's the cook behind Ellie's Southern-tinged specials: bacon-wrapped pineapple pulled pork, a house "Mud Rub" BBQ sauce, and a three-day gumbo made with crawfish shipped up from Alabama.

It's a family-owned, walk-in-only diner where the food is the reason people stay and the airplanes are the reason they look up from their plates.

What guests are saying

4.5
TripAdvisor · #5 of 66 in Arlington
3,240
Facebook likes

Honest note: Weekend waits can stretch past an hour. Most guests say the runway views and oversized plates make it worth it.

5 stars

"I finally got to try out this breakfast spot and it did not disappoint! What a genius idea to put a breakfast restaurant next to an airport. It entertained my 2 year old throughout our whole meal. We waited about 20 minutes on a Saturday morning at 9am. It went by fast since we chilled outside and watched planes land & go. When we finally got a table, we were greeted by a friendly server and she was patient with our questions. The menu is so quirky with interesting names from Top Gun. How cute! I ordered the B-52 Bomber meal and it was HUGE, $17.99. Eggs, ginormous pancakes, sausage, bacon, country potatoes & toast! Definitely had leftovers. Food quality was delicious and coffee tasted fresh drip. Can't wait to come back!"

Angeline C. · Apr 29, 2023

4 stars

"Such a cool spot for breakfast, lunch or brunch! Right on airport grounds, watch planes land and take off. You can tell the place is good because there's a constant wait... Menu options were exactly what I was looking for and made it difficult to decide which to indulge in - breakfast or lunch. The 'Sides' menu allowed us to try biscuits and gravy without committing to a full plate, found the gravy to be bland. However, was not disappointed in my final selections of Seafood Benedict and the B-52 breakfast. Poached eggs in the benedict were perfection, and did not skimp on hollandaise. The B52 is definitely the cure for both starvation and hangovers... Aside from watching take-offs and landings of various aircraft, super cool to see tables walk over to the adjacent airplane parking lot and take off into the sky after their meal."

Dazzle R. · Apr 20, 2022

5 stars

"welcoming atmosphere, fun to see planes come and go!"

Erika B.

4 stars

"I had the vegetable omlette and it was pretty good but a single piece of ham snuck in. Service was pretty good and unique location. We may come back in the future."

Lindsey R. · Feb 21, 2024

Location & Hours

Find us on the ramp

Ellie's at the Airport
18218 59th Ave NE
Arlington, WA 98223

Inside Arlington Municipal Airport (KAWO) grounds. Walk-in only — no reservations.

Mon–Fri8:00 AM – 2:00 PM
Sat–Sun7:00 AM – 3:00 PM

Breakfast and lunch only — no dinner service. Hours have shifted post-COVID; please re-confirm before publishing.

Call (360) 435-4777

Flying in?

Taxi to transient parking at Arlington Municipal (KAWO), shut down, and walk about two minutes. Look for the sandwich-board sign pointing you to the diner.

The airport dates to 1934, served as a WWII Naval Auxiliary Air Station, and its hangar complex is on the National Register of Historic Places. Every August, Arlington SkyFest rolls in as the third-largest fly-in in the U.S. — and Ellie's is right there on the ramp.

B-52 Bomber breakfast with large pancakes, eggs, bacon, sausage, and potatoes
Pilot tip: Come hungry. The B-52 Bomber is the cure for both starvation and hangovers.

Get in touch

Phone

(360) 435-4777

Address

18218 59th Ave NE
Arlington, WA 98223

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Hours

Mon–Fri 8–2
Sat–Sun 7–3