The Proud Bird Restaurant Los Angeles

After arriving at Los Angeles International Airport around dinner time, I needed a place to eat. As a plane spotter, I always look for places that are near an airport and have a good view of arriving and departing planes. I found a gem of a place for plane spotting near LAX called The Proud Bird restaurant.

The Proud Bird is an aviation themed restaurant that was opened in 1967 by David Tallichet (1922 - 2007), an entrepreneur who opened a number of themed restaurants across the United States. He served as a pilot in World War II, flying over 20 combat missions. After opening, The Proud Bird became a popular gathering spot for aviation enthusiasts in southern California. After years of decline, the restaurant was remodeled and reimagined as a food hall in 2017.

The Proud Bird offers six different dining concepts, including a Bar-B-Que, Asian, Chicken and Waffles, Pizza, Farmer's Market, and Tasty Burgers. There's also a bar, and an outside play area for the kids. I had the Orange Chicken from the Asian section, and it was excellent.

In addition to the fabulous plane spotting, there are numerous airplanes on display at The Proud Bird, including a Spitfire, a P-51 Mustang, an F4U Corsair, a DC-3, an A-4 Skyhawk, and a P-40 Warhawk, among others. There are also exhibits about the Tuskegee Airmen, Amelia Earhart, and Charles Lindbergh.

If you are in the Los Angeles area and love aviation, be sure to grab a bite to eat at The Proud Bird and enjoy watching the planes come and go at LAX.

https://www.theproudbird.com/

Until next time, keep looking to the sky and keep dreaming.

- Matt