Places to eat in JNB airport?
 

Looking for any advice for menus or best places to eat in the Johannesburg airport. We are staying in the nearby hotel on 2 separate occasions plus have long layover on the way home and may want to try different options than the hotel has to offer.
Also would rather be able to use credit card or US$ if possible.

Which nearby hotel?

The IC's Quills is the only halfway decent restaurant in the whole area, although it is no longer as good as it used to be.

You will find a food court landside in the terminal, with lots of options catering for a wide variety of tastes. Just don't expect gourmet food, and bear in mind that it can get really busy at times. Mid to late evening is usually OK, though.

Credit cards accepted everywhere.

Johan

City Lodge Hotel (OR Tambo location)

OK, that makes Quills the closest restaurant as well, as the IC is between the City Lodge and the terminal.

The City Lodge has a very extensive room service menu. Not from their own kitchen, but any number of fast food joints will deliver to your room.

Johan

Amazing, thanks for the help!

I had a great breakfast at Lucky Bread in the terminal but there are plenty of fast food type options (Nando, Spur, Wimpy etc) and a good craft brewery.

I also stayed 2 nights at City Lodge last month on way to/from Zim. Hotel restaurant is slow, limited and kitchen shuts at 10pm on the button.

I stayed at the Aviator Hotel last year and their in house restaurant was decent and affordable. It's an airport hotel, so don't expect much as it is.

The food court in the terminal is fine, I ate there twice during my trip. Same thing you'd expect at any airport food court.

There is also a shuttle from the coach parking (downstairs from the City Lodge) that will take you to the Emperor's Palace Casino complex - IIRC the shuttles run every 20 minutes and only take 5-10 minutes. Here you will have a selection of restaurants.
Without needing a shuttle as Johan Rebel has said, Quills at the Intercontinental Hotel is about the best you will get.
You also say that you have a long layover on the final stay, you could also consider jumping on the Guatrain from the airport and being in Sandton in 15 minutes, where you will have a wide variety of shops, restaurants, bars etc.
Credit cards will be accepted pretty much everywhere, but doubt any (except very touristy places) will accept US$ cash, and if they do, I would expect a very poor rate of exchange.

We have stayed at the Airport IC several times, as recently as last month. Quills was so mediocre when we ate there last winter, my plan was to use UberEats on our recent visit. There were quite a few options that sounded appealing. In the end, my husband was fighting a cold and we skipped eating.

It's a pity.

I've had dinner and breakfast there regularly since the IC opened. In the first years Quills was really good, although service was slow from day one. In recent years they've been heading down a slippery slope, and the pace seems to be accelerating.

Johan

Use the airport shuttle service or Uber to visit Emporor's Palace for choices
 

We stayed at Premier Hotel last year and used their shuttle to return to the airport. Then we took the Emperor's Palace shuttle and had a very good Greek meal at Platia. Return was just as easy. No cost. There are numerous options at the Casino.

Link to my review: https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUser...g_Gauteng.html

And if you need something light and none of the landside eateries appeal to you, you can go to the Woolworths store, get a salad or sandwich, some wine and relax in your room. Personally, I would take the shuttle to Emperors' Palace and eat at one of the eateries there. Taking the Gautrain to Sandton for a meal will make an already overpriced meal even more expensive.

Yes, ate twice at Quills in September, and although the surroundings and most of the staff are nice, and the hotel remains efficient, the food was a bit of a disappointment - tough game meats, for example. Not a disaster by any means, but I bet you can do better by travelling a bit by taxi. A shame, since we used to enjoy it there.