Gardo Airport

Gardo Airport is a small regional airfield serving the Puntland town of Gardo, and the dining options here reflect that intimate, unhurried scale. Don't come expecting a bustling food court with international chains — what you'll find instead is a handful of modest tea stalls and simple canteen-style setups near the terminal building. Vendors typically set up early in the morning to catch departing passengers, and the atmosphere is refreshingly local, with travelers and airport staff sharing the same plastic chairs and the same strong, cardamom-laced shaah.

The undisputed star of any eating experience here is the Somali tea, or shaah, brewed dark and sweet and generously spiced — it's practically a meal in itself when paired with anjero, the spongy fermented flatbread that doubles as plate, utensil, and comfort food all at once. If you're lucky, a vendor will have warm muufo, a dense sesame-seeded bread, fresh from a clay oven. Simple goat stew or a rice dish with braised meat can occasionally be found at the small canteen-style counter, especially during midday hours when local staff take their lunch break.

The key to eating well at Gardo Airport is to arrive with low expectations and genuine curiosity — this is not fine dining, but it is authentic. Strike up a conversation with the tea lady, ask what's fresh that morning, and you'll likely be pointed toward something genuinely satisfying. Bring cash in Somali shillings, as vendors rarely accommodate anything else, and be prepared for a relaxed pace where the tea comes before everything else. Think of it less as airport dining and more as a window into everyday Gardo life.