Thanks to my forgotten passport, I had a chance eat dinner at P.F. Chang’s last week in the Tom Bradley International Terminal at LAX.
This restaurant is the latest addition to the Priority Pass portfolio at LAX, which makes up for the recent elimination of two other restaurants. Your Priority Pass membership entitles you to $30 in restaurant credit per-person. Check with your card-issuer for how many guests you are allowed, but it generally two for most credit card affiliated programs.
You’ll find the restaurant on the Mezzanine Level of the Villaraigosa Pavilion, past security.
I arrived around 6:20PM and the restaurant was crowded, though I had no wait for a seat. When I left around 7:00PM, there was quite a wait to be seated, even though the patio area seating remained empty. Part of the restaurant is an un-manned bar area, where you can take your drink and sit down, but without full service.
The Meal
I have never been a fan of the food at P.F. Chang’s but my brother was recently raving about the pepper steak, so I ordered that with brown rice. It arrived almost immediately and was actually very good, though the dish was far too salty. In case you are interested, here is the full menu (.pdf). I only ate about half the plate: it was a very American-sized portion.
After the meal I ordered a cappuccino, but was told he milk frother was broken. The waiter offered me an espresso instead. I asked him if the espresso is good and he admitted that it was just a Keurig capsule. I thanked him and declined the coffee.
Since I only spent about $22 of my $30, I could have just walked away. But please, please, please: take care of your waiter or waitress. Like other Priority Pass restaurants, if you want to leave a tip on your credit card ask to be charged $0.01 and then you can leave a tip.
CONCLUSION
I would never actually pay for a meal at P.F. Chang’s. Even so, my dinner wasn’t bad at all. This is a great addition to the Priority Pass family at LAX.
I went there a few weeks ago. The food was fine but I was upset they didn’t have the ginger chicken and broccoli which is one of the healthiest items on their regular menu.
Haha European style numbers…that’s gotta be confusing sometimes.
I just ate there last Friday night. I arrived around 8pm and was told there was a 15 minute wait for a table–even though there were at least a dozen empty–but I could sit at the bar right away. So I sat at the bar and was promptly greeted by one of three bartenders working the large oval area. It’s quite a huge menu. I ordered the Walnut Shrimp with Melon and white rice, and a Ginger-Lemon Spritzer. The meal came out after about 10 minutes and was quite tasty and very large. My bill came to $30.40, so I owed .40 cents and I left a tip. If you’ve got the digital card on your phone through the PP app, they can scan it right there. Otherwise they record your number and give you a link up to hand yo the server/bartender when they’re ringing up your bill. I was never asked for a boarding pass and didn’t see anyone else at the bar or the tables asked either. They only wanted the card – – (they didn’t even ask for ID in addition to the PP card). More than half of the diners I saw were using the card. So you could definitely eat there after a flight. There were also many people who ordered their meals to go and were cheerfully obliged.
The menu is quite varied, and with sushi, salads, ramen bowls and stir fries available there is a meal for everyone and for every health level.
BTW, I was taking a redeye JetBlue Mint flight that evening and walked over from Terminal 5 after checking in. It’s not exactly around the corner, but 15 or 20 minutes at a brisk pace through the airside tunnels is all it takes. Well worth it if you’ve got the time, IMO.