Review: P.F. Chang’s LAX Priority Pass Restaurant

I took the older of my boys on a father-son getaway for several days over the second week of July. We visited Chicago for the weekend and finished off our time hanging out with Mark Ostermann (of Miles to Memories fame) and his kids in Detroit. It was a fun several days. I booked our outbound tickets using 12,500 United miles per person from Arcata-Eureka (ACV) airport to Chicago via Los Angeles. With a four hour layover, we had enough time to enjoy lunch at the P.F. Chang’s LAX Priority Pass restaurant.

United operates out of Terminals 7 and 8 at LAX, so it is a decent walk over to the Tom Bradley International Terminal (TBIT) where the P.F. Chang’s restaurant is located. We’d actually tried the Alaska Lounge first in Terminal 6, but the dreaded “No Priority Pass” sign was out. It wasn’t quite yet 1:00 PM, when the Korean Lounge LAX opens to network customers, so I figured we’d try the P.F. Chang’s restaurant first. Both are located in the mezzanine level of TBIT. 

The P.F. Chang’s Restaurant LAX had a 20-minute wait when we arrived (so we were told). I was split on whether we should wait it out, or head back to the KAL Lounge which would open in 10 minutes. Turns out we were seated after only 10 minutes.

P.F. Chang’s LAX Priority Pass Usage

To use your Priority Pass Membership at P.F. Chang’s LAX, you must present your card to the hostess at check-in. Ours did not ask for any other identification or a boarding pass, which isn’t consistent with Priority Pass conditions. It is very consistent with my experience with Priority Pass restaurants, however. The requirements in the Priority Pass app read “International flights only”. It appears that P.F. Chang’s LAX does not care to check where you are flying. 

After running your Priority Pass card, entering your guest info, and signing for the visit, you’re given a receipt showing the eligible credit amount. This must be given to your server when you pay to apply the credit. The cardholder and each guest receive $30 off the final bill.

We were seated once there was a table available. Our table had a nice view of the Tom Bradley International Terminal atrium.

P.F. Chang’s LAX Restaurant Experience

Our server took our order promptly, for both beverages and food. I ordered two plates of dim sum and the kids chicken fried rice for my son. This would ring in well under the $60 Priority Pass limit. I almost ordered a glass of wine, but I knew we’d be headed to the KAL Lounge right after this. 

The dim sum came out quickly, with the fried rice following several minutes behind. I thought the rice was bland, but my son liked it. That’s what mattered. We traveled to Beijing, China in late 2018, and all he wanted was plain or fried rice. He is the furthest thing from food adventurous. And P.F. Chang’s is still rather” Americanized” Chinese food. 

The crab wontons were good, although the sweet chili sauce is basically what made the dish. The shrimp dumplings were good as well.

The service went downhill at the end. Delivery of the food was the last we saw of our server. No water or tea refills, no check-in to see how things were doing. She finally came back to clear the plates several minutes after we’d finished. It took another five minutes to arrive back with the check and collect the Priority Pass receipt. We’d only used $37 of our $60 allocation, but I was glad to have a nice lunch for free (except for the tip). 

Conclusion

I didn’t really know what to expect heading into our lunch at P.F. Chang’s at LAX. I figured it was a nicer restaurant than the last Priority Pass restaurants I’ve visited, and it definitely was. The setting is nice and the food is good. This was my first time eating at any restaurant in the chain. There are over 200 in the U.S.

My guess is that the P.F. Chang’s LAX Priority Pass usage has been excellent, and given how much Priority Pass reimburses restaurants per visit, the restaurant is likely doing extremely well with the arrangement.