In 2017 I wrote a review of what I considered to be the most interesting Priority Pass lounge we ever visited.
The lounge I am referring to was actually a restaurant at London Gatwick Airport. The way a visit worked was that with your membership, you received a £15 credit. Guests of the card holder also receive this credit off the bill.
When I heard that Bobby Van’s Grill at JFK Airport had become a Priority Pass lounge, I wanted to visit but it just never worked out until our recent flight to Barcelona.
At Bobby Van’s Grill, each Priority Pass card holder is allowed to also get a credit for a maximum of one guest. The credit per person is a pretty generous $28, which comes to up to $56 off the bill.
The only problem with Bobby Van’s is that it’s pricey. If you want to get a couple of steaks, you’ll definitely be adding some money to the bill.
During our visit, we weren’t overly hungry. To get a good taste of the menu, we decided to order two items to share, a burger and a filet mignon.
Here is what we tried at Bobby Van’s Grill at JFK Airport, Terminal 8.
The Grill 10oz Filet Mignon ($45):
Since we were visiting a steakhouse at a steep discount, I found it hard not to order one steak. The filet mignon sounded like a good call since it’s a cut of steak I do enjoy and it was also cheaper than most of the other options.
The steak came out with fries and béarnaise sauce on the side. From first appearance, it didn’t look great.
The steak was ordered medium but we thought it was probably a bit under. The outside had a nice char which looked borderline burnt.
Lucas really enjoyed the steak, Kim and I found it to be decent; nothing special while also not being bad. As for that béarnaise sauce, neither of us were fans.
If we visit Bobby Van’s Grill again, we’d give a different steak a try.
Burger of the Day: Jack Daniels Burger ($22):
Our big debate was to get the burger of the day or the burger which is always available.
We decided to go with the Jack Daniels Burger which is a massive burger topped with bacon, provolone and JD sauce. The burger is accompanied with fries, fried onion strings and lettuce, tomato & pickle.
I closed the burger up and cut it in half to get a better look. The burger appeared to be cooked perfectly.
Then the true test, I took a bite and was just not impressed. A big burger does not mean a good burger. This was the case at Bobby Van’s Grill. (We saw many burgers being ordered, I assume due to the Priority Pass credit.)
The meat was juicy but it sadly lacked any good flavor. The provolone was bland and the bacon was not what I’d expect from a steakhouse.
I might be tempted to give BV’s regularly offered burger a try on another visit, but I’m afraid that it will be a let down.
In the end, the best thing we at at Bobby Van’s were the fried onion strings. Talk about a delicious item!
When the bill was presented, included was neatly printed info about tipping, Don’t forget, if you’re using the Priority Pass credit, you still should be tipping on the price of the original bill.
Final Thoughts:
I had higher expectation for Bobby Van’s Grill but the food is still probably better than your average Priority Pass lounge. If you’re flying through JFK T8 and have a PP membership, you could always order an appetizer and a drink or a sandwich if you don’t want a steak.
Overall, this wasn’t a bad experience just not the kind of food I expected to get from a known steakhouse.
As long as I have a Priority Pass membership, during my next visit to JFK T8 I’ll give BV Grill another try.
Related Posts:
robert- That’s a bummer. I have mine from a different credit card.
Bobby Vans at JFK no longer accept Priority Pass members for benefit who got their card through Amex. So Priority Pass is not always a Priority Pass. Apparently Amex were not paying them. Confused
taxbaxstax- We didn’t find the service to be so bad.
the service here sucks but just get the steak sandwich or something simple. it always takes the servers forever to do anything…