Taste of Prime Tavern

This place is very spacious, but the food does NOT match the price. Do not expect any of your food to look like the pictures… lol. And the tablets at the tables are just ways to distract you from having a real dialogue with your server. I will never be back…

My eggs Benedict looked and tasted good. The service up until my food was delivered was good. However once I was served, I became invisible to the servers. No one checked to see if everything was ok or if I needed a coffee refill. They never asked to clear the table when I had finished. The restaurant was not crowded and servers passed by me constantly but never even made eye contact with me.

What can you really say about an airport bar? Hubby and I spent an hour or so just relaxing and having a couple drinks before our flight home, so there honestly wasn’t much expectation. However, I ordered the cocktail of the day — which was shown clearly written out on their little iPad menu ordering things — but received some other cocktail entirely. Apparently, the iPad hadn’t been updated. Really? Ugh. So I ordered a cosmo and called it good. And it was fine.
Hubby had a yummy bourbon drink called Sutters Mill. He was quite happy with his choice.
There wasn’t a whole lot of opportunity for bars/​drinks in the area we were at so that’s how we ended up here. It honestly wasn’t terrible but if they’re going to have a daily cocktail special, the least they could do is keep their iPad ordering system updated.

This really is a nice haven to hang out in the terminal and, of course, they have the omni-​present iPad ordering system which can help you kill time with all sorts of useless crap. My burger was ordered medium and it was delivered closer to well done but the bacon, bun and french fries were quite nice. They forgot my beverage which wasn’t corrected until I was halfway done with my meal. The highlight was a coffee & Nutella milkshake which I was trying to resist ordering but and additional flight delay (informed by the iPad) changed my mind.

Stay away from this place. I ordered a 7 dollar milkshake, and was then asked to leave a short while later because I had not ordered any additional items and they needed the tables – even though the place was empty. Won’t be going back here any time soon.

We were seated immediately at a large table and I initially thought this place was going to be a great place to kill some time while we waited for our flight. The food and drinks were much more expensive than even most airport food, but the food came out quickly and the portions were very large, especially for the kids meals. Unfortunately it went downhill from there.
They (or rather the customer) uses iPads to input your order and it asks you for gratuity when you place the order, before you have ever gotten your food or gotten any service. I set gratuity to 0, but checked to leave the tab open so we could order dessert or another drink.
After we had eaten our food our waiter checked on us and my wife asked for a refill of iced tea. After he had not brought it in about 10 minutes I asked about it and he quickly brought it a couple of minutes later telling us they were out but he had gotten some from another restaurant close by. I thought that was very nice of him instead of just telling us they were out, even if it took a while.
About 10 minutes later the bartender Amal came over to our table with a serious attitude waving a receipt saying we had closed out our tab. I told him I didn’t close the tab but he cut me off and rudely told me that yes I did and stormed off. I assume he was a little upset because I had set the gratuity to zero, but I never had any intention of not tipping. Even with a closed out tab I would have happily tipped in cash. I can only assume the system automatically closes a tab after several minutes of inactivity.
Now I’m sitting here with my family having just been put in an awful mood by some jerk and I don’t want to give a dime of gratuity. But our server did a decent job and I know it wasn’t his fault. So I’m dropping some cash on the table and leaving instead of ordering more drinks and dessert. Still have 40 minutes to kill before our flight boards but I’d rather sit at the gate than stay here.

Food not worth the price. System was down so we were not able to order from iPad. Service was bad. Took a while for someone to get our order and not until manager told the waitress to help us. Asked for cranberry juice with ice on the side – TWICE – and both times came with ice in the glass. Then after ordering our food and waiting a long time, they didn’t even put in our order. The waitress came and had to take our order again. We finally got our order and it was wrong (ordered egg whites, got whole eggs). They were not able to take cash as payment. Most likely will not eat here again.

Not a good experience! Ordering on an iPad, having to get help to order, condescending attitude by the server and then being charged for an extra sandwich and not being able to get a refund!!! Their system couldn’t give us a refund! «If you leave your business card with your email, we will send you the information on how to get your refund» YOU’VE GOT TO BE KIDDING!!! Not everyone is a business flyer!!! BBB and Corporation will be hearing from me!!!

Food was average. The real interesting issue is you pay and tip up front. Once tipped you never see the wait staff at your table. They are nicely clustered together but we felt dead to them.

it’s just as bad as you suspect. they even managed to fuck up shrimp cocktail.
avoid.

This has to be the best airport restaurant in the country. I had the grilled salmon for the second time and it’s amazing the quality of the fish at an airport restaurant. The service has been exceptional each time.

If your looking for little to no interaction with your server, a broad, yet mediocre beer list and glamour shots of what your food may have looked like in the cooks dreams, look no further. Plan to spend two to three times the value of the meal, and don’t hold your breath for quick dishes. It’s saving grace is you can check out without the pain of shuffling through your wallet for cash.

Pro’s: not crowded, easy ordering through an iPad where you pay right after you order so if you’re in a hurry this place is great.
Con’s: food is mediocre — not much flavor in the potatoes
Cheaper food is across the way.

Wow. No stars. Must be experienced to be believed. Enjoy. Oh, and I recommend the $ 14 «chicken Caesar salad» and $ 15 Drink of the day, ie Lemonade.
A place has to try hard to be this bad.

I normally don’t review, but the experience here was abysmal enough to warrant one.
11.50 for an omelette. Seems reasonable. But then they charge you $ 1 to put cheese in the omelette and $ 2 for any kind of meat.
There is another up charge of $ 2 if you want to replace potatoes with a side salad. But the salad they give you is exactly the same as the garnish they give you if you get potatoes — barely dressed greens. So… $ 2 extra to leave something off the plate. Plus the omelette was overcooked. Redeeming quality us that on my complaint, the server brought me extra salad, this time with dressing.
The servers efforts warranted an upgrade to 2 stars from 1.

I actually prefer the iPad ordering system, I usually arrive to the airport with little time to spare and being able to submit my order within 60 seconds is a big plus for me.
The prices are full NYC steakhouse equivalent, and the food is serviceable. Is it the same quality at a Manhattan steakhouse? No. Is it better than any steak you’ll get at a chain restaurant like an Outback? Absolutely.
I tend to frequent this spot when I’m flying out of LGA and want some hot food before my flight, and would recommend it to anyone looking for something a little better than the fast food offerings in the airport.

AVERAGE
This places masquerades as upscale but doesn’t deliver. My Eggs Florentine was decidedly average. The service was non-​existent and annoying in that they ring up the tip for you when you order on the table’s iPad. That is, you tip before you receive anything!
As far as I can tell employees rotate in bringing dishes and clearing. They do nothing else I can determine and there certainly no personal relationship with any one server.

You can’t win ‘em all, but in the case of Prime Tavern, convenience and speed are the key ingredients to the dining experience here. In a rush between flights in the Delta terminal, this is where you want to head for a quick glass of wine or a bite of food. There are tablets at each station — you order on them and barely have to make any human contact besides the thank you as your food is delivered a short while later.
I had a glass of wine ($ 14 rosé) and a beet salad ($ 10), which was ok. A few of the beets were poorly prepared with a few pieces of skin still on them and some of the greens had hard stems that got in the way so I avoided them. Besides that the meal was good — I enjoyed the citrus vinaigrette — it was filling enough before hopping back on the plane. The space was comfortable and well-​lit, clean and pretty fancy for airport dining. I prefer to sit at the bar for casual conversation with strangers and a little eavesdropping & people watching.

Prime has A LOT to be desired. In the Delta wing at LGA, you sit across not from your traveling partner, but a iPad. Don’t get me wrong, I like the technology, if maybe I could still get service! I’m not even sure we had a «waiter», someone came over to give coffee and then someone else to deliver food. Nothing else, no refill, all where you have to leave gratuity when you order on that iPad. Like most restaurants in the wing, almost no service, just you and iPads and a food runner, not for me. The food itself wasn’t horrible but it certainly wasn’t worth the $ 30 price tag for potatoes, Canadian bacon and a English muffin with coffee.

In my opinion, people are overly critical of Prime Tavern… you are obviously not going to expect excellent service, affordable price, and top quality food from a restaurant at an airport! Having said that, I would say the service at Prime Tavern was awful, the price was unreasonably high, but the food was surprisingly delicious.
Prime Tavern is located in Terminal D at La Guardia. Created with the help of chef Michael Lomonaco of Porter House New York, Prime Tavern serves dry-​aged steaks and lobster rolls, as well as lighter bites like sliders, salad, and sandwiches. The restaurant also features an iPad for each person at a table, with which you can browse the Internet and order food.
As far as service goes, it was essentially non-​existent. The waitress came once to our table to fill our glasses of water, and never came back. The order in which the food came out wasn’t ideal. For example, a friend ordered a sandwich and a side of Brussels sprouts, which didn’t get served until she finished her sandwich.
I got a bowl of today’s soup — butternut squash — and crab cakes. The butternut squash was savory with plenty of parsley on top. It wasn’t too thick or watery — just the right consistency! It was very pricey at $ 10 though. I really liked the crab cakes, even though the portions were TINY (two ping-​pong ball sized crab cakes) for $ 19. It was served atop some thinly sliced zucchini and creamy sauce. The crab cakes were crispy (panko crust, I believe) on the outside without being overly greasy because they are pan-​fried as opposed to deep-​fried. The cakes had plenty of lump crab meats, which I enjoyed very much.