One of the fantastic developments we’ve seen with Priority Pass lately is that they’re introducing more and more restaurants as part of their collection. While Priority Pass historically gets you access to airport lounges, lately they’ve added some restaurants and bars, primarily at airports where they can’t otherwise get agreements for passengers to access lounges (after all, at many airports airlines are unwilling to open up their lounges to Priority Pass members).
This is a trend that has been quite popular in Australia, as since last year Priority Pass now has partner restaurants at both Brisbane Airport and Sydney Airport. I had the chance to check these out earlier in the year, and love the concept.
One of the Priority Pass restaurants at Sydney Airport
Up until now Melbourne Airport has largely been left out, as it doesn’t have any traditional Priority Pass lounges. The good news is that Melbourne Airport now has two Priority Pass restaurants and bars. At both of these locations, Priority Pass will cover a bill of up to 36AUD per person per visit. So if you have a Priority Pass membership with guesting privileges, you could bring three people and rack up a bill of 108AUD.
The following two establishments are now part of Priority Pass:
- Bar Pulpo by MoVido is open daily from 5:30AM until 12AM, and is located in Terminal 2, just past security near gate 4. Priority Pass describes it as “serving traditional Spanish tapas plates and a selection of local and imported wines and beers.”
- Urban Provodore is open daily from 6AM until 12AM, and is located in Terminal 2, opposite gates 10 and 15. Priority Pass describes it as “exploring creative gourmet Australian flavors,” and “focusing on cooking healthy meals from locally sourced fresh produce.”
Bar Pulpo at Melbourne Airport, which is now part of Priority Pass
Both of these places are in the same terminal, so Priority Pass members could visit both locations if they wanted to, since Priority Pass doesn’t limit how many lounges you visit in a day (assuming you have a membership that allows unlimited visits).
In the US we’ve also had our fair share of Priority Pass dining establishments added to the network, as there are now restaurants and bars in Portland, Denver, Miami, St. Louis, and Lexington.
Capers Market at Portland Airport, which is part of Priority Pass
For those based in the US, the following are some of the best cards that come with Priority Pass privileges:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
The Platinum Card® from American Express
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Does anyone plan on checking out the new Priority Pass restaurants in Melbourne?
The following links will direct you to the rates and fees for mentioned American Express Cards. These include: The Business Platinum® Card from American Express (Rates & Fees), and The Platinum Card® from American Express (Rates & Fees).
The staff at Bar Pulpo were really rude when I tried to use my priority pass. I felt so uncomfortable that I went to the other restaurant instead. It was much better!
My partner and I are flying MEL-BKK-VIE in five days - will try Movida Bar Pulpo before we sample the Air NZ lounge.
I am guessing Adelaide and Perth will be next. - Yay! Why pay for Qantas Club when you have PP and Alaska Airlines?
I'm beginning to feel PPP (Priority Pass Pimping) has now become an important source of Lukcy's income...
Well I can confirm that Priority Pass works at Bar Pulpo. Had an excellent jamon baguette and some patatas bravas. Definitely better than the Qantas or Cathay lounge food. It was fairly busy and noisy though, and most people were enjoying a beer, so the lounges are a better option to get some peace and quiet.
Current situation at Melbourne Airport is that Marhaba Lounge is still not accepting Priority Pass card. Access to Marhaba is available for AUD65, pay on entry. So the two restaurants are the only Priority Pass options at present. Amex Lounge is due to open in early 2018.
Ah, fanstadtic! Just in time for my Air Canada flight next week. (MEL is my home airport).
@Rezzadogs Ironically, T4 has the best food court out of all the terminals.
@Lucky, your cover photo is of the MoVida in SYD T2.
Bless you! I am literally about to leave for Melbourne airport, and it is lunchtime. I shall try one of these places.
Melbourne does have a lounge with Priority Pass access, although it only opened in September: the Marhaba lounge. The restaurants look better though, they'd certainly have better food. Movida is one of Melbourne's better restaurants so Bar Pulpo is definitely worth a try.
Give a finger and assholes will take an arm. This won't be sustainable only because people will try to rack up the maximum bills and then throw away all the food that they can't possibly eat. Typical first world looters.
I wonder how sustainable this expansion is.
Quick correction - Rex (Regional Express) do have a lounge in T4
Terminal 2 in Melbourne is the International Terminal, so these are both behind the immigration line. Flying domestically, there is only the Qantas Club / Business Lounge / Chairman's Lounge in T1, and the Virgin Australia lounge in T3.
Can't say I've ever stepped foot in T4, but as the low cost airline terminal, I suspect it is a desolate wasteland
Sorry, looks like the answer is in the table above.
If I recall correctly, the terms for PP holders through Amex Platinum were recently improved to allow two guests to enter a PP lounge free with the cardholder. So does that also apply to these offers? In other words, do two guests also get the allowance if you get your PP through an Amex Platinum card?
Perfect! Just in time for my Australia and New Zealand trip.