Priority Pass is the world’s largest network of independent airport lounges, with over 1,200 locations around the world. The number of Priority Pass members has increased greatly the past couple of years, as now there are quite a few credit cards with lounge access.
Priority Pass has gotten creative when it comes to the “lounges” they’ve added to their network. For terminals in which they struggle to reach a deal with a traditional lounge, Priority Pass has in some cases come to agreements with restaurants.
The idea is that Priority Pass typically pays a lounge a fixed amount for each guest who enters, so instead Priority Pass pays restaurants a fixed amount, in exchange for giving their members a dollar credit that they can spend towards food and drinks.
At this point Priority Pass has about two dozen restaurant locations at US airports, including the following:
- House Spirits Distillery Portland Airport
- Capers Cafe Le Bar Portland Airport
- Capers Market Portland Airport
- Timberline Steaks & Grille Denver Airport
- Corona Beach House Miami Airport
- Viena Miami Airport
- Air Margaritaville Miami Airport
- The Pasta House St. Louis Airport
- Kentucky Ale Taproom Lexington Airport
- Bobby Van’s Steakhouse New York JFK Airport
- Bar Symon at Cleveland Airport
- Johnny Rockets at Syracuse Airport
- Bracket Room at Washington Reagan Airport
- The Fan Zone Indianapolis Airport
- RJ Rockers Flight Room Greenville-Spartanburg Airport
- Jerry Remy’s Sports Bar & Grill Boston Airport
- Stephanie’s Boston Airport
- San Francisco Giant’s Clubhouse San Francisco Airport
- Yankee Pier San Francisco Airport
- American Tap Room at Washington Reagan Airport
- Landry’s Seafood at Houston Airport
- Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar Houston Airport
- P.F. Chang’s Los Angeles Airport
- Chef Geoff’s Washington Dulles Airport
- The Cafe by Mise en Place Tampa Airport
Corona Beach House Priority Pass basics
Miami Airport has three Priority Pass restaurants, one of which was added last year, and two of which were added this year. Two of these are landside (before security), while one of them is airside (after security).
Over the past several weeks I’ve reviewed the two landside Priority Pass restaurants:
- My review of Viena Restaurant (I was really impressed by this restaurant, though it’s only open for lunch and dinner)
- My review of Air Margaritaville (this is a good option for breakfast, and for that matter the two landside restaurants are near one another, so you could visit both if you wanted to)
Today I had the chance to check out the third Priority Pass restaurant at Miami Airport. I visited Corona Beach House, the one airside Priority Pass restaurant. There are two things that make Corona Beach House different as far as Priority Pass restaurants go:
- Members receive $30 of credit per person, rather than the usual $28 of credit
- The restaurant automatically includes an 18% gratuity when paying with Priority Pass, so there’s no need to tip; this is different than other Priority Pass restaurants, where I think it’s appropriate to tip
Priority Pass members can bring as many guests as their particular membership type allows (for most credit cards this includes two guests). This restaurant requires not just that you have a same day boarding pass, but it also needs to be an outbound boarding pass, so you can’t use this restaurant upon arrival if paying with Priority Pass.
Corona Beach House is open daily from 6:30AM until 10PM, so it’s useful whether you want to grab breakfast, lunch, or dinner.
As a reminder, here are some of the popular credit cards that come with a Priority Pass™ membership:
Capital One Venture X Rewards Credit Card
Chase Sapphire Reserve®
American Express Platinum Card®
The Business Platinum Card® from American Express
Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant® American Express® Card
Corona Beach House MIA review
Corona Beach House is located airside (after security). The restaurant is located between gates D23 and D24. This is the same concourse that American uses for a vast majority of their flights (and it’s also connected airside to the E Concourse).
If you use the TSA PreCheck or premium security line, Corona Beach House is literally right there. Like, below is the view from the security checkpoint.
If you are originating your travel in Miami and plan to use this restaurant, make sure you leave plenty of time, because Miami security lines are bad (even the Pre-Check lines).
Corona Beach House MIA exterior
When we arrived at the host stand we saw a sign explaining all the restrictions associated with using Priority Pass here. In addition to what I explained above, most notably they limit you to one visit every 24 hours, and to-go and take-out orders aren’t eligible for this benefit.
Corona Beach House MIA Priority Pass rules
This restaurant does things differently than the other Priority Pass restaurants I’ve been to. Here they actually scan your Priority Pass card before you sit down. So the host scanned it, and also verified my outbound boarding pass. In the other Priority Pass restaurants I’ve been to they’ve scanned it at the end of the meal.
We were then seated and presented with the menus. The restaurant has a bar area with high-top seating and then an area with more traditional dining tables.
Corona Beach House Miami
The menu read as follows:
The drink list read as follows (am I missing something, or are there no prices for everything except the wine?):
Our server quickly came by to take our orders — Ford and I both had Diet Cokes to drink.
Corona Beach House Miami — Diet Coke
I ordered the shrimp tacos, while Ford had the chicken tacos. They were both brought out within about 10 minutes.
My shrimp tacos were described as being “lightly spiced crispy shrimp, shredded cabbage, and fresh pineapple salsa in a soft flour tortilla.”
Corona Beach House Miami — shrimp tacos
Ford’s chicken tacos were described as being “char-grilled chicken breast in a soft flour tortilla with crisp lettuce, tossed house made salsa fresca-ranch, finished with pice de gallo, jack, and cheddar cheese.”
Corona Beach House Miami — chicken tacos
The tacos were… fine. They weren’t bad, they were just sort of bland, and I didn’t taste any of the pineapple salsa that was supposedly in my dish. Would I be thrilled with these in a non-airport restaurant? No. Were they perfectly fine for a Priority Pass airport restaurant and probably better than what I’d be fed onboard an American Airlines flight? Yes.
Our server was friendly, and checked on us a couple of times.
At the conclusion of the meal I asked for the check, and he told us we were under our allowance, and thanked us for dining with them. It’s really cool that gratuity is included, so you can eat here without paying anything guilt-free.
He even asked if we wanted some bottled water to go, given that we were under our allowance.
Corona Beach House Miami Airport bottom line
All things considered, Corona Beach House Miami Airport is an excellent option. The food allowance is slightly higher than other Priority Pass restaurants, and they even include an 18% service charge, so for those who would otherwise tip, those are some savings.
This also has the convenience of being the only airside Priority Pass restaurant at the airport. If I were connecting at Miami Airport and didn’t otherwise have to clear security, I’d absolutely just visit this restaurant.
The food is decent, service friendly, and location convenient.
If I were originating in Miami I’d probably prefer Viena Restaurant for lunch or dinner, since their menu is a bit better, they have great views, and the restaurant is less crowded.
But Corona Beach House was better than I was expecting based on the name.
If you’ve visited Corona Beach House, what was your experience like? What’s your favorite Miami Priority Pass restaurant?
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 American Express Platinum Card® (Rates & Fees).
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