Bobby Van’s Steakhouse

Bobby Van, where did you lose your way? As a younger man hungrier for success I imagine that you actually cared about making a good chicken sandwich, especially one that would merit the $ 23 menu price. But the ciabatta bun was cold, the lettuce and tomato slapped on, and the chicken… the chicken was tough. Drunken 6am visits to Burger King have yielded better chicken sandwiches. I would like to think that beneath all of the success, including securing a prime location in AA’s JFK terminal with its bountiful captive audience, there is a man who once cared about making a decent chicken sandwich.

Best freaking turkey burger I ever had!!! Apparently they grind it in house. Is big, fresh and moist! Hard to do with turkey!
Ambience was nice especially for an airport. Service was friendly and efficient.
Prices are what you expect in an airport and it can take a little long since they make everything to order just like you’d expect on the street. But if you’ve got the time and the dime it’s a great place to relax and dine or drink pre or post flight
The front dining room has a bar an plenty of TV’s while the back seems more formal and great for larger groups like those traveling with kids. Only saw the back because I was looking for the restroom and accidentally wandered into the kitchen area. Oops. FYI, the bathroom is outside the restaurant in the terminal

I was shoved in the back corner of the room when I arrived. The waiter took forever to come to get my order. Needless to say I was not impressed with the service. The only reason I am giving a 3 star rating is because of the food. I ordered the shrimp scampi and it was amazing. The portion was great, shrimps were huge, fresh herb seasoning. Pick up on the service then this is the place to be.

Curious color of the seared tuna. The sesame seared tuna portion was small and not the most appetizing in appearance, however, the taste was good. There was no actual sesame on the sesame tuna lol. It looked like it had been sitting out, as did the wasabi. The sauce it came with was canned chicken broth. The best part was the asparagus side. Strange outfit of the staff — looks janitorial. Not sure what they were going for with the oversized, super starched, industrial-​tan color attire on the serving staff. It is a perfect example of uniforms gone wrong. I’m looking at them as I write this and still can’t understand. I was seated right away, the server was very polite and helpful, and the wait time was average for the food. Price was too high for the quality. Not much choice in this terminal, however, so I’m not sure these reviews really make a difference. Next time I may go for a cold chicken cadaver salad at the nearby stand as it would be of the same level of culinary satisfaction.

Breakfast while waiting on a flight to Cancun — ow ow! It was actually a pretty nice set-​up for an airport restaurant. The prices were totally ridic and way inflated, however, that’s to be expected.
Service was very fast and the turnaround was speedy as well. A well-​oiled machine, I’m sure, given that they are always trying to get people fed and onto flights.
I had a breakfast burrito and it was pretty good. A little bit of heat, though I could’ve done with more. I ate ¾ of it before I was overly full.
The coffee is good, but not hot enough. Once I added the creamer, it could barely qualify as luke-​warm.
Perfect place for a quick bite.

If you like large portions and salt then this place is for you. Just awful. Ambience and the waiter were great

This is the first restaurant you see once you’ve have gone through Terminal 8 security at JFK.
What you really want is a solid spot to eat, charge your phone and maybe watch some TV — and this place gives you all that, although it is certainly not fine dining.
The menu is typical American (steaks, pizza, Tex Mex), the portion sizes are ridiculous (the chicken quesadilla appetiser that I ordered could have easily been an entrée and the service is reasonable). My friend ordered chilli nachos and he barely ate half of it before giving up.
The only downside really is that it is overpriced for the quality (but it is in the airport, so that’s to be expected). The quality is pretty standard but nothing you’d write home about. It’s good solid food for an airport.

On the start of my vacation l had time to grab a bite @ Bobby Van’s! I knew it would be a pricey bite but willing to try it out since it had been on my wish list.
Well, people let me tell you don’t bother! Waited 35 minutes for the food to arrive! Waitress came around once to ask if I waited another round. I didn’t need another glass of wine. I needed my order. I was told it would be just a little while. I never saw her after that. It was difficult trying to get the attention if any other staff member as they hurried past. Finally! Don’t laugh, my spinach salad arrived! It was good but by this time it was late & I had to gulp it down & run to my gate. As I left I mention my disappointment with the service to the hostess & that I had gladly not left a tip because it wasn’t merited. I always tip!!! I was worried that this start to my vacation was an omen! Thank God!, it wasn’t my vacation turned out great with super service. Bobby Van needs to offer their employees some type of training on how to offer good customer service or something. I don’t care what they do I know what I’m going to. I will definitely make it a point to tell all of my friends not to bother going to Bobby Van’s @ JFK!

I was greeted by the host pleasantly and seated at about 7:45 pm but then they seemed to lose interest in offering a drink or taking my order, so I left and went to the (NYSB) NYC Sports bar instead and am glad I did.

I just discovered where all the bad cuts go. They go the Bobby Van’s at JFK Airport. I mean, profit comes first. You don’t want to throw the steals away. And, what are the chances anyone who eats at the JFK location will ever be back, or will visit the Manhattan location? So, you serve steak that needs a good trimming. You serve a steak that was ¹⁄₃ inedible. You should be ashamed of calling yourself a reputable steakhouse. Go and call daddy and told him you just sullied the family reputation.
If you’re at JFK and hungry for something upscale. Move on. There’s nothing at Bobby Van’s except disappointment.

Had an amazing drinks here then left very discouraged because the bartender asked a customer to stand after he ordered a sprite. Aparently seats are reserved for those with $ 15 to spare on drinks. This doesnt happen in manhattan so why is it happening at a bar in JFK?

After a long flight from LAX-​JFK, we were starving and opted to grab a bite here.
What’s great about this place is there’s a back dining room where its much more quiet.
Service is quick; they are use to it with everyone catching flights.
We started with a couple of glasses of wine (they have a good selection by the glass).
Food:
Mozzarella & Tomato: Average
Sirloin Sliders w/​gorgonzola: Good
A good option if at the American terminal at JFK.

We were up since 5am and already stressed out and tired from an AA flight full of morons from MIA to JFK and we still had 5h lay-​over ahead of us. Time for some lunch. The menu looked ok and the few people seemed to be happy munching their meal. The server was very nice and the food came quick and plenty of it. Price and taste wise it’s a rip off = –2 Stars. Service and the fact that it’s an airport restaurant = +2 stars. I left full and happy for the next couple of hours, so I can justify the 4 stars easily.

Disappointed in all of it. You want the NY steakhouse experience but the service is lacking, very slow and didn’t ever follow up after the food was delivered. The food could’ve made up for all of that but the meatloaf was bland, mashed potatoes were reheated, and don’t even both with the creamed spinach. At least the second glass of wine was decent. On to the next, I say!

This place made me ill. I had bad spinach and spent my first 3 days in Barcelona confined to my hotel room expelling it from my body out both ends. Avoid eating here at all costs. I plan to stop in on my return flight and ask for a refund of my meal.

This would be a 1 star if it wasn’t at an airport. But it’s at an airport so there you go.
Sirloin was not remotely seasoned. It was undercooked so I sent it back. It came back cooked correctly.
Meal was expensive. Like $ 100 for one person, 1 entrée 1 drink.
Service was good at first. Then shifts changed and the waiter just went away…
I will stick to a $ 15 sandwich at jfk next time

As far as airport food goes, this is place is excellent. I’m not sure if it’s general naiveness or lack of experience, but Airport + NYC + Steakhouse = not for cheapskates.
I really look forward to going to Bobby Van’s when I’m at Terminal 8. I suggest going for the grilled entrees ($ 20-​$ 30) or steak entrees ($ 40+), because the portions are very generous, and IMO you may as well go for the extra few bucks instead of getting a burger. Filet Burger ($ 22) vs. Roasted Short Ribs w/​Mashed Potatoes ($ 24) — no brainer. I would skip the pricey apps and sandwiches, since that’s where restaurants usually get there money’s worth. Best part is the food is on point and delicious!
Bottom-​line: great quality, great service, IMO excellent value especially at JFK. If you’re going to be looking for the cheapest thing on the menu, I would go somewhere else.

Really look forward to my once a month steak here — service is great and they do a nice job but still don’t have antibiotic free grass fed beef so looks like today’s steak might be my last. I’m only eating good for the planet beef once a month, maybe less.

As good as any other Bobby Vans you would go to in the city. Big restaurant with tons of seating in the back. Very good wait staff. Food was decent and it’s priced the same as the other BV’s.
They have very good sangria. But they didn’t have my favorite… Chilen seabass.

What is it with airports and wanting to screw you over and over? You’ve already got a bunch of my money for a ticket on a dirty, smelly rocket jammed with 200 other miserable souls, why do you have to stick it to me at meal time too? Why?
OK, so my annoyance may be misdirected, I don’t actually know who set the menu prices at Bobby Van’s at JFK in Terminal 8, or any of the other terminal dining options, but it’s ludicrous. This afternoon I paid $ 19 for a crummy burger at Bobby Van’s that might as well have come from the frozen food case at Costco and been cooked up in a stolen shopping cart in the parking lot of Giant’s Stadium. Actually, that might have been better.
Oh, your servers are wearing matching polyester sport coats? Yes, of course you can charge 50% more for everything.