Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

As part of a recent trip to Houston, I had a bit of time to kill in the Houston airport (IAH). There are actually a few different Priority Pass IAH options, but I decided to go for the Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar, which is in Terminal A. There is also Landry’s Seafood in Terminal C, a Minute Suites in Terminal C and the Air France and KLM Crown lounges in Terminal D.

How to get Priority Pass Select access

Priority Pass Select membership is a perk that comes with many of the premium and ultra-premium credit cards. Here is a brief sample of some of the credit cards that come with Priority Pass Select membership:

  • The Platinum Card® from American Express
  • Hilton Aspire
  • U.S. Bank Altitude™ Reserve Visa Infinite® Card
  • Marriott Bonvoy Brilliant
  • Citi Prestige® Card
  • Hilton Business card (10 visits per year)
  • Hilton Honors American Express Surpass® Card (10 visits per year)
  • Chase Sapphire Reserve
  • Capital One Venture X

However it is important to note that if you have a Priority Pass membership from an American Express card, you won’t be able to use it at restaurants, including the Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar in Houston IAH airport. Starting January 1, 2023, that will also be true for people with a Priority Pass membership from the Capital One Venture X card.

See top credit card offers here.

Priority Pass membership is a credit card perk that has definitely seen a lot less usage with the lack of travel. It will be interesting to see how Priority Pass (and its parent company Collinson Group) handle those changes. It would not surprise me to see credit cards change if/how Priority Pass is included as a benefit, or to see Priority Pass make changes as well. It would also not surprise me if Collinson Group went bankrupt / out of business. 🙂

IAH Priority Pass – Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar location

The Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar is located in Terminal A, near Gate A17

a restaurant with a bar and people sitting at tables

If you are entering the secure zone in Terminal A, it’s right past security. We had arrived from Terminal C and it was a bit of a walk (and skytrain) over to Terminal A but we felt like Mexican food rather than the seafood at the Terminal C Priority Pass restaurant. All of the terminals are connected airside, so there’s no need to leave the secure zone, even if you’re switching terminals.

a group of people in a large airport

 

Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar (Houston Airport Priority Pass) menu

The menu is posted out front of the restaurant, as is typical with airport restaurants.

a menu in a frame

They do also have a to-go area where I assume you could use your Priority Pass benefit to pick up to-go items if you wanted

a beverage kiosk with drinks on display

At least when I was there, you just picked a seat yourself and there was plenty of seating to choose from. After a little bit, someone came over and told us that you order through the QR codes that are at the table. I had seen that there on the table but apparently it is mandatory here, at least when I was there (it was about 9 a.m.)

a close up of a card

When we went back Saturday evening, there was a server that actually took your order, so perhaps our experience Thursday morning was just due to low staffing because of how early it was.

Houston Airport Priority Pass / Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar food

As a reminder, with Priority Pass you get a $28 credit towards anything on the menu. Since I was there early in the morning, they were only serving breakfast. Pretty much everything on the menu came with eggs and/or sausage, which was not super exciting for my vegetarian wife. I ordered the Tacos Gatos, which came with cheese and sausage inside a tortilla, along with a side of hash browns.

a plate of food with a small bowl of sauce

Carolyn decided to get the Tacos Rancheros but we put a special request in the app as “no eggs, and sausage on the side”. The server was a bit confused when she came out – she asked “Is this what you wanted”? I think she was confused because it was literally just two empty tortillas 🙂

a plate of food with a bowl of meat and a bowl of sauce

Carolyn added the cheese, avocado, hash browns and salsa into the tortilla and proclaimed it tasty.

a plate of food on a table

On our return trip, the lunch / dinner menu was in effect and I felt like a burger, so I had their “Mexican burger”, which was tasty. The burger was very good but the fries were mediocre.

a burger and fries on a plate

Carolyn had the beef burrito with no beef, which she said was good.

a plate of food on a table

Should You Tip at the Houston Airport Priority Pass restaurant?

Generally I believe it is appropriate to tip at Priority Pass restaurants like the Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar at IAH, but in this case it did feel a little annoying. I ordered my food on the app, the server literally came out one time with the food and then never came out to check on us at all (until the very end). It felt more like a takeout restaurant – so what exactly am I tipping for? In the end, I did tip mostly because I figured the servers worked on tips and got a lower than minimum wage. But I was mildly annoyed by it 🙂

On our return trip, the server was very attentive and so I had no problem tipping him.

IAH Priority Pass – Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar

The Cadillac Mexican Kitchen & Tequila Bar is the Houston Priority Pass IAH restaurant and is a decent alternative if you’ve got some time (and hunger) to kill in the IAH airport. It serves mostly Mexican food that was tasty. Just be prepared to order everything yourself.


This site is part of an affiliate sales network and receives compensation for sending traffic to partner sites, such as thepointsguy.com. This may impact how and where links appear on this site. Responses are not provided or commissioned by the bank advertiser. Some or all of the card offers that appear on the website are from advertisers and that compensation may impact on how and where card products appear on the site. Any opinions expressed in this post are my own, and have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by my advertising partners and I do not include all card companies, or all available card offers. Terms apply to American Express benefits and offers and other offers and benefits listed on this page. Enrollment may be required for select American Express benefits and offers. Visit americanexpress.com to learn more. Other links on this page may also pay me a commission - as always, thanks for your support if you use them

User Generated Content Disclosure: Points With a Crew encourages constructive discussions, comments, and questions. Responses are not provided by or commissioned by any bank advertisers. These responses have not been reviewed, approved, or endorsed by the bank advertiser. It is not the responsibility of the bank advertiser to respond to comments.

BoardingArea