Food Court At the Prudential Center

I am so disappointed with the Prudential Center for shutting down the food court. Shame on you, Pru!!! The busy Food Court provided moderately priced meals for hundreds of people each day. But management must have determined that they’d make more money renting it to yet another upscale restaurant.

Grab a bunch (in the proximity of 20) of barely 20 something yo girls from all over Europe, thrown the to Boston for their first US experience, add a HUGE snow storm on a freezing winter day, place them all in the Prudential Food court and… what do you get? Probably my top 3 funniest day EVER.
That day we were able to get breakfast/​lunch/​dinner and spot Steven Tyler and Jordan Knight waking across the mall. Talk about double treat!!!
I have to agree that you are to find the BEST cookie in town. As for the food, there is a bit of everything which may prove overwhelming if you don’t have anything specific in mind. Thw staff is outrageously friendly and goes way out of their way to understand some of our thick European accents. The ONLY accent they seem to be truly unable to sort is Manchester and Nottingham, UK
The food is that of a food court so, no ALMA NOVE or top chef quality but def. above standard (UNLIKE the mall in S. Antonio, TX).
The seating area is spacious and well light. If you are stuck indoors (as we were) due to weather, there is more than enough seating available to chill for the day without being asked to give up your seat to those whk actually are eating.
You can grab a coffee or tea and look at the people walking by and… with a bit of luck, bump into Steven Tyler too… eheheh

They offer Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, sandwich, cookies, soup, ice cream and pastries. It’s your typical food court. The Panda Express has below average Chinese food. $ 13.00 for tons of fried rice, bits of walnut shrimp, and steak with asparagus and a medium soda? Never again. Visit Sanku Japan for their passable teriyaki chicken. Clean bathroom and court.

Great place to stop for a quick lunch. The Lobster roll is definitley worth the trip, however it’s the CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES that keep bringing me back. I work in the mall and 2 – 3 times a week I walk past Paradise and their cookies, and Ben & Jerry’s and their ice cream, and make my way to Boston Chowda for the cookies. Made fresh daily they taste good at any time, especially if you pop them in the microwave for 10 seconds. Another bonus is the staff is really friendly and always greets me with a smile. Love this place.

Great place for a quick lunch and get some rest after shopping. We got lobster wrap and boston chowder for sure.

It was a vibrant food court with big crowd of people. Despite large number of visitors going through here, the place still looked neat and clean. There were your typical mall food — but yet I enjoyed the short layover — resting my tired feet before walking through rest of the Boston.

Lucky me. As an Asian descendant, I felt very lucky to find a typical and delicious place to have Chinese food. My mom and I really enjoyed our dinner. We didn’t have to give tips, very limited taxes and of great value. We felt really happy! I am sure I will try next time.

This place houses some clear winners and losers.
Food: I visited the food court multiple times while out for a conference at the Marriott. Being a tourist, my first instinct was to hit up the Boston Chowda Co. (
). Talk about a mistake. I wanted a lobster roll, but everything was over $ 10 and didn’t look very appetizing. Wanting something fishy, I settled on the small $ 7 clam chowder, which not only had chunks of shell and sand in all the clam pieces (
), but also tasted like glue. The next day I hit up the Japanese place Sakkio. The food here was only vaguely Japanese and the noodles didn’t have enough moisture, but it was somewhat satisfying. For a real meal, head to Cheese Boy (
). There’s a reason why this place has a lengthy line. My tomato, basil, and mozzarella grilled cheese had a crispy exterior and oozed with cheesy goodness in the middle (
). I also got a cup of tomato soup that paired well with the sandwich (
). This was by far the most satisfying meal I had at this food court.
Atmosphere: With ample seating and good lighting, you’ll have a pretty stress-​free dining experience. For those brave enough to venture outdoors, there’s also a patio near a graded lawn at the end of the food court.
Service: Typical for a food court.
Synopsis: Definitely would go with the Cheese Boy.

This was your typical food court with one exception. They had a flower shop here as well. Every square inch was not filled with restaurants either. Hence I felt it was a bit different than I am used to. However they have all the basic chain or chainesque places in here.
Pro Tip: Cash is preferred at some places and not at others. Be prepared to pay a credit card charge for orders under $ 10 at half the places here.
The best part is the view through the skylights of the Prudential tower. It definitely gives a different perspective on things when you gaze up. A number of the seats allow that view to be had as well.
The seating area was a bit cleaner than I usually come across in a place like this. The table the munchkin and I were at wasnt sticky and the chairs had been wiped clean as well. The bathrooms here were fairly clean also. Definitely a good thing to me as well.
However most of the places here are just what you expect; coffee, fake southern, fake chinese, fake mexican, clamchowder (this is New England afterall), chicken joint, fake italian and to mix it up they had a ben n jerrys, bakery and chocolate joint. So overall its what you would expect. They have the standard slightly inflated prices and are hardly spectacular on presentation.

(score 1 – 100) — 85. Food court… 5 star? Did you bump your head… Maybe I’m writing this review at 2 am? Perhaps I have a crush on the Qdoba girl who always smiles at me… well, no. well it’s a combination of things… There is actual high quality hiding in this food court… well quality for under 10 bucks! When was the last time you had flame broiled burger made for you… go to «Flamers»… great burger, cheap and made fresh in front of you. … fan of Burritos… «Qdoba»… you know the menu and select your own ingredients… sushi… there’s «Sarku Japan»…or just pizza.“Regina Pizzeria” is a safe bet, but one of the hidden secrets is «Paradise Bakery and Café»…fresh made deli sandwich and soups… but wait … drum roll… the Best Cookies in the City

The Prudential Food Court is the booty call of Back Bay lunch options. If you’re really in a pinch, ring them up and they’ll put out, but expect to pay NYC prices for meth country quality.
Assessing the choices here; Boston Chowda is the best option, but also the most expensive — you won’t leave satisfied for less than $ 10. Regina’s Pizza is another decent choice, and is on the cheap. The rotisserie place is genuinely foul. (fowl?) I’ve given it more than one chance — if you really love dry chicken and soggy green beans, go for it. Qdoba is… Qdoba, I’ve never been keen on Qdoba, their food consistently (at any location) tastes bland and overcooked to me. Paradise bakery is thoroughly mediocre, there’s nothing there that I’ve liked enough to go back more than once or twice. I went to Panda Express once and they were giving away free samples, and the lady behind the counter was like «you already came here for a sample and you’re not getting another one» even though I had no such sample, but I guess with the sheer volume of overweight white guys who live off of Panda Express I can’t really blame her for thinking I did. Flamer’s isn’t bad but I like my lunches under 9000 calories, and again, it’s going to cost you over $ 10. The Japanese place is standard «here is a styrofoam container filled with chicken, rice and cabbage from a mall» fare. I stopped going to Cheeseboy after I literally watched them take industrial-​sized cans of Campbell’s tomato soup and pour them into a vat before slapping a «Homestyle» label on it next to a price tag that read «$ 2.69.»
I’m sorry, but the food here just isn’t that good. I’m willing to accept some degree of mediocrity for the convenience of a mall food court, but for what you pay, it’s just not worth it for the number of alternatives nearby.
If you want chicken, go to the Boston Market on Mass Ave. If you want Japanese, get a lunch box from Haru for only a few dollars more than what you get from Sarku. If you want a burrito, go to the Boloco on Boylston St. If you want a bakery sandwich, there’s a Panera down Huntington. There’s also a Wendy’s on Mass Ave if you want a fast burger. If you really want a one-​stop place from where you can get a lot of variety, just go to Shaw’s. None of these places are outside an easy walk, and I’d easily recommend them over the schlock you get at the Pru food court.

This is my local food court, lucky me,
because it is one of the best I’ve ever been to!
WHY? It’s clean, spacious, lively & offers a wide variety
of International cuisine. Broaden your pallet at the PRU mall?
— American (Cheese Boy, Boston Chowda Co., Flamers & the rotisserie place)
— Chinese (Panda Express)
— Japanese (Sakkio)
— Italian (Pizzeria Regina)
— Indian (Gourmet India)
— Mexican (Qdoba)
— Dessert (Ben & Jerry’s, Paradise Bakery and Café & Godiva Chocolate)
THE DEAL: Get your FREE PRU CARD at the info desk
to receive DISCOUNTS at MOST FOOD COURT CAFES!

Solid food court with some better-​than-​average spots like Gourmet India, Poulet and Ben & Jerry’s. One of the more convenient branches to use your Ben & Jerry’s groupons too if you’re in the area ;)

at the food court you expect to see a Burger King, McDonalds or something, but none of the sort. Its an unusual choice of restaurants. My boyfriend and I went to the burger place, Flamers, expecting it to taste great since they cook over an open flame. It was just ok. a little to exspensive for food court food but we were starving. he got a burger and i got a mushroom sub (steak sub with canned mushrooms mixed in) i was quite disappointed, canned mushrooms! and the steak was tuff and the sub roll was so flimsy it could barely hold my food. the bf said his chicken sandwich was great but was disappointed with his burger
Next time Im choosing Qdoba or Pizza Regina. You get more food for your money there.

It’s rare that I go here, but I stopped by a few weeks ago for a quick bite to eat after work. I wasn’t super impressed with the food court, but eventually I found something I liked. I did my rounds, walked by Boston Chowda, Flamers, Pizzeria Regina, and a couple of other places. I first stopped at Boston Chowda; they advertised the tomato soup and grilled cheese special. I know I can make that at home, but I started to crave it. When I asked for it, they had run out of tomato soup, all they had left was clam chowder or chili. I devised not to waste my time if I was forced to settle. My final stop was the Paradise Bakery and Café.
Price: I really don’t remember how much I paid, but the food was good so I can’t complain.
Décor: Well, being inside the food court, it was pretty standard. The girl behind the counter was cleaning some shelves, so at least they care. The rest of the food court was OK; I found a clean table right away.
Service: The service was quick and the servers were friendly.
Food/​Presentation: I got the half Turkey Cranberry sandwich with a Fire Roasted Garlic Tomato soup. The sandwich was really filling, and the bread was nice and soft. The soup hit the spot. My meal even came with a chocolate chip cookie, which just made my experience so much better. It also helps that while I was waiting in line they had chocolate chip cookie samples. Unfortunately the samples tasted better than the cookie I got with my meal.
Location: Conveniently located in the mall! It’s in a prime people-​watching location.
Recap:
Price: ⁴⁄₅
Décor: ³⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Food/​Presentation: ⁴⁄₅
Location ³⁄₅
Total: 3.6

The food court has free samples of sushi! and chicken! and cookies!

Food court like any other. There is Panda, Qdoba, Flamers, Ben and Jerrys, an Indian Place, Reginas, a japanese sushi place, sea food counter and a deli/​café.
The prices are high. Plan to spend at least 15 per person. Yep, thats the food courts prices.
The service is spotty. There are cleaners who clean the tables and they are always nice, but the service you get at the actual food places is spotty. Could be good, could be bad.
Its a good place for people watching. A nice mix of Asian tourists, moms with strollers and some bums.
I recommend flamers, good burgers. Avoid Panda, its just not good food. There is a bathroom nearby, in case you go to Panda or Qdoba.

Latest addition of Mexican (Chiptole) and Indian (Gourmet India) made me decide to add one more star.
I have to praise their diversity of cuisine here.
You may find them little over priced, but it’s Pru in Back Bay here. If they were charging less than what they charge now, they would go out of business in no time. Hence we shouldn’t complain.
However, I find that having both Japanese (Sakkio) and Chinese (Panda Express) is redundant. Because nobody go for sushi or any other items beside chicken teriyaki at Sakkio. If the stir fry is the main thing to offer from Sakkio, might as well, it needs to be integrated with Panda Express.

This foodcourt is awesome. There is something for everyone. Indian, Café sandwhich/​salads, rotisserie chicken, Chowder, Chinese, Japanese, Mexican, Pizza, Ice cream, greasy hamburger joint and plenty of indoor and outdoor seating.
I’ve tried almost all of the palces since I work in the center and theyre all pretty good. They are a little expensive for a food court but its the prudential center so of course everything is expensive.
You could sit in the center court from 8am-​8pm and have all your lunches and snacks at all of these places.

I grew up in Mall City (Long Island) so I have been to my share of food courts. I’ve learned how to avoid all of them, and even came up with maps and special floor plans so I can go to all the stores I want to and not have to smell the pizza-​chinese food-​McNugget scent coming from the general vicinity of the food courts. When I accepted a job in the Prudential Center a few years ago, the first thing I noticed was that there was a kiosk that sold Russian dolls. That made me laugh *so* much that I almost missed the fact that there was a food court for quite some time!
It’s really impressive. It’s clean, and there’s plenty of places to sit. The Shops at the Prudential boasts some upscale shopping, and it’s rare that you’ll find your typical teenyboppers hanging out at the food court because they find it ‘cool’. There’s a soup place, a Pizzeria Regina that is certainly quite good, a Ben & Jerry’s, an express Japanese place (cash only), a Qdoba, and a decent chicken place and a Chinese place. And a Paradise! With free cookie samples.
And if you’re not into the food thing, there’s a flower shop, too.
If you are like me and have done wackadoodle things to avoid food courts, give this one a try. It’s finally done right.