I have to agree with most of the reviews here — in the words of Flula from Pitch Perfect 2, this place was a «heated mess. You know, a mess where heat is applied to it so what once was a little messy is now even messier.» My family and I were on our way back to Honolulu from our weekend trip to Vegas. We frequent Vegas a few times a year so we’ve always noticed this CPK in the Las Vegas McCarran Airport but didn’t actually patronize it until that weekend. We’re actually more of a Chili’s family which was right around the corner, about 5 or so gates down. But upon our check-in with the Chili’s hostess, were told it would be at least a 20-minute wait. So CPK here we came. LOCATION: conveniently located at the top of the escalators in Terminal 3 across from Ruby’s Diner and Pandora. SERVICE: extremely lacking. Although we were seated almost immediately, it took a half an our for our waitress to bring us our drinks and I never received the sweetener I asked for to use in my iced tea. I eventually gave up and got some from a different table. Our waitress never noticed nor did she address the fact that she had forgotten. Now, keep in mind, the restaurant was not very busy when we first got seated. Business did pick up, but not soon enough to constitute such slow service. It took over an hour to get our food — so long that we almost got it to-go because we were about to have to start boarding. Our waitress kept apologizing and giving the excuse that they were busy. And? Don’t most restaurants yearn for that? And in a high-traffic airport. FOOD: a little dfiferent from your stand-alone CPKs. The menu has far less items and, in my case, different food items altogether. At typical CPKs, I order the creamy alfredo, add chicken and broccolini. Nowhere on the menu. I did find, however, garlic cream chicken penne which was actually very tasty. The rest of my table enjoyed their food as well, you know, once we finally got it. In my opinion, the taste of the food is what gave this review an extra star. PRICE:eh, what you’d expect from a CPK in an airport. Bottom line, if you’re not in a hurry and want something you’re used to, by all means, stop here. Unilocal Challenge #21/100
David M.
Place rating: 4 Pittsford, NY
This location is inside the Las Vegas McCarran International Airport. As airport service and food goes I am usually skeptical… bad service and overprices seem to be the rule… NOT so at this location. I was immediately seated and Michelle, the waitress, was very attentive. I received prompt and courteous service with a smile, which she had for her other patrons, too. My order arrived prompt and hot. My coffee was always warmed up nicely. Thank you for good service during my trip. I will return to this location next time I have a wait time in Las Vegas.
A D.
Place rating: 4 Seattle, WA
I’m celiac, so eating anywhere is a challenge, especially a place known for gluten! I took a chance for breakfast and the waiter was super friendly and the manager came out to discuss my options to make sure I didn’t get sick! I also got and extra serving of fruit on the house! Can only speak for my one meal, but the Denver omelet was yummy too ;)
Michele M.
Place rating: 1 Henderson, NV
This is not the same quality as any other CPK I have been to. When I walked up to the hostess stand, two men were standing there talking and completely ignored me. A woman came up a couple minutes later and asked if she could help me. Well, why else would I be standing there? Even though it was breakfast, I ordered a pizza because the breakfast menu options weren’t that great. I ordered what I usually get from CPK, the Hawaiian BBQ Chicken Pizza. When it came out, first thing I noticed was the size. It’s a little smaller than it usually is. Sure, it wasn’t a big deal and to be honest, it was probably a good thing since I couldn’t take leftovers with me, but I thought it was odd. I also noticed that it looked like the toppings were added after it was cooked. It’s hard to explain but it looked«off.» My waitress wasn’t super friendly and I had to ask her for refills. Thats a pet peeve of mine. I also had to ask for my check. I think the restaurants in airports need to be on top of things because people are on a tight schedule! I fly a lot and love that you can watch the planes from the restaurant but sadly I will not return. Note: If you have a rewards membership with CPK, you can’t use it here.
Erica E.
Place rating: 4 Cheyenne, WY
I came for pasta but it wasn’t 11 am yet. However, the breakfast was delicious. It is rare that I find restaurants that cook my over medium eggs just right without them being over cooked or still runny but they were perfect. My only complaint is they are so busy it took forever to get a refill and the check.
Matthew Y.
Place rating: 1 College Park, MD
Had one of the worst dining experiences I have had in years at this restaurant. Took over 20 minutes for the waiter to come to my table, and 30 minutes more for them to bring me a soup, which had inedible bits of fiber in it. I brought this to the attention of the manager who was all excuses, and took no responsibility. Stay away!
Jason K.
Place rating: 2 Troy, MI
This place sucks. 4 items on the breakfast menu, Denver omelette was OK(potatoes and toast were bad) but the service is miserable.
Boris H.
Place rating: 4 Seattle, WA
I was there at 12:30 and it was pretty busy. So the waiting time was for an airport place rather long but the food was yummy. I had the ravioli with bolognese sauce. Good choice for lunch.
Adam G.
Place rating: 1 Grand Rapids, MI
What a hot mess this place was. I wish I had read the Unilocal reviews before I went. We were in a hurry at the airport and grabbed what was close. My Bloody Mary is tomato juice and hot spices with a dried up piece of celery for garnish. No alcohol. My friends mojito same, he kept saying it tasted like soda water. The pizza I had was kinda dry and had some unidentifiable toppings on it. I realize the airport versions of restaurants are not the same, but. man this was gross.
Tiffany C.
Place rating: 3 Arcadia, CA
I ordered a BBQ chicken pizza and a strawberry mojito. The mojito was good and the service was good. I normally love CPK, so I was very excited to see one while I was stuck at the airport. Unfortunately the pizza was not like the kind in the regular CPK restaurants. Since its in an airport, you don’t see anybody making pizza out front. Their pizza had no crust and was not crispy at all. very different from what you normally get in the actually retail chains. I have a feeling that it was the Frozen CPKBBQ chicken pizza that they just warmed up and overcharged us for. I would consider trying their pastas, which might be a little more consistent.
Spencer A.
Place rating: 1 Coral Gables, FL
Yuck. Expensive nonsense and slooooow service. The food was worse than a microwave or hospital cafeteria. Almost inedible. Beer was cold but expensive. SKIP this place at all cost.
Dave C.
Place rating: 1 Denver, CO
$ 13+ for a tiny salad or a tiny lukewarm pizza, your choice! If you need a place to sit at the airport while you wait for your flight, make sure to linger for a while so you *might* feel like you got your money’s worth. What a ripoff…
Chris T.
Place rating: 1 Orange, CA
I really like CPK ordinarily. This is not CPK. Food is bad. Service is bad. Bartender even said he didn’t know how to change the TV station. This is Crappy Poop Kitchen.
Arshi K.
Place rating: 2 Hoboken, NJ
Stopped by for an early lunch at this airport location in Terminal 3 and noticed that many of their signature dishes were missing from the menu. I used to be a California Pizza Kitchen regular when I lived in Texas & am pretty familiar with the menu. Many of the regular CPK dishes like the pesto pizza weren’t on this one as I learn’t it’s a franchise location and finally I settled for the Veggie Pizza which looked oddly familiar. When the pizza arrived it was much smaller in size(which I didn’t mind), however it didn’t look or taste like any of the signature CPK pizzas. I’m pretty sure this one came straight out of a box from the frozen section. The crust was tasteless and underdone and over all the texture and taste left much to be desired. The veggies were wilted and clearly not fresh. Could barely finish it. The service was rushed as they were understaffed and not equipped to deal with the convention crowds. There was one server working the patio section and he was running around doing his best. Stop by for drinks if you need a place to chill and charge your devices — wouldn’t recommend a meal.
Dave O.
Place rating: 3 New Smyrna Beach, FL
My very first visit to CPK and its in an airport imagine that, I’ve tried the frozen version on several occasions from the grocery store so I was anxious to see if the fresh version was better. I don’t know if the comparison is exactly fair since this breakfast pizza was served up with a very nice Bloody Mary so the review maybe a little skewed. It was nice that this location was within a reasonable walk from my departure gate so I could enjoy the AM cocktail up to the very last minute and thanks to a great server at the bar I didn’t have to wait on anything including my second breakfast drink. The restaurant was clean no clutter and plenty of good help. The food and drinks were delivered fast so if your thinking you don’t have time just let your server know once you arrive and they seem to be expediting the ordered for those in a hurry. Over-all a pretty positive experience, certainly good enough to visit them again if the situation presents itself. Only negative is don’t waste you’re time ordering the potatoes wedges I tried one and it was meh at best.
Vikéndios N.
Place rating: 4 Maui County, HI
I was thrilled to see one of my favorite chains in LAS. ATMOSPHERE: Nice full service location in terminal 3. It wasn’t too busy at the time we were there for lunch. The dining area is pretty spacious and roomy enough to accommodate your luggage though the tables are on the smallish side. FOOD: California Cobb — Got it with their house ranch dressing which is really smooth and not too tangy. Also opted for beets along with the usual egg, bacon, avocado, tomatoes, and chicken. SERVICE: Our female server was friendly and professional. OVERALL: Clean, good service, and on par with taste continuity.
Lois S.
Place rating: 2 Kaneohe, HI
Went for a quick breakfast before my flight home. Food took quite a while and the waitress was not very attentive. Did not come back to check on us, did not see if we needed anything else and did not even say thank you. She brought our food and brought our check. The food was actually pretty good but because it took so long, I had to pack it to go. I think for an airport eatery, service should be a little more efficient as people are looking for a quick bite before their flight. I actually loved the breakfast pizza and potatoes(later), but unfortunately could not recommend the service. :(
Tania S.
Place rating: 5 Salt Lake City, UT
My phone was dying, I had a five hour delay in Las Vegas back to SLC. I had to choose between a miserable wait near the gate or what the universe summoned as an adventure around the airport to CPK, of all things. I took the latter. Airport food is terrible and overpriced no matter what angle you take, but as the stray for a couple hours, I just needed to have a few drinks and eat something decent. The dumpy rating didn’t turn me away. I figured«no surprises» at a California Pizza Kitchen. I know what to expect, I’ve been plenty of times before. What was a near empty restaurant with mostly baby boomers rounded up by the bar, turned into something far better than what I was anticipating. Felipe, my server was a cool dude! Cracking jokes, taking my order, asking where I was headed; it seemed as though everyone around me was having a nice time despite also facing long delays to their desired destination. This is the kind of server I wish was at every half-decent establishment in SLC. The service made up for the overpriced, yet very small [and classic] BBQ Chicken Pizza. I walked in and was informed whiskey was half-price. I mean, would you resist when having five more hours to go? Could I have changed my ticket to Fireball Land instead of Salt Lake Land? Jokes aside, I had a pleasant experience and the food was well-above decent! I even got my phone charged while everything was happenin’. Thanks Felipe for the food and drinks and reppin’ CPK as every server ought to.
Leilani B.
Place rating: 4 Cliffside Park, NJ
What a pleasant surprise to see CPK at the airport and serving breakfast. I had an early morning flight back to the east coastand time for breakfast so stopped in for an omelette. The omelette and potatoes were delicious. Totally hit the spot to get me through the long flight. The waitress was really nice as well. The downside … totally unexpected. They have these newish Salt & Pepper shaker that is a combined salt shaker/pepper grinder. My coworker totally drowned her egges with salt by accident. So be careful with those especially if you are on a low sodium diet! I can’t speak for lunch or dinner service. We had great service but it was early and not too busy. Our server got us our checks early so we could head out when we were finished and she kept my water glass full. I’d go here again for breakfast in a heartbeat.
Miranda L.
Place rating: 3 Bellaire, TX
I used to dine at CPK a lot many years ago due to my love for pizza and pasta. However, with my healthier diet, I’ve stayed away from this chain for quite some time. Since I had arrived at the McCarran International Airport early and was hungry for some food, I decided to have lunch at CPK. Usually this place is packed but being Sunday, the weekend right before Thanksgiving, it was pretty empty, which was great for me. I was seated immediately, but it took some time for the waitress to come take my drink/lunch order. The menu is definitely smaller compared to their non-airport locations. I ordered the cranberry spring mix salad with chicken, and it was pretty good especially when I compare it to the other restaurant options that were available to me(cold, prepackaged sandwiches and salads). In terms of service, I was disappointed that it took so long to get my drink order(just a glass of water) and prepare a cold salad when the restaurant was pretty empty. Luckily, I wasn’t in a rush… However, I must say that service at their non-airport locations are way better so don’t let this location deter you from going to the others.