I recently had an exchange on twitter that I think is pretty accurate. Airport food is mostly pretty bad but so is airport lounge food. For the most part, you aren’t going to get good food in a lounge you can access with just a credit card, but there are a couple of exceptions.
- The only credit card accessible ‘lounge’ with food better than what you’ll find in the terminal is the Capital One Landing at Washington’s National airport.
And I’ve much enjoyed the Ess-a-bagels with smoked salmon, with whitefish salad, and with pastrami at the New York JFK Capital One lounge (not to mention the excellent cheese counter).
- You do get oneworld sapphire status, which gets you into American Airlines Flagship (business class) lounges even when flying coach domestically, when you get the Qatar Airways U.S. cobrand card. But Flagship lounge food probably isn’t better than you can do in an airport restaurant.
Capital One lounge food is better than Chase lounge food which is better than American Express lounge food. But that doesn’t mean lounge food is something special overall.
Counterpoint: most airport food is pretty bad. And the Qatar Airways Cardless card gets you into American Flagship lounges (not great) and Capital One Venture X -> DCA Landing.
— gary leff (@garyleff) January 26, 2026
Just because there is food in the lounge doesn’t make it anything you’d be excited to eat anywhere else, whether it’s from an airline club or a bank-branded offering. “You can live on it, but it’s tastes like…”
American Express Centurion Lounge Denver
American Express Centurion Lounge Seattle
American Airlines Admirals Club New York JFK
You can just pick a sit down restaurant that has space with a power outlet, plug in and pay for food. They even bring the food to you at the table – which is better service than in most lounges!
Years ago I’d have said that a meal at a United Polaris lounge could be legit restaurant-quality, like the smoked duck eggs benedict and the potato latkes in Newark.
And the best meal I’ve ever eaten in an airport was tomahawk steak at the Air Canada Signature Suite in Vancouver. My visit to the Signature Suite in Toronto last year, however, was disappointing. (Fortunately they’re expanding into the Plaza Premium lounge space next door and doubling the size which should help a lot.)
I’d say that the Qantas first class lounge food at LAX used to be quite good but it’s declined quite a bit. Notably, Air France also has sit down dining in a dedicated La Premiere section of its LAX lounge.
The British Airways-American Airlines first class Chelsea lounge at New York JFK is a beautiful, windowless space that was actually a big step down in food offerings compared to the old Flagship First Dining there, although the rotating champagnes are good.
There’s little doubt that the best airport dining in the United States is American’s Dallas – Fort Worth Flagship First Dining. The food is better than in Miami, although that didn’t used to be the case. And it blows away Delta One lounges because it simply doesn’t get crowded the way they do.
None of these, though, are accessible simply with a credit card. Although $1 million spend on an American Airlines co-brand likely earns you ConciergeKey status, which gets you Chelsea lounge access flying long haul. And credit card spend can earn you AAdvantage Platinum Pro status which then allows you to redeem for Flagship First Dining on any itinerary.
The point, I think, remains that most lounges do not offer food that is better than what you can procure at a restaurant in the terminal though of course most lounges won’t charge you for the food. The only U.S. credit card-accessible lounge where I actually look forward to eating is Capital One’s Landing at National airport, and that’s why I’m excited for the second Landing location at New York LaGuardia. Flyers passing by report that things are looking close to opening.
Broadly speaking this is why I value Capital One Venture X, even though American Express and even Chase have more lounges. I like the Landing concept, Capital One does it well, and I visit National airport more than any outside of my Austin home base. It covers a lot of meals, and it’s not just food for food’s sake but something to look forward to.
There must a great SUB for a credit card that gives bonuses on airport dining launching soon.
Crap1 is unfortunately not useful on the West Coast. But when your kids get older you will appreciate that the bank will issue debit cards to younger teens and they have great tools for monitoring their accounts.
I strongly disagree. There is a healthier mix, and smaller plates. Thus, making for a more pleasant flying experience, even if the ‘taste’ doesn’t meet the sugar and sodium content you are used to.
Let’s be very frank here- you mixed in a lot of premium cabin lounge dining options as “better than”… no one is carving a tomahawk steak in a “The Club” .(although I would stand in line for that!) The majority of the time, I can’t even get into a lounge with my Priority Pass because it’s full. I had to waitlist as 1 person at Capital One at DFW . The majority of the time domestically, I end up eating regular airport food. Internationally? Rarely have to wait for a lounge. It’s a US domestic issue. Here’s the domestic hack no one ever considers or talks about: bring in your food from outside the airport and buy a drink past security. I did it with Panda Express outside the ATL airport and it worked brilliantly. Grab a Starbucks protein pack and bring it with you. Pack some leftovers from the house. Bring a Publix sub and people would throw hands for it. The value in my C1X are the points, the travel portal, and fixing the windshield of a rental Audi- that covered repair paid for 10 years of the card. Not the lounge access at an American airport.
I don’t understand the fascination of eating bad lounge food in airports.
Coming back to Planet Earth and not having to promote credit cards as you do, Delta Sky Clubs do a great job. I grant you that Delta’s ATL clubs can be crammed, but there are outliers: My favorite is ORD – there’s Vienna Beef cart at the back bar where the bartender will make an authentic Chicago Dog for free.
So for us mere mortals who primarily fly Economy Class within the US and don’t have access to Flagship Dining, the Concorde Room, etc., etc., let me first state the obvious: Centurion Lounge food used to be surprisingly good…until it wasn’t; the same is true for The Club Lounge at SFO.
That said, I’ve been quite content with the offerings in Alaska Lounges, especially @ SFO, but I’m generally there for a morning flight and the espresso is good, the scrambled eggs fine (not rubbery), and so on…If I’m there in the late afternoon or evening, it’s usually for a beer or a glass of wine, a their offering are better than most. It was a sad day when AS closed their lounge @ JFK.
@LAXJeff —> While it’s true that life is too short to eat bad food (or drink bad wine), 1) most people are not that discerning, and 2) saying “but it’s FREE!” is irresistible to many and it’s a lot like saying “but it goes up to 11!”
Most Admirals Clubs — yeah, the food isn’t that good. Same is true with Hawaiian’s lounges @ HNL. I don’t know if it’s because JAL and AA “share” a lounge (though they have separate entrances and food offerings, they share a common seating area), but both are highly disappointing — especially compared to JAL’s lounges in Japan.
The key is most people are just cheap. If it is “free” they will eat it which is so sad. Just pay for what you want, don’t settle for something just because it is free. If you can afford to travel you can afford to spring for $50 at an airport restaurant.
There was a time when lounges were comfortable and the food was ok and terminals were run were all terrible . . . but that time has long since passed. The vast majority of lounges all over the world are catered by the same people that cater planes, and often with the identical airplane food as the stuff they put on carts and wheel down the aisle. Not unless I’m starving.
For me the only airport lounge I wouldn’t mind having to eat in is the Qatar lounge in Doha, which really is a special space, and a real luxury experience with real a la carte restaurant food – the only lounge in the world I would fly a bit out of my way for. I enjoy the food at the CX Pier (and this is also a pleasant place, and the tea service is nice and the view of the tarmac excellent) and the crowded ANA/JL lounges in Tokyo, but these really aren’t remotely as good as the very excellent food otherwise available in those excellent airports (where anybody can eat BBQ roast goose and char siu in HK, and better sushi than available anywhere in the USA in Tokyo).
But this isn’t even the most surprising thing about lounges. The more surprising truth that people ignore so that they can justify paying a massive annual fee is that the vast majority of lounges not only don’t have better food than the terminals, but also no longer have more comfortable seating than the terminals except during off-peak hours (during which many lounges close!). As lounges have gotten much more crowded, airport terminals have been humanized and are no longer as unpleasant as they once were, and sometimes are remarkably pleasant (i.e., Singapore, in contrast to the windowless and crowded Silver Kris lounge with its inferior food served out of chafing dishes, yuck). At this point, unless I have a very long layover and want to grab a shower – which again are often unavailable within any reasonable timeframe) I often no longer even bother with them and I’ll instead look for the best place to planespot.
You’re usually better off eating before you get to the airport. Or after leaving it.