Transiting through London Heathrow saw me back in the British Airways Galleries First Lounge T5 (south) for the first time since the start of covid and I was really looking forward to exploring what foods were now on offer. Walking into the lounge I was immediately greeted with the familiar sight of packets of crisps on the bar – I knew I was back in a British Airways lounge!
During my visit you could order food from an a la carte menu using a QR code or The Market Table buffets which had a selection of cold and hot dishes. There were three dishes on the lounge menu available from the QR code – see below.
What’s healthy?
- Ok first things first – whole pieces of fresh fruit always get a big tick in my book. Good to see these bowls in a fairly prominent position in the lounge. (Find out which European lounge also features fresh fruits prominently.)
- A wonderful selection of colourful salad on offer on the buffet. There were both individual salad ingredients where you could make your own salad and also salads already made up. The varieties of salads were: Rainbow salad, Wheatberry and cranberry, Moroccan cous cous, and Ranch slaw. There was also a range of ingredients such as lettuce, tomatoes, pickled red onions, beetroot, dressed dill cucumber etc.
- Now the snacks (below) on the bar were a little tricky to place as I could not see the nutrition composition/ingredients. But it was good to see snacks that weren’t just refined carbohydrates like rice crackers. On offer were olives, roasted corn and a mix with roasted corn, legumes and nuts. Olive are a good source of monounsaturated fats (healthy fats), while corn and legumes contain a range of nutrients. But what needs to be considered is the amount of salt and fat added to them (one of the reasons they taste so good) as this makes them less healthy. So if you choose to have some, just have a small handful as they can be very easy to over eat.
Not so great. Caution.
- A few foods stand out here to be cautious about before embarking on a flight where you may be eating again quite soon – the mashed potato, cous cous, rice and creamy pasta are all refined carbohydrates with the potential to raise blood sugar levels. If you choose to have these foods then have no more than 1/4 of your plate.
- The turkey and ham pies have 306 calories each (~1200kilojoules) – this is similar to the number of calories in a McDonalds Cheeseburger. The pies are quite small, and not very nutrient dense, and it can be easy to over eat them (such as having them as a snack and then eating other foods in the lounge). If you choose them then be mindful of how many you eat.
- Ingredients for nachos were available including beef chilli, sour cream, jalapenos, salsa and corn chips. Nachos are traditionally high in kilojoules due to the cheese, sour cream and corn chips. However it was great all ingredients were served separately as you could make a healthier nachos by only serving yourself a small amount of corn chips and sour cream, and add extra vegetables from the salad bar such as tomatoes and lettuce.
- Not a good snacks fridge at all – soft drinks, crisps and pre-packaged muffins are considered discretionary foods (or junk foods as you may know them by). They are usually high in energy (calories), and nutrient poor (meaning they don’t contain many nutrients and so you aren’t getting any benefit for that large amount of energy). There was another fridge that had bowls of fruit instead of bowls of crisps so this was great to see.
- Oooh look at these slices of cake! Usually small slices are portioned out in lounges, but these are large wedge shaped slices. There were also pastries (croissants, pain aux raisins and pain au chocolate). Larger slices = more calories! Cut a thinner slice if you would like to have one.
- Aren’t sandwiches healthy I hear you ask? In many instances yes they are but it depends how they are made, and what ingredients are used. These finger sandwiches have very little filling in them so they are mainly bread (white or wholemeal). The flavours available were: smoked salmon and cream cheese, ham and mustard, egg mayonnaise, and plant-based cream cheese and cucumber. These varieties are lacking salad vegetables. Also with these sandwiches cut into fingers it can be easy to lose track of how many you eat. Remember approx. 4 fingers equals a full sandwich.
Last word from travel food and nutrition review for British Airways Galleries First Lounge T5 Heathrow
There was a decent variety of foods available in the British Airways Galleries First lounge, with most foods available at The Market Table buffet, and 3 dishes available through a QR code. However if I hadn’t known this was a first class lounge I probably would have mistaken it for a business class lounge. The presentation of the food and choices of dishes didn’t give off the feeling of first class dining. But with the variety of foods on offer I could make a fairly healthy and balanced meal which was great.
If you are travelling out of T3 LHR, you might be interested in my review of the British Airways First Lounge in T3 London Heathrow.
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NOTE: All pictures of British Airways Galleries First Lounge T5 Heathrow are my own and I review a lounge from just the foods and menu I see during my visit. There may be different options available at other times.
British Airways Galleries First Lounge T3 London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast)
The British Airways Galleries First Lounge T3 at London Heathrow offers a standard breakfast buffet with options like scrambled eggs on sourdough and American pancakes, and a healthier selection including fresh and chopped fruits alongside Greek yogurt. Despite its location, the lounge presents a somewhat predictable and uninspired menu, lacking the creativity expected from a flagship facility.
