Heading over to the B gates in Terminal 2 (the Queen’s Terminal) at Heathrow for my ANA flight to Tokyo saw me have a choice between three Star Alliance lounges – United, Air Canada and Singapore Airlines. Staff at check-in directed me to the Singapore Airlines lounge however when I arrived there was a sign on the door stating it was closed as the kitchen was broken. And so this is how I ended up exploring the Air Canada Lounge London Heathrow (Maple Leaf Lounge). And what I saw was not what I expected in regards to food… for an international lounge there wasn’t much on offer. It reminded me of a domestic lounge to be honest. Compared to the United lounge a few minutes away, the Air Canada Lounge wasn’t offering much in the way of food. While I was in the lounge in the last hour of it being open there didn’t seem to be space on the buffet for too many other dishes to be placed (just in case they were winding down the food service). And with the Singapore Airlines lounge out of action they had the potential to have more passengers right up until closing time.
What’s nutritious?
There was a small salad bar which included a bowl of tabbouleh, sliced tomato, olives and a ‘green salad’ which seemed to have green leaves and radicchio. Vegetables in an airport lounge are always a welcome sight and it is great they were available. But to me for a lounge in a large airport it seemed to me to be quite…plain. Olives are quiet nutritious being a rich source of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. I also quite liked the tabbouleh salad being offered as it provided a source of bulgur which is considered a wholegrain and source of fibre. It would have been nice to see more parsley in the mix though as it is quite nutritious – barely any in the dish.
There was one little dark bread roll available in the basket and while it looked a little sad sitting there by itself it was good to see it was an option. Darker bread rolls and sliced wholemeal bread are generally higher fibre breads and can be more nutritious than white breads. Fibre is important for supporting good gut health which is essential for travel wellbeing. While travelling white bread is common option to be served on planes, in lounges and in hotels and so getting recommended fibre amounts in each day can be tricky.
Seems that fruit was a poplar snack when I visited the lounge with a single green apple left in the fruit bowl.
Not so great. Caution.
There were two hot dishes available: Thai green curry and a tomato penne pasta. To be honest I had no idea what the curry dish was until I read the sign. It was a milky solution with shredded pieces of chicken through it – looked almost like tuna. It had no other ingredients such as vegetables and the sauce was so pale. It tasted so mild – barely any flavour. Now I am not a fan of spicy food (I can’t handle the heat) so I am the first to like it when dishes are not too spicy, but this dish not only lacked spice but also flavour. There was a very mild coconut flavour but basically it tasted like nothing. The shredded chicken texture was just weird. I feel many people who enjoy a Thai green curry may not have enjoyed this one too much. The tomato penne pasta also lacked any real flavour, and it was also mostly just pasta and sauce. It was described as tomato and basil penne pasta but the basil wasn’t enough to add much flavour. This dish just lacked everything. There was also a pea and mint soup sign on the buffet.
Sweet foods certainly had a presence on the buffet with two cakes, muffins, cookies and marshmallows available.
There were bowls of savoury snacks – pretzels and corn chips when I visited. These are fairly processed snacks and it would be great to have more nutritious snacks available. Even having some wholegrain crackers to go with the cheese slices on the buffet would have been a great start – in fact there are so many nutritious and delicious snacks that could have been offered.
Final word on Air Canada Lounge London Heathrow food
There isn’t much to say about the food in the Air Canada Lounge London Heathrow (Maple Leaf Lounge London) other than I found it really plain and uninspiring. The food choices were lackluster and while there were some basic nutritious foods including two small salads, tomatoes, olives, sliced cheese and dark bread this didn’t extend to snacks or hot meals.
NOTE: All pictures of the Air Canada Lounge London Heathrow food are my own and I review a lounge from just the foods I see during my visit. There may be different options available at other times.
If you are flying out of T3 London Heathrow you could see reviews of the Oneworld lounges here (Qantas, Cathay Pacific, American Airlines and British Airways) or T5 British Airways here.
