American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast)

American Airlines First Lounge London
Nutrition Rating: 7.5/10

American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast)

As a Oneworld frequent flyer I am always spoilt for choices when flying out of T3 London Heathrow as there are quite a number of Oneworld lounges close to each other. And while I had been in the Qantas, Cathay Pacific and British Airways lounges over the years I realised I have never visited the American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow. So time to remedy that – I made a beeline for the American Airlines First Lounge when I flew out of T3 in April. It was breakfast time and it was good to see both a buffet and A la carte dining offered. The London lounge is listed on their website as one of their premium lounges – so lets take a look at how that stacks up.

American Airlines First Lounge London menu

There were a number of American Airlines First Lounge London menus – both on the buffet and also in the sit down dining area.

American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Hot buffet in AA First Lounge
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Cold buffet selection
American Airlines First Lounge London a la carte menu
A la Carte menu

What’s Healthy?

  • When looking at the A la Carte menu the Smashed avocado immediately caught my eye. Avocadoes are full of mono-unsaturated fats and fibre – both really important when travelling. However I was a little disappointed as the avocado seemed to be a prepackaged avocado from the texture and colour, rather than a fresh avocado smashed. The taste just wasn’t there for me and then I also didn’t know what else was in it. (If it was processed then how processed?) The tomato salsa was delicious – so fresh and added a great dash of antioxidants and vitamin C to my breakfast. The poached egg was cooked perfectly. Overall a delicious dish packing a nutrition punch – and also a great portion size. Nice and light before a flight.
Smashed Avocado American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow
Smashed avocado from the A la carte menu
  • Can’t go past the ever so predictable cooked tomatoes and mushrooms. If you like a hot breakfast always add these to your plate – try having half your plate vegetables. Both these are fabulous foods. As an aside, did you know mushrooms can be a source of vitamin D if they have had some special sunlight treatment? More of these types of mushrooms are making appearances on the supermarket shelves. Also cooked tomatoes are thought to have higher amounts of the carotenoid lycopene – so always good to have a mix of cooked and raw tomato in your diet. There were also small bowls of baked beans available.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Cooked tomatoes and mushrooms
  • Love there are a range of fresh, whole fruits available. Here you can choose what you feel like!
  • Small slices of cheese can be good to have available in the morning. If you don’t feel like a heavier hot dish, but cereal isn’t your thing either, having some cheese and high fibre bread can be a good high protein/high fibre snack.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Cheese slices
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Fresh fruit

American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
  • I love that there were chia pots available too – chia is a source of soluble fibre which is important for a happy and healthy gut. They are also low FODMAPs meaning they don’t tend to have the potential to cause IBS symptoms which is a great way to get some fibre in while travelling but without tending to contribute to bloating while flying.

Not so great. Caution.

  • Predictable I know to see sausages and bacon in the caution section. These processed meats are common place in many breakfast buffets however it is important to remember it is recommended that we limit these in our diets due to the association processed meats have on negative aspects of health. If you fly regularly out of Heathrow and use this lounge then try and limit how often you choose these.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Bacon and sausages
  • Scrambled eggs you are always a tricky dish to place in terms of if they are healthy or something to be cautious of. Sometimes they are in the Healthier category (as eggs are such a nutritious food) but on this occasion I have decided to place them in the Caution section. This is because when I tried them I found them to be really thick and creamy, almost to the point that the texture was like a paste. So there is the potential they had some additional ingredients to make them quite creamy which may have added more calories to the dish. So just be cautious here – scrambled eggs are nutritious but be mindful of some varieties which can be quite high in calories and fat.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Scrambled Eggs

  • Careful when choosing from the cereal selection as it could end up being quite a high carbohydrate and sugary breakfast. One of the cereals seems to be a higher bran flake variety which is good, however it would have been good to see more higher fibre and wholefood varieties.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Cereals and dried fruits
  • There were a range of pastries available which aren’t a great choice before boarding a long haul flight as they are not very nutrient dense i.e. they don’t have a great nutritional value to them but usually contain a fair bit of energy. So essentially they aren’t really giving you much benefit. And because it can be hard to keep routine with your foods while travelling it’s important to try and choose foods that are really nutritious.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Pastries and range of jams
  • I must admit the jars of sweets do look pretty. This is the sight that greats you as you walk into the lounge (and last thing you see as you walk out of the lounge). While I am not against sweet treats such as these (I am known to love a cheeky chocolate myself) what is important to consider when travelling is just how easy it is to grab a handful of these and end up eating them on the go (e.g. walking to the gate). When eating on the go it can be harder to be mindful about what you eat and we can end up doubling up on sweets on the plane etc.
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
Sweet treats welcome you as you walk in the lounge
American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast) - American Airlines First Lounge London
More sweet treats in the lounge

Final word on the American Airlines First Lounge London Heathrow

A fairly decent breakfast offering in the American Airlines First Lounge London – but would I say first class? I don’t think so. It certainly was an okay lounge, and I really liked there were seven A la carte breakfast dishes available, but the buffet didn’t seem that inspiring. If I didn’t know I was in a first class lounge then I don’t think I would have guessed I was from the foods on offer from the buffet. It was great to see there were some nutritious choices available in the lounge. I will have to go back and check out the All Day Dining buffet options to see how those offerings stand up. But for breakfast – a solid offering.

NOTE: All pictures of the American Airlines First Lounge London are my own and I review the food from the foods available at the time I visited the lounge. There may be different options available at other times.

Grilled tomato and potato wedges

Related Review: American Airlines Flagship Lounge Dallas-Fort Worth Food and Nutrition Review (breakfast)

The American Airlines Flagship Lounge in Dallas-Fort Worth provides a diverse breakfast buffet featuring nutritious options like smoked salmon, cheese plates with dried fruits, fruit platters, and chia pots. Special highlights include a sushi selection, shakshuka with poached eggs, and a burrito bowl station, offering balanced meals with fresh ingredients. Some less healthy options are also available, including processed meats and sugary pastries.

Airport Reviews

Airline Lounge Nutrition Review Rating:
7.5/10
Name:
American Airlines International First Class Lounge
Airline:
American Airlines
Airline Alliance:
Oneworld
Location:
T3 London Heathrow, United Kingdom
Class:
First, Oneworld Emerald
Time of Visit/Date:
8.30am, 16 April 2024
Lounge Food Serving Style (Self-serve / Al la Carte):
A la carte and buffet
Style/Theme of Food:
Western
Allergy and Intolerance information available:

Intolerance sign on the buffet: Please inform a member of the team if you have any dietary requirements. Allergens are present in our kitchens and we cannot guarantee any menu items to be allergen free.

Also there were allergen symbols on the small food signs on the buffet, along with V and Ve symbols on the larger buffet menus and a la carte dining menu.

The a la carte menu also had a message: Food Allergies and Intolerances: Please speak with a  member  of staff about your requirements. Allergens are present in our kitchen so we cannot guarantee dishes are 100% allergen free.

Is there a limit to the amount of food you can have?:
No

Related Airport Reviews

Share this Review