Emirates Lounge Sydney (breakfast) Food and Nutrition Review

It was just after 5.30am as I stepped in the Emirates Lounge Sydney, and it was was busy but not crowded. Not long after I arrived there was a boarding call for an A380 flight to Dubai, and so the lounge emptied out and only I was left. But no problem, the buffet was full and the staff continued to keep it stocked and fairly fresh until people for the next flight started trickling through the doors.

With A380s flying out of Sydney this lounge is both a business and first class lounge. And while I was only there for the breakfast menu, their was a fair variety of foods.

What’s healthy?

• Smashed avocado on toast is not only a delicious breakfast but a healthy one too as avocadoes are packed with nutrients. Now while I have placed this dish in the healthy category, unfortunately on the morning I was here the execution of the dish wasn’t great. The avocado didn’t look ‘smashed’ (looked more like avocado found in the dips section of the supermarket) and it was spread thinly over the bread. Hopefully on other days it is better quality.

• A protein and vegetable plate with cheese, pickles, tomato, chicken and turkey is a welcome addition at breakfast buffets which usually are full of refined carbohydrate foods such as white breads, pastries and breakfast cereals. The turkey looks to be quite processed and so limit your intake just incase there is added salt and preservatives. Next time I visit it would be great to see more tomatoes on the plate.

• Cooked vegetables are always a welcome sight for me on any breakfast buffet. To help get 5 serves of vegetables in a day (which are the current recommendations) eating vegetables at breakfast can help make it easier to reach 5. Only ~10% of the population in Australia consume the recommended 5 serves of vegetables a day. Including a few spoonful’s of vegetables such as tomatoes, mushrooms and baked beans (yes baked beans are a legume but in the Australian guidelines are also considered a vegetable) will help you on your way to meet your 5 a day.

• A range of fruits were on offer as toppings for waffles or pancakes. It was good to see these offered instead of the standard butter, honey or maple syrup that usually accompanies waffles or pancakes.

• Wonderful to see small portions of nuts available in the morning – a good source of protein, fibre and vitamins and minerals. Just because you are in a lounge doesn’t mean you have to eat a large meal, especially so early in the morning. And so a snack of nuts can be just the thing – especially if you are flying business or first where you have a couple of meal courses on the way.

• Now these buns were a little difficult to place: the fillings are not so bad with cabbage and cornichons great sandwich fillings. However when you look at these buns there is not much filling to the bun – the bun over shadows the filling so you are getting more white bread than anything else. So if you would like to choose one of these buns to eat then try having an open roll by removing the top of the roll.

• Waffles, pancakes and French toast on their own are not very nutritious. If you choose to have these foods then ensure you add a range of nutritious foods to them such as fruits to the pancakes or waffles, or cooked vegetables to the French toast. The serving suggestion for the French toast is with rhubarb and mascarpone cheese, which are both fairly nutritious foods however it is unknown whether the rhubarb compote has much sugar added (so something to be mindful of as it might end up quite sweet).

• The tomatoes in the picture belong in the ‘what’s healthy’ section – it is the pancakes and cheese omelettes to consider with caution here. I’ve already mentioned the pancakes, so lets consider the cheese omelette. Eggs are a very nutritious food (especially for travelling) but when served as a cheese omelette just be careful of the amount of cheese added. Cheese is also nutritious but there comes a line when added cheese is good for nutrients and flavour, but too much then tips over to extra energy (calories) without much additional health benefit.

• Sausages and potato rostis – I know for many of us they can be a nice breakfast treat. These rosti were crunchy on the outside which is much better than hashbrowns/rosti I have had in other lounges which have been quite soggy. But unfortunately these foods are quite fatty and high in energy which are not great to eat before jumping on a flight (especially if it is a 14 hour flight to Dubai). If you like these then just choose one to have – not both.

• There were a selection of pastries and muffins on offer including Danish pastries and croissants. These are usually high in energy which isn’t great because most of these are sweet it can be tempting to eat these after a meal. But being high in calories it can be easy to over eat if you have them after a savoury breakfast meal. The cookies are also similar – they can be easy to overeat as snacks because they are small bite-sized pieces. If you like a small sweet treat with a tea or coffee then just choose one.

Last word from travel food and nutrition review for Emirates Lounge Sydney

Overall, the Emirates Lounge Sydney is a comfortable lounge with a decent variety of foods for breakfast – especially if you are waiting for a 6am flight. It is easy to make a healthy breakfast – either hot or cold.

Check out my reviews of Emirate first class food and Emirates business class food to go with your Emriates Lounge food experience.

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NOTE: All pictures of the Emirates Lounge Sydney Airport are my own and I review a lounge from the foods and menu I see during my visit. There may be different options available at other times.