Updated June 2023 – please note dates under photos for updated foods on offer
The old Finnair Premium Lounge at Helsinki was always one of my favourite airline lounges – I always thought it was very comfortable with great staff and delicious healthy food choices. So when I was at Helsinki- Vantaa early 2019 and saw it was being renovated – I knew I had to be back as soon as it reopened to see what the new Finnair Platinum Wing was like!
And I must admit – I like what I saw!
Not only were the food choices outstanding – delicious food with Finnish flavours, but they were nutritious with many options that fit well in a healthy diet.
And I was also very impressed to see the kitchen behind the buffet – so you can see the chefs and cooks preparing the food! I really loved this as it really highlighted the importance Finnair places on good quality, fresh food. So while I liked getting a peak into the kitchen – what did I think of the food in the Finnair Platinum Wing?
What’s Healthy?
- The cheese and fruit board area is beautifully presented – I love all the colour! A range of cheeses – both hard and soft cheeses are available, along with whole and sliced fruits, fig jam and crackers.
- Pickled vegetables make a delicious addition to both a snack or a meal. Fermented vegetables may confer additional health benefits through the healthy bacteria they may contain. (A quick note though – not all fermented vegetables contain these beneficial bacteria if they have been heat treated to improve storage conditions on supermarket shelves). While there has been some suggestion that pickled vegetables may be associated with development of certain cancers, mixing some pickled vegetables with fresh or cooked vegetables can be a way to enjoy them.
- The salmon and steak dishes had an abundance of flavour, but without heavy, rich sauces. Both dishes melted in your mouth! These meats were in perfect portion sizes and great to see you can have nice meats without them swimming in calorie-dense sauces. This was still the same for the hot dishes in 2023 with
- Ah my favourite rye bread – I nearly just fly Finnair for the thin slices of rye bred available. This bread is flavoursome, dense and the slices are quite thin. This is beneficial for health as not only will you be having less calories, but your blood sugar levels will not rise as high after eating it. Lower blood sugar levels helps reduce the risk of diabetes etc.
- I could easily put together a balanced plate – half a plate of vegetables, a quarter plate of carbohydrates and a quarter plate of protein. I know I always go on about the ‘healthy plate model’ for putting together meals – but it really is an easy guide to putting together a healthy meal when you are travelling and you don’t know much about what is in a dish.
- While there are cakes and slices available – they are in bite sized pieces which can help with portion control. Enjoy 1-2 small pieces!
- Small sides were plated up in perfect portion sizes. There were seeds available to boost the fibre, protein and taste of the green salads on offer!
Not so great- caution!
- It would be great to see more vegetables available as snacks in the cheese board bar area. There are vegetables available in the main buffet area, and these are pickled/fermented so many people may not eat these as snacks.
- The crackers in the cheese area seem to be white, low fibre crackers – it would be good to have higher fibre and grainier options also available. The dense finish rye bread is available in the lounge though and so this could be used as a nice choice instead of crackers.
- While the desserts were in bite sized pieces, you can still eat too much if you aren’t being mindful. These cakes, slices and sweet biscuits (while small portions) can still be high in sugar and calories.
- The burgers on the a la carte menu may be high in energy and a heavier style meal so be mindful of not eating too much from the buffet and also doubling up on a burger in the dining section.
Final thoughts on Finnair Platinum Wing Lounge
I am very impressed with the food in the Finnair Platinum Wing – I find them a standout from both a quality and nutrition perspective. I really like the fact you can get quite plain, yet flavoursome foods, and then add your own dressings/extras how you like. This helps enormously when you are trying to eat well when travelling. And the fact the foods are delicious, I find it less tempting to then seek out ‘more unhealthy’ options.
Because this lounge is in the non-schengen area, the chances are you will be getting on a long-haul flight somewhere (well maybe the exception being UK). That means you will most likely be served a main meal quite soon after being in the lounge – so if you are in business class you probably don’t need to eat a large amount before getting on the plane (as a lovely Finnair meal is coming your way), but if you are in economy you might want to consider the lounge to be your main meal. The options they serve, and the portions they serve them in allow you to easily serve yourself small amounts of food, and makes it less easy to overeat.
And don’t forget if you would like me to do a specific airline lounge nutrition review then just let me know!
NOTE: All pictures of the Finnair Platinum Wing 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.