Plaza Premium Lounge Helsinki (non-schengen) Food and Nutrition Review (updated 2024)

Updated June 2024 – please note dates under photos for updated foods on offer

Flying on Finnair via Helsinki is my preferred route to Europe from Australia, and so I frequent Helsinki airport quite a bit. Now being Oneworld Emerald I always go to the Finnair Platinum Wing as my preferred lounge, however on one of my last trips in 2019 just before Covid I decided to take a look at the new Plaza Premium Lounge Helsinki lounge that had recently opened. I was fairly impressed back then with the foods on offer and got talking to the chef who clearly cared about the quality of the dishes.

And so for the first time since Covid travelling back through Helsinki in January 2022, I thought I would check out this lounge again since I have access through my American Express Platinum Card. And while the food offerings were slightly different due to the Omicron wave and being ordered off a QR code menu, the quality of the food was still fairly good. In June 2023 the majority of hot meals were still ordered off a QR code – both a breakfast menu and lunch menu were available when I visited at 10.30am. Visiting the lounge again in June 2024 the QR codes were still stuck on the tables but they were not working – the hot meals were available again on the buffet.

So let’s take a look…

What’s Healthy?

• There was a hot buffet in 2024 with four hot dishes available and white rice. The broccoli in the Chinese beef and broccoli dish had a lovely vibrant green colour to it suggesting the broccoli was lightly cooked. Cooking vegetables lightly like this helps to retain nutrients. Broccoli is a cruciferous vegetable which is packed with nutrients. it is recommended to have at least one serve of cruciferous vegetables each day and so have 3-4 broccoli florets from this dish will help provide you with this. Broccoli is a good source of fibre, vitamin C, vitamin K and folate.
  
• The Chicken and chickpea stew was a great addition to the buffet providing a high protein dish made with both animal and plant based protein. Chickpeas not only re a source of plant based fibre but also are a good source of fibre. However it you are prone to bloating just have a small spoonful to help minimise the chickpeas contributing to bloating on the plane.

• The Swedish Meatballs dish was pretty much a winner in the taste department. While normally I would most likely place the dish to be in the Caution section, in this lounge the meatballs were served with roasted potatoes and with the sauce on the side. This is instead of creamy mashed potatoes and a creamy sauce which usually covers the meatballs. This helps reduce the calorie content, while still providing the taste and nutrients of the potatoes which is why I decided to place it here since the dish is healthier than other versions of the dish. The downside was it had no colourful vegetables.

• The stir fry was quite tasty with chicken, capsicum (bell peppers) and onions. I loved the large pieces of capsicum and onion which helped to increase the vegetable content of the meal.

• Each year I have visited this lounge there has been a well stocked salad bar offering a range of cold salads, vegetables and fruits. When I last visited in June 2024 there was a range of salad vegetables such as chopped cucumber, cherry tomatoes, corn, lettuce and capsicum (peppers) available to make a nice fresh salad. There was also cous cous and cold pasta available to bulk up the salads. I love there was a dish of olives available – olives are a rich source of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants. There wasn’t too much difference between the salads available in 2023 to 2024 – simple salad ingredients to make a garden salad, and to boost a pasta salad with more vegetables. Simple yet nutritious.

Not so great (caution).

• Not all meals ordered through the QR code came with colourful vegetables e.g. the meatball dish in 2022. This was meatballs and roast potatoes and while it was healthier version than the traditional one served with mashed potatoes and generous serving of cream sauce, it is important to still include colourful vegetables with your meals. So don’t forget to add a side salad.
  
• Now while I said earlier it was good there were side salad options available in appropriate portion sizes, I did want to mention that it would have been good to have more varieties of salads based on colourful vegetables rather than grains (such as the quinoa and pasta salad). A couple of the main meals on the QR code that I ordered came with grains/starchy vegetables and so it is not necessary to also then have a side salad based on these foods as you are then doubling up on carbohydrates. It would have been better to have had a number of salads available at the buffet based on vegetables to complement the main meals on order through the QR code.
  
• There were not many breads to choose from with only foccacia bread and bread rolls available. The bread rolls did have some seeds in them but did seem to be still quite white and light. There weren’t many wholegrain or dense bread options available.

Last word from travel food and nutrition review for Plaza Premium Lounge Helsinki (non schengen)

I would go to the Plaza Premium Lounge Helsinki for more than just the view! While the lounge has a great view of the tarmac where you can the comings and goings of the planes, I think the food is also a reason to visit the lounge. While the food isn’t fancy, I found it to be a solid offering. There were basics on the buffet, and the main meals sampled were tasty and of good quality.

I look forward to visiting the Plaza Premium Lounge Helsinki now that travel is slowly getting back to normal, to see whether the food offerings have returned to what was on offer pre covid.

For more information on my visits to airport lounges, don’t forget to follow me on Instagram and Tik Tok. And I always love hearing from you so if you want personalised advice or consultancy services please reach out.

NOTE: All pictures 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.