To begin my long journey from London to Australia I headed to the United Airlines Lounge London Heathrow. I was flying ANA (All Nippon Airways) which was leaving from T2 London Heathrow and so I was able to choose between the three Star Alliance lounges in the terminal (the United Club, the Singapore Airline Kris Flyer lounge and the Air Canada Maple Leaf lounge). Now I didn’t really have high hopes for the United Airlines Lounge London food as American based airlines are not usually know for their food quality however I must admit I was quite surprised at what I found. The United Club was large and spacious with a lovely view, and it had a buffet offering a fairly decent variety of food. In fact I went out to visit the Air Canada Maple Leaf Lounge and basically turned around and came straight back to the United Club (the Singapore Airlines Lounge was closed due to an issue with their kitchen).
What’s nutritious?
The salads were a stand out for me in the United Airlines Lounge London – I actually couldn’t believe there were four vegetable based salads on offer and a fruit salad. The beetroot salad was one of the most delicious salads in an airline lounge I have had, made from beetroot, carrot, onion, fennel and horseradish. The Bavarian pasta salad was quite balanced, again I was surprised, as it had quite a lot of vegetables in it boosting the nutrition. There was also only a light honey mustard dressing on the pasta salad – it wasn’t drowning in dressing as pasta salads sometimes are. Now the Quinoa and edamame bean salad had some nutrition flair to it being a good source of plant protein.
You know you are in an American lounge when the apples have cling wrap around them. There was both whole fruit pieces (apples and oranges) and a fruit salad available.
There were a range of condiments available to enhance the flavour of the meals. What stood out for me here were the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds available. These are great for boosting the nutrition of both hot and cold dishes you choose from the buffet. Sprinkle on the salads for extra protein and fibre, not to mention flavour. It was great to see these available on the all day dining buffet as opposed to a breakfast buffet as it can be common for them to be available for sprinkling on cereals but less common for a dinner.
Along with the cold salads on the buffet there were also two colourful vegetable dishes on the hot buffet. The chantenay carrots were delicious with a hint of rosemary and another flavour I couldn’t quite place (might have been cinnamon?). The cabbage, leak and pea dish packs a fibre punch, however these foods do contain prebiotic fibres which are known to cause IBS symptoms in susceptible people – so perhaps a good dish to avoid, or just have a small spoonful, if you are prone to bloating and gastro symptoms (not something you want before a long flight).
Chipotle bean chilli was available on the hot buffet – a fabulous source of soluble fibre. However be mindful how much you have before a long flight if you are prone to bloating after having legumes.
There were a small range of sandwiches and wraps available; roasted vegetable wrap, vegan cheese mayonnaise and scallion bagel, and a coronation chicken sandwich. Now sandwiches and wraps can be really nutritious or not so much – not all are the same. The varieties offered in the United Club London while I visited were based on wholemeal breads (exception the wraps which were coloured which I guess were vegetable based wraps but I cannot comment on how much vegetable is actually in the wrap). While the coronation chicken didn’t have much filling it was at least on wholemeal bread. There were chunks of chicken in the filling but my finger sandwich only had a tiny piece of lettuce. It was also good to see wholemeal bagels used. Wholemeal bread uses the wholegrain and generally is considered more nutritious than white bread. There were also plain bread rolls in a basket including wholemeal rolls.
Not so great. Caution.
There was rice, mashed potato and noodles with a beef bourguignon, chicken schnitzel (Chicken Milanese) and a mushroom sauce, and carrots and cabbage. The mushroom sauce went nicely with the schnitzel, and the mashed potato and carrots went well with the beef. However I found the rice and noodle dishes a little out of place. Also I didn’t like how the dishes didn’t really fit on the hot plate – the sauce always seemed to be balancing precariously on the edge and also not fully on the hot plate (making me question whether it was at the right temperature from a food safety perspective).
The chicken schnitzel was surprisingly good – it was not too dry and the crumb was crunchy. I liked that the schnitzels were cut up – encouraging small portions (even thought I am sure they weren’t doing that from a health perspective lol). The beef bourguignon had small bits of beef, carrots and small onions, and was quite peppery. The sauce was a bit oily for my liking. The noodles had no flavour which was unfortunate as there wasn’t really anything to else to put with them on the buffet to provide more taste. But was fantastic to see some red capsicums (peppers) in the noodles. The mashed potato was okay – very smooth.
If you felt like something sweet then there were quite a few options including cakes, tarts, scones and slices. This was sitting with the main buffet – right next to the hot food. With this variety of sweet foods be careful you don’t fall into the trap of wanting to try most of them. Cakes and slices like these can be quiet sweet with lots of sugar which isn’t great for travel wellbeing before a long-haul flight. If you feel like something sweet then choose one to try and only have one if you think it looks nice. Sometimes sweet foods like these in lounges can be quite processed and don’t actually taste that nice. Before choosing have a good look and see whether the cake or cookie actually looks nice (or does it look say dry etc) – this can help you eat more mindfully.
Final word on United Airlines Lounge London Heathrow food
The United Airlines Lounge London is a comfortable lounge with a pretty decent food offering. Even with the Singapore Airlines lounge and Air Canada Lounge shut in the evening the United Club Lounge did not get too overly crowded (being the only Star Alliance lounge left open). And even as the lounge got busier the dishes on the buffet were mostly full – I went up a few times to see whether there were any dishes left empty but they seemed to be fairly well stocked at most times. The were nutritious dishes available in the lounge which made eating a balanced not only possible but also welcome as many of these dishes were flavoursome. It was also great to see there was not a reliance on packaged snacks in the lounge – I did not see crisps (chips), cookies or lollies. It was also great to see hydration being encouraged with water flavoured with slices of fruit placed around the lounge.
NOTE: All pictures of the United Airlines Lounge London food (also know as the United Club) 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.
