As a travel dietitian specialising in travel nutrition I have always had people telling me to fly Qatar to try the food as it is a really great experience. And while it is a Oneworld member for some reason I just hadn’t had a chance to fly them – until now. I flew them from Australia to Germany in April 2025 and I have to say the food certainly was well on the way to living up to the hype. I enjoyed the experience immensely – from a food quality, food experience and nutrition perspective. The service from cabin crew was outstanding and the variety of food on offer was impressive.
Qatar Business Class Food Review Melbourne to Doha menu
The flight from Melbourne to Doha was a late evening flight, departing at 10.45pm and while it was late in the evening the food offering was not diminished or cheapened which is what can happen on other airline when flying late in the evening. Qatar business class food in the Qsuite experience that I had offered dine on demand for their entire menu and so I could design my food experience however I wanted. This meant I could eat what I wanted, when I wanted – music to this travel dietitian’s ears! And so while the menu was still organised in sections such as All Day Dining, Lights Meals and Breakfast you could decide when you wanted your meals.
Main Meal Service
Drinks were served prior to take off and orders were taken for dining then as well. Pre-dining drinks were served at 11.20pm (from a departure time of 22:45) with a bowl of mixed nuts served prior to the ‘main meal’ service (if you had decided you wanted a meal service after take off). I had opted to have a meal after takeoff as I wanted to experience a variety of the Qatar business class food. Before the meals came out an amuse bouche was served which I think was a tuna (it wasn’t explained when it was given to me). This was absolutely delicious and had a strong sesame flavour. A bread basket of 3 (really) warm rolls was served (soft white, rye and seven grains) when the table was laid and butter and a range of extra virgin olive oils was offered, including flavoured oils such as chilli. There was too much bread for me to eat them all and so I just tried a small amount of the seven grains and the rye. The seven grains was lovely with a chewy texture and crunchy grains on top. The rye had a lovely chewy texture too.
I had the mezze plate for a starter and it came with three dips. These dips were some of the most flavoursome dips I have tasted. Absolutely delicious (there is that word again – I am going to have to restrain myself from writing that word too much)! The flavours were hummus, baba ghanoush and muhammara. They were served with 2 small pita breads. For the main meal I chose the Chicken with cashew nut sauce and I was surprised when this came out as I was expecting more of a stir fry with small pieces of chicken, rice and sauce, but it was actually a piece of chicken breast. I actually liked how it was served. The chicken was moist and the sauce had a mild coconut flavour along with a strong satay flavour. I did not have dessert as I was just too full and it was getting late and I wanted some sleep.
Nutrition comment
The inclusion of a seven grains bread roll and a rye roll in the bread basket was a source of gut-friendly fibre – something I welcome on a flight. Wholegrain breads tend to be more nutritious too as they include the whole grain in the bread. However be mindful with how much bread you eat, especially on late night flights such as this one. The bread bowl was served when the table was set, so right at the start with the amuse bouche. This can make it tempting to eat while waiting on the meals (and potentially overeat). It was also fantastic to have extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) offered along with butter. EVOO is a good source of monounsaturated fats and antioxidants – great for boosting nutrition while travelling. The ratio of chicken and jasmine rice in the chicken and cashew nut sauce dish was good – it was great to see a decent piece of chicken, rather than a few small pieces of chopped chicken and mostly sauce. I would have loved more vegetables though as the piece of broccolini seemed like an after thought. This balance of protein (chicken) and carbohydrate (white rice) was important for such a late night flight. large portions of refined carbohydrates are not recommended to be eaten late in the night due to chrononutrition principles and so this makes portions sizes served on flight important considerations. While the dine on demand feature does make this less of an issue, for people wanting to eat after takeoff, the portions of this dish are important for travel wellbeing.
Second meal service
I had requested a breakfast meal and chosen the dishes just after takeoff, including indicating the time I would like the meal served. I had chosen fruit salad, cold cuts and the smoked salmon with scrambled eggs. Each dish I requested came out separately and the cabin crew set the table just like they had for the meal service after takeoff. I was quite surprised at this as breakfast before landing (when I asked for it to be served) is usually treated so casually – almost like an after thought. However on this Qatar flight it was treated the same as the other meals (which I suppose it could have been the main meal service for some people who had opted to go straight to sleep when they first were on board).
The fruit salad was served to start and I was nicely surprised to see half a passionfruit on the plate – a lovely touch to the usual melon and orange slices/chunks that you usually get in a bowl. The cold cuts dish was innovative – it wasn’t just slices of salami and a cheese on a plate. Along with the beef bresaola there was also herb chicken breast, egg, pickles, and tomato (I am not sure what the little green fruit is). The smoked salmon and scrambled egg muffin was one of the best I have had while flying. The English muffin was not soggy and the scrambled eggs tasted great. There was a small amount of hollandaise spread on top of the muffin and I had forgotten to ask if it could come without if (as I don’t like hollandaise). There was a sprinkle of pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds on top and it was also served with some wilted spinach and parsley.
Nutrition comments
Passionfruits have a decent amount of fibre and the good thing is while high in fibre they are also tend not to bloat people (low in FODMAPs) when having 1-2 passionfruit. For people who like cold cuts for breakfast, this dish was pretty impressive from a nutrition perspective. Instead of consisting mainly of fatty slices of meats or ultra-processed deli meats this dish had beef bresaola which is usually lean. The generous slice of smoked salmon and portion of scrambled egg provided a high protein meal which at the end of a 14 hour flight was welcome.
Light meals and snacks
I thought I would try one of the ‘light meals’ during the flight and to be honest it was a little hard to choose because they all sounded delicious and were all so different. Anyway I went with the steak sandwich as I was curious. And I have to say this was a misstep by Qatar – unfortunately it was awful and I couldn’t eat it. The steak sandwich was so so dry. It said it was supposed to come with caramelised onions but there were none to be seen (perhaps this would have added a little moisture). But it was just a dried out steak and cheese (the cheese was melted though). The cabin crew offered ketchup, mayonnaise and/or mustard to have with the wedges – even if I had put these sauces on the steak sandwich they wouldn’t have rescued how dry it was.
There was a mention of snacks on the menu which highlighted a range of crisps, chocolates, popcorn and biscuits are available for indulging.
Final words on Qatar Business Class food
I enjoyed the Qatar business class food and dining experience on this 14 hour flight. It felt like Qatar cared about the food quality and experience of passengers. The variety of food on the menu and the ability to dine on demand for any of it was the standard out for me. This dine on demand feature is important for assisting with travel wellbeing and travel nutrition. The emphasis on the food experience is to be commended. Even though this was a late night flight leaving Australia I never felt Qatar was trying to cut corners or save money by offering a reduced dining experience under the guise of ‘late night flying’. Yes some people do not want to eat (or only eat lightly) when they get onboard and just want to sleep which is understandable but just because people want to do this should not mean they sacrifice the business class dining experience. The ability to personalise your dining experience was absolutely brilliant and extends past other ‘dine on demand’ services on other airlines I have experienced which only come into play once the main meal dining service (after take off) has been served.
NOTE: All pictures of Qatar Business Class food are my own and I review the food from the menu I was given and the food I ordered on my flight. There may be different options available at other times.
I visited the Qantas First Class Lounge before the flight (due to my Oneworld status) however I was directed at check-in to the Marhaba Lounge (I suspect because the flight departed after Qantas lounge closed). Updated reviews for these lounges are forthcoming.
