What’s the food like in the Qantas First Lounge vs Qantas Business Lounge – this is a common question frequent flyers have when trying to find the sweet spot in frequent flyer status to aim for. Since my article on the domestic Qantas Business Lounge vs the Qantas Club has been really popular, I thought I would answer another popular question in the Qantas Platinum vs Qantas Gold debate (Oneworld Emerald vs Oneworld Gold) or Business vs First.
I think it is safe to say we all know the Qantas First Lounges are really nice with a really delicious menu. This article is not here to try and dispute this or try and say the business lounge is better. This article is here to highlight the similarities and differences in the food options to help frequent flyers make informed choices when weighing up whether paying more for first vs business is worth it for them, or whether aiming to get/keep platinum status is something to go for.
So let’s take a look and compare the foods on offer at breakfast time in these two lounges. Here are the menus for both lounges on 29 December 2022 – unfortunately I misplaced the hot buffet menu photo for the business lounge but you can see the hot buffet food options further below. The Qantas First Lounge menu is served a la carte style while the Qantas Business Lounge is served buffet style.
What food is similar?
The egg dish on offer in the Qantas Business Lounge was scrambled eggs served on the hot buffet, while in the Qantas First Lounge you can order scrambled eggs and also there is an omelette dish on the menu (the summer menu was a gruyere cheese omelette). Scrambled eggs served on a buffet may not necessarily be as nice as scrambled eggs served fresh so this may not be a direct comparison – only similar in nature.
Fresh fruit salad and Neil Perry’s Bircher muesli are served in both the Qantas Business Lounge and Qantas First Lounge – they are just served slightly differently. In the business lounge these foods are served at the cold buffet and you serve yourself, while in the first lounge there is a seasonal fruit dish for order and also the Neil Perry’s Bircher muesli is another dish that can be ordered.
The other hot options on the Qantas Business Lounge buffet were baked beans, hashbrowns, bacon and sausages. There is a Signature Breakfast available for order in the Qantas First Lounge which comes with eggs, hasbrowns, bacon and pork chipolatas (small sausages). So essentially you can get a similar dish in the first lounge but I am unclear whether the types of bacon, sausages and hashbrowns are exactly the same of different as I haven’t ordered the Signature Breakfast before.
Pastries are available in both lounges – served on the cold buffet in the business lounge and on the side buffet in the first lounge.
There are also pancakes available for cooking at the pancake station in the business lounge, and there is a Buttermilk pancakes dish available to order in the first lounge. But the Buttermilk pancakes do sound a lot more delicious than the mass made ones in the pancake machine so I am guessing there is a bit of a difference. Along with pancakes, there is also yogurt available in both the business and first lounges.
What’s different?
Now we get to the more interesting differences. While the Qantas Business Lounge has all the breakfast basics, there isn’t really any innovation in the menu and you can find most of the ingredients to order on the first lounge menu. But the Qantas First Lounge takes their menu up a level, offering a range of dishes through their a la carte menu. Here you can see some of the dishes: Light Breakfast, Corn Fritters, Eggs Benedict and Zucchini and Soba Noodles. Please note I had the Zucchini and Soba Noodles dish in the Qantas First Lounge in Melbourne in June 2023 (see image below), not the Sydney summer menu in Dec 2022. But I wanted to showcase the plant based dining options that can be ordered on the Qantas First Lounge menu.
In the Qantas Business Lounge there were also foods available around the lounge away from the cold/hot buffets. These included cereal such as Coco Pops, Cornflakes and Weatbix, a bread station with basic breads and a pancake station. There were also sweeter options such as banana bread at the coffee station and Jaffas offered near the self-service champagne. The First lounge also has some foods available on the bar and near their coffee station too such as the pastries and nuts (at times outside breakfast), and also sweets on the bar which I must admit I didn’t notice if they were out during breakfast. But I have noticed Jaffas in the first lounge at other times during the day.
Final thoughts on Qantas First Lounge vs Qantas Business Lounge
So Qantas First Lounge vs Qantas Business Lounge – of course the Qantas First Lounge is going to offer a better range of food (well you would expect and hope so) but there are still some similarities that are worth comparing. For breakfast the common basic breakfast foods are on offer at both lounges and so you need to think what you like to eat for breakfast as you might be quite content in the business lounge if you don’t want a fancier meal. I was a little surprised at the similarities in the lounge once I broke down the first lounge menu a bit more into the dishes basic components. Yes it is nice to be served in restaurant style seating in the Qantas First Lounge and not have to fight your way to the buffet, and the Qantas First Lounge is nicer and quieter. I love the Qantas First Lounge – but when looking purely at the food there are some similarities.
