The Cathay Pacific Lounges at London Heathrow terminal 3 reopened after a major refurbishment in December 2016. The lounges have been given the same excellent lounge design created by StudioIlse as The Pier lounges in Hong Kong and a few other lounges in Asia such as Taipei and Manila.
Just like before the London Heathrow lounge has been divided into a business class lounge and a first class lounge. The business class lounge has the signature noodle bar and the cocktail bar. The first class lounge has the signature The Dining Room a la carte restaurant and The Pantry. I visited the lounges in January 2017 and was very impressed. Although the old lounges were certainly not bad this was definitely a major improvement.
After some snacks in the American Airlines First Class Lounge I continued to the Cathay Pacific First Class Lounge for a proper dinner, accessible to me as a OneWorld Emerald cardholder.
The first class lounge is still a pure heaven compared to the busy terminal 3. I have always been a big fan of The Pier first class lounge in Hong Kong and then you almost automatically enjoy the lounge in London, as it is based on the same concept and has the same design.
Upon arrival I immediately made my way to the restaurant, The Dining Room, where I was greeted my a friendly waitress. She showed me to an empty table and gave me the menu. At the same time one of her colleagues arrived and started setting the table as it had apparently been used by another guest just a few minutes earlier.
The menu included four starters, three main courses and four different desserts and on top of that a few “Chef’s specialities”. Although I would have loved to have a full three-courses meal I had already had some snacks in the American Airlines lounge and decided to just order a main course and a dessert.
The main course arrived fairly quickly, jasmine rice with chilli chicken cooked in a garlic, chilli and soya gravy. It was quite spicy but also very tasty. I ordered a glass of Sauvignon Blanc to drink with the meal and was also offered a refill later on.
The dessert was a chocolate fondant served with vanilla ice cream. Just delicious, and what a great presentation. I also ordered an espresso to drink.
They also had a few “Chef’s specialities” on the menu, which are standard and do not change very often. Among them are Fish & Chips, and the Angus Beef Burger, served with Emmental cheese and truffle chips. The man seated at the table next to me ordered the burger and it looked delicious.
After the dinner I returned to the main lounge where there are some snacks for self-service in The Pantry and also a good selection of drinks. Just like in many of the other Cathay Pacific lounges, included the first class lounges in Hong Kong, the drinks selection is good but not exceptional. The champagne is Moët & Chandon, the wines are not bad but they are not exceptional first class wines either, and the spirits are also pretty much the standard selection
But all-in-all the Cathay Pacific first class lounge in London is a great lounge. Wonderful interior, very friendly staff, very attentive service and a great dining restaurant. A pure joy to visit and I will happily return many more times.
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