If you’re wondering what a typical British Airways First Class menu has on it ….
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I am in Canada all week, helping my Mum realise an ambition to see Niagara Falls and chaperoning her to a family wedding next weekend.
We flew out to Toronto yesterday afternoon in British Airways First Class. One thing about weddings is that you tend to know the date well in advance, so I had no trouble using a British Airways American Express 2-4-1 voucher to get the seats as soon as they opened up 11 months ago.
I’m not going to write about the flight or The Concorde Room because I did a BA First Class review late last year and I don’t like repeating myself so quickly. However, if you were wondering what the food is like in British Airways First Class, here is the menu we had:
Starters
Sesame seared tuna with a citrus salad and black olive tapenade (had this, it was OK but nothing more)
Wild mushroom and truffle mousse and cauliflower puree with a shimeji mushroom salad
A light cream soup of sweetcorn, red pepper and chives
Fresh seasonal salad with your choice of blue cheese dressing or classic vinaigrette
Main Courses
Seared filled of Aberdeen Angus beef with summer vegetables, fondant potatoes with horseradish and chive sauce
Sustainably sourced North Atlantic baked cod with orange and tarragon butter sauce and chervil creamed potatoes (had this, liked it, found the portion size small)
Spicy Szechuan-style chicken with fried beans and steamed rice
Warm seared tiger prawns on a sesame and fresh shredded vegetable salad with basil and ginger dressing
Bistro Selection
Penne pasta with red pepper, wild mushroom, fine beans and a creamy pesto sauce
British beef burger with Monterey Jack cheese, gherkin, tomato and chunky chips
A selection of biscuits
A selection of cheese and fruit
Desserts
Raspberry delice and cannelloni with kumquat
Warm blueberry and nectarine crumble (had this, liked it, even the custard was decent!)
Madagascan vanilla ice cream
There is a cheese plate and fresh fruit option
There was also an amuse bouche at the start which was not explained to me! I have absolutely no idea what it was, but it was very small ….
Toronto is not an A380 route so we did not get the option of the tasting menu which I experienced on my Los Angeles flight last year.
Overall, the food was acceptable but not great – especially in terms of portion size. I rate the business class food I had on Qatar Airways and Etihad over the last year ahead of it, although BA does have a better drink selection. For balance, I should say that Mum found it excellent.
Where it really went wrong was the ‘second meal’ snack. These are the sandwiches you get – note that you get ALL of them:
Smoked salmon with horseradish and rocket
Ham with Pommery mustard
Hummus with piquillo pepper
Pickled cucumber with cream cheese
This is, I think, possibly the most random selection of sandwiches ever offered. If Pret A Manger put that lot on the shelves they would be bust within a month. I turned the sandwich selection down and went for the cake selection:
Chocolate and walnut brownie
Raspberry and orange Battenberg
Key lime cake
…. which was fine, except that each portion was the size of a 10p coin. Is this a bizarre cost saving scheme or does BA really believe that micro portions are the way forward for First Class food?
No photos, before anyone asks.
Anyway, it is 2.55am in the UK and I am off to bed. I will try to drop in some hotel reviews during the week as well as some coverage of Air Canada’s business class product which I will be flying twice.
How to earn Avios from UK credit cards (April 2024)
As a reminder, there are various ways of earning Avios points from UK credit cards. Many cards also have generous sign-up bonuses!
In February 2022, Barclaycard launched two exciting new Barclaycard Avios Mastercard cards with a bonus of up to 25,000 Avios. You can apply here.
You qualify for the bonus on these cards even if you have a British Airways American Express card:
Barclaycard Avios Plus Mastercard
Get 25,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £10,000 Read our full review
Barclaycard Avios Mastercard
5,000 Avios for signing up and an upgrade voucher at £20,000 Read our full review
There are two official British Airways American Express cards with attractive sign-up bonuses:
British Airways American Express Premium Plus
25,000 Avios and the famous annual 2-4-1 voucher Read our full review
British Airways American Express
5,000 Avios for signing up and an Economy 2-4-1 voucher for spending £15,000 Read our full review
You can also get generous sign-up bonuses by applying for American Express cards which earn Membership Rewards points. These points convert at 1:1 into Avios.
American Express Preferred Rewards Gold
Your best beginner’s card – 20,000 points, FREE for a year & four airport lounge passes Read our full review
The Platinum Card from American Express
40,000 bonus points and a huge range of valuable benefits – for a fee Read our full review
Run your own business?
We recommend Capital on Tap for limited companies. You earn 1 Avios per £1 which is impressive for a Visa card, along with a sign-up bonus worth 10,500 Avios.
SPECIAL OFFER: Until 12th May 2024, the Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa card is offering a bonus of 30,000 points, convertible into 30,000 Avios. You must have a Limited Company to apply. Click here to learn more and click here to apply.
Capital on Tap Business Rewards Visa
Huge 30,000 points bonus until 12th May 2024 Read our full review
You should also consider the British Airways Accelerating Business credit card. This is open to sole traders as well as limited companies and has a 30,000 Avios sign-up bonus.
British Airways Accelerating Business American Express
30,000 Avios sign-up bonus – plus annual bonuses of up to 30,000 Avios Read our full review
There are also generous bonuses on the two American Express Business cards, with the points converting at 1:1 into Avios. These cards are open to sole traders as well as limited companies.
American Express Business Platinum
40,000 points sign-up bonus and an annual £200 Amex Travel credit Read our full review
American Express Business Gold
20,000 points sign-up bonus and FREE for a year Read our full review
Click here to read our detailed summary of all UK credit cards which earn Avios. This includes both personal and small business cards.
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