Heathrow Terminal 3 – Cathay or Qantas lounge?

[DanC]

Hi all, flying from LHR T3 in a couple of weeks with BA Business in the early evening. Would you choose the Cathay or Qantas lounges?

Thanks

[stevenhp1987]

Why not spend time in both?

I find the food to be better in Cathay but if you like gin then you will enjoy the Qantas lounge.

[NorthernLass]

There was an article on the subject the other day.

[yonasl]

Depends what you prefer. Cathay is better for food if you like Asian noodles and a more calm/quiet atmosphere. Qantas has a better bar (some say) and is a little busier and noisy. I haven’t tried the Qantas showers but Cathay’s are excellent.

[HampshireHog]

Any thoughts on a breakfast visit at around 0800?

[GillyDee]

HampshireHog wrote:

Any thoughts on a breakfast visit at around 0800?

Only a breakfast buffet at that time in Qantas; a la carte opens sometime after 09:00.

[bungalow]

I was in T3 last month flying BA Biz, and visited Quants and Cathay. The Quants flight had just left so the A La Carte was off, so decided to go to Cathay and was less than impressed. They only had prawns! Prawns in the soup, Prawns in the Dim Sum, it was awful. I tried both then promptly left for BA for the pie…

[bungalow]

I was in T3 last month flying BA Biz, and visited Quants and Cathay. The Quants flight had just left so the A La Carte was off, so decided to go to Cathay and was less than impressed. They only had prawns! Prawns in the soup, Prawns in the Dim Sum, it was awful. I tried both then promptly left for BA for the pie…

[Londonsteve]

It depends what time early evening means. Qantas closes at around 20:30 in summer (19:30 in winter) so if you’re entering at 7pm you’ve only got 1.5 hours before chucking out time. Evening dinner service is around 5-8pm (4-7 in winter) outside of which you only have a buffet selection. I believe Cathay is open longer and when Qantas is only offering a buffet service Cathay is better as it offers hot food options.

My preference is for Qantas, but only if it coincides with restaurant service and there’s enough time to have a relaxed meal (as opposed to entering at 19:30 and finding the kitchen is only open for another half an hour).

[DanC]

Thanks for all the replies

Early evening is arriving there at 17:00 for 1.5- 2 hours

[Londonsteve]

That’s perfect, you should have your pick of seats in the restaurant if arriving then and there’s a lesser chance of being turned away due to capacity constraints.

[DanC]

I tried both. Qantas has a better seating setup / vibe, and feels fresher.
Cathay better food, but I like Asian food so maybe biased

[Londonsteve]

Excellent that you could try both. I agree that as long as you like the 5 choices from the noodle bar (and like Asian flavours), the actual food is better than what Qantas serves.