My trip started off with a flight in British Airways’ A350-1000 Club Suites business class from Toronto to London Heathrow. I flew up from Miami the same day, though planned a long layover just in case there were any delays.
First I spent some time in the Air France-KLM Lounge and the Plaza Premium Lounge, both if which I recently reviewed prior to my Air France A350-900 flight from Toronto to Paris. This time around I checked out British Airways’ lounge, which is an interesting setup.
British Airways Lounge YYZ Review
British Airways used to operate their own lounge at Toronto Pearson Airport, though that’s no longer the case. However, they do still have a private lounge, it’s just operated by Plaza Premium.
The lounge is located inside the main Plaza Premium Lounge in the international concourse of YYZ Terminal 3.
I was way early, so as I headed to the lounge I checked out the British Airways departure gate, which was C33.
British Airways departure gate Toronto Airport
I also saw the British Airways A350-1000 arrive from Heathrow before 3PM. What a beauty!
British Airways A350-1000 arriving in Toronto
That’s a convenient gate assignment, given that the elevator that takes you to the lounges is located right across from the gate.
Elevators to British Airways Lounge Toronto
The private lounge for British Airways passengers is located inside the Plaza Premium Lounge. The check-in agent verified my boarding pass, and then pointed me right towards the British Airways section of the lounge.
When I visited the British Airways Lounge opened at 3:30PM, just under three hours ahead of my 6:20PM flight.
Plaza Premium Lounge Toronto exterior
While the main Plaza Premium Lounge is to the left, the British Airways Lounge is to the right.
Entrance to British Airways Lounge Toronto
Not only does British Airways have a lounge within a lounge, but there are two sections to the British Airways Lounge. The way it’s labeled, one side of the lounge is for business class passengers, while the other side of the lounge is for first class passengers and Gold Card Holders.
British Airways Lounge First & Business sections
The catch is that at the moment British Airways isn’t actually offering any first class service to Toronto. They fly an A350-1000 and 787-8 to Toronto, neither of which have first class.
Therefore I would assume that:
- The left side is for business class and oneworld Sapphire members
- The right side is for first class passengers and oneworld Emerald members
I checked out both sides of the lounge, so let’s take a look at the difference between the two sides.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto
The business class portion of the lounge is to the left, and is on the small side given the number of passengers who have access. Just inside the entrance and to the left are about half a dozen dining tables, each seating up to two people.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
Further into the lounge is a communal table with 14 stools.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
Then in the center part of the lounge are rows of seats facing one another.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
In the back of the lounge are two more rows of seats — one row has cool seats with side tables, and then there’s another row of seats right by the windows.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto seating
The lounge has fantastic views of the apron, taxiway, and runway in the distance. There was a WestJet 767 immediately below the lounge, and I could see the British Airways A350 off to the side.
British Airways Lounge Toronto view
The lounge also has a bar. Interestingly this is a horseshoe-shaped bar, and the other side of the bar is the main Plaza Premium Lounge. So I guess that’s an efficient way they can staff the lounge. As you can see, the lounge has a proper espresso machine — yay.
British Airways Business Lounge Toronto bar
As far as the food spread in the lounge goes, it certainly doesn’t compete with British Airways’ pre-flight dining facility at JFK. There was a small buffet with a few hot and cold options.
British Airways Lounge Toronto buffet
Cold options included a tomato & mozzarella salad, a garden salad, a cheese platter, and some canapés.
British Airways Lounge Toronto buffet
Hot options included roast beef with gravy, cauliflower gratin, garlic mashed potatoes, vanilla bread pudding, vegetable samosas, and pizza.
British Airways Lounge Toronto buffet
British Airways Lounge Toronto buffet
Then there was a separate setup with flavored water and some snack mix, cookies, etc.
British Airways Lounge Toronto snacks & drinks
Lastly, there was a self serve fridge with soda, juice, fresh fruit, and some small desserts.
British Airways Lounge Toronto snacks & drinks
The food selection is by no means impressive, and very much feels like what you’d expect in a random contract lounge.
British Airways First Lounge Toronto
I spent most of my time in the lounge in the first class section. This was about the same size, though unsurprisingly was much less crowded. Along the center section of the lounge were rows of two seats, each of which had a useful side table.
British Airways First Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways First Lounge Toronto seating
Then near the windows was just under a dozen dining tables.
British Airways First Lounge Toronto seating
British Airways First Lounge Toronto dining area
The first class section of the lounge features a la carte dining, so the buffet as such was incredibly limited — there were just a few canapés and dessert options.
British Airways First Lounge Toronto buffet
British Airways First Lounge Toronto buffet
British Airways First Lounge Toronto buffet
Then there was also some snack mix and packaged chips.
British Airways First Lounge Toronto buffet
Much like the business class section of the lounge, the views here are excellent.
British Airways Lounge Toronto view
The menu in the first class lounge read as follows, with two starters, three main courses, and one dessert:
I had a seat at one of the tables, and a server showed up within minutes. I ordered a glass of champagne, and then ordered a starter and main.
For the starter I ordered what was rather creatively described as a “vegan carpaccio,” though in reality was more of a salad. This included marinated butternut squash, pickled mushrooms, mesclun salad, roasted pumpkin seeds, and pea puree.
British Airways Lounge Toronto pre-flight dining
The salad wasn’t great at all, to be honest. It’s pretty clear the Plaza Premium Lounge doesn’t have a proper kitchen setup, so it’s pretty clear everything being served isn’t especially freshly prepared. The salad, including the butternut squash, was just bland and tasteless.
I could picture Gordon Ramsay on “Kitchen Nightmares” eating it, rubbing his forehead, and saying “bland, bland, bland.”
For the main course I ordered the summers herbs crusted cod, served with potato gratin, zucchini pasta, blistered grape tomatoes, and beurre blanc. This was a bit better by comparison. The cod and potato gratin were surprisingly good, while the zucchini pasta tasted like nothing.
British Airways Lounge Toronto pre-flight dining
My flight from Toronto to London was scheduled to depart at 6:20PM, so at around 5PM I headed down to the departure gate, to be sure I could be among the first to board (to get cabin pictures).
When I left the lounge there were only a total of about five other people in the first class section of the lounge, while the business class section was extremely crowded.
British Airways Lounge Toronto Bottom Line
As far as contract lounge setups go, British Airways’ lounge in Toronto is fairly decent. They have separate first and business class sections — both sides are decorated nicely and have great views.
The business class section has a rather limited food selection, while the first class section has a la carte dining, though it is mediocre.
While this can’t compete with the pre-flight dining British Airways offers to all business class passengers in New York, this ultimately isn’t a terrible setup for an outstation.
If you’ve visited British Airways’ Toronto lounge, what was your experience like?
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