I love great coffee. I enjoy it at home, and I especially enjoy it when traveling. Of course coffee has the benefit of having caffeine, but for me it’s so much more than that — enjoying coffee is a ritual for me, and on some level I consider good coffee to be art. A hotel or airline offering solid coffee is always memorable for me, so I wanted to talk about that a bit as it relates to airport lounges.
In this post:
The Fiji Airways Lounge Nadi has amazing coffee
After flying Fiji Airways business class from Los Angeles to Nadi, I headed to the FIji Airways Lounge Nadi Airport. Not only is this open to Fiji Airways business class passengers, but it’s also a Priority Pass lounge.
This is a surprisingly impressive lounge, especially when you consider it’s open to Priority Pass members. It’s nicely furnished (though dark), and has an exceptional food selection. However, what really stood out to me was the barista-made coffee.
There are servers roaming the lounge offering coffee, and I ordered a cappuccino. I was even asked for my milk preference, and there were several options. I think this was probably the best coffee drink I’ve ever had in an airport lounge. Not only was it beautifully presented, but the taste was truly perfect — it was smooth, not at all bitter, and the temperature was perfect.
I rate this coffee 10/10, and that’s not even accounting for this being an airport lounge.
Other airport lounges with great coffee
Coffee is an airport lounge amenity I really value, so that got me thinking about what other lounges have great coffee. A few stand out to me…
Australia is of course known for its coffee culture, so I find that Qantas First Lounges have phenomenal coffee, whether in Los Angeles, Melbourne, Singapore, or Sydney.
Air New Zealand Lounges also have barista-made coffee. What’s cool is that you can order (and customize) your coffee on a tablet, and you can even choose whether you want it in a to-go cup or not.
Here in the United States, I’d say that United Polaris Lounges offer great coffee, as they have a barista setup.
Among membership lounges in the United States, you can’t beat Alaska Lounges, which also have barista-made coffee.
Among Priority Pass lounges, I’d say the best coffee I’ve otherwise had was at the Primeclass Lounge Muscat, which had excellent barista-made options as well.
Among credit card lounges in the United States, you can’t beat the Capital One Lounge Dallas, which not only has barista-made drinks, but also has cold brew and iced latte on tap.
Bottom line
I was delighted to find among the best coffee I’ve ever had at the Fiji Airways Lounge Nadi. If you want exceptional barista-made drinks, make sure you stop in here when passing through the airport. It’s especially impressive when you consider this lounge is also open to Priority Pass members.
This got me thinking about the lounges with the best coffee drinks, so the above are some of my favorites. I’d love to discover more, as I obviously haven’t been to all lounges in the world.
What’s your favorite coffee you’ve had in an airport lounge?
SQ's new SilverKris lounge in SIN has a barista bar with a legit espresso machine and actual barista. I believe it doubles as a regular bar so the espresso is decommissioned after some time in the day.
I don't like coffee :)
But I was in the Fiji Airlines lounge in Nadi three weeks ago, and it was very good! The food was great, the staff were very attentive, and it was nice to have a hot shower before a long flight to San Francisco.
This is definitely among the best priority pass lounges I've never been to. I do find it amusing that if you look at Tripadvisor's list of best...
I don't like coffee :)
But I was in the Fiji Airlines lounge in Nadi three weeks ago, and it was very good! The food was great, the staff were very attentive, and it was nice to have a hot shower before a long flight to San Francisco.
This is definitely among the best priority pass lounges I've never been to. I do find it amusing that if you look at Tripadvisor's list of best things to do in Nadi, the lounge is listed as Number 3. Fiji is amazing, but Nadi, where the airport is, is not the Fiji you travel to see. For that Fiji, you have to go to other islands such as the Yasawas or Manumucas.
In that Fiji lounge you can also get fantastic cocktails. Any cocktail you want. Great lounge.
Maybe the best coffee I’ve had in my LIFE was at the Admiral’s Club in Mexico City on an early morning departure. Unbelievably smooth and strong espresso.
An honestly, BA’s First lounge at LHR had some good stuff for machine espresso, too.
The Turkish lounge in Istanbul has excellent espresso drinks and of course Turkish coffee made to order!!
The Cathay Pier lounge at HKG deserves an honorable mention for their barista made coffees
Excellent as always.
However, your article did not include any ratings on quality espresso.
As a person who does not enjoy coffee drinks but prefers straight espresso, I certainly would’ve enjoyed that additional content.
The United club at BOS and I'm sure other locations has decent cold brew on tap
The best coffee I’ve had in an airport lounge was the cappuccino at the Plaza Premium lounge at FCO. Made by a barista with a real machine, and it being Italy, much better than anything you’d get at a Polaris Lounge. I even thought it was better than Qantas lounge coffee
I’ve been in that lounge many times and agree!
The QR food ordering to your table isn’t too shabby either.
While your mileage may vary, coffee made by Italians > any other coffee.
Agree, it is the best. Also the Marco Polo Lounge at VCE has a similar arrangement.
The old Alitalia had baristos in their lounges and the coffee was top notch. I don't know if the pared down ITA has that luxury.
The recently opened United Club at EWR has a barista bar.
I know Alitalia/ITA is the butt end of every joke, but they should at least get a shoutout for having barista made espresso drinks. Italians take coffee very seriously
The iced latte on tap and the to-go cups at the Capital One DFW lounge are awesome! Can’t wait for more Capital One lounges to open.
I’m not surprised your first few mentions were South Pacific carriers. They take their coffee mighty seriously down there.
How can any coffee “on tap” be close to being amongst the best coffee in the world?
The Pearl Lounge in Naples also has amazing coffee - naturally. However, aside amazing mozzarella you can have there as well, it is a pretty bad lounge. Still waiting for you to find the Lufthansa Business lounge near Gate A24 (above the Panorama lounge). They have barista made coffee there. This biz lounge is better than the Schengen Senator lounge, since it has a full bar. However, seating is limited and there are only two showers. Apron views are amazing though.
A good cold brew at the Centurion lounge at LGA last time I was there.