Fiji Airways Chef’s Table: Paid Fine Dining At Nadi Airport

Fiji Airways has launched a pretty innovative concept, whereby passengers can pay to enjoy a four-course Fijian meal at the airport. While the dining facility is located within the lounge, it’s open to all passengers.

Fiji Airways’ new Nadi Airport dining concept

Chef’s Table is the name of Fiji Airways’ new premium dining concept, whereby the airline offers a restaurant quality experience within its lounge. However, this works a bit differently than your typical airport lounge pre-flight dining. Let’s start by covering the logistics:

• The dining facility is located within the Fiji Airways Premier Lounge; a room has been repurposed, with a dining room seating 10 people
• There are two seatings per day, at 1PM and 6:30PM
• The cost is FJD150 per person (~66 USD), and it must be booked at least 24 hours in advance
• You don’t need to have access to the Fiji Airways Premier Lounge, but if you book this experience, you even get access to the lounge after your dining experience

So, what’s on the menu at Chef’s Table? It will vary over time, but below is a look at the current menu:

Welcome mocktail/cocktail

Wines served with each course

Tasting Platter – Coconut, the tree of life
Lolo rice arancini
Bu (young coconut) noodles with smoked ivi (Tahitian chestnut) & coriander pesto
Vara (coconut apple) with sea salt, bush lemon & chili flakes
Coconut water shot

Appetiser – Kusima, from the sea
Lumi (spiced seaweed & coconut jelly), nama tempura (sea grapes), spice rubbed Pacific yellowfin tuna, wild caught ocean water prawns, ginger & wasabi espuma, tomato caviar, pumpkin fronds

Main Course – Fire & Smoke
Lamb two ways – flame grilled tenderloin, six hour braised & smoked
Cassava pave, braised cabbage puree, balsamic onion mousse

Dessert – Sugar & Spice
House made curry leaf & cardamom ice cream
Spiced purini (Fijian coconut caramel pudding)
Mango lassi

This looks surprisingly amazing!

We’ve seen some airlines try to introduce paid airport dining experiences before, though what Fiji Airways is doing is perhaps the best version of this that I’ve ever seen.

The value is surprisingly excellent, as paying $66 for an incredible-looking meal with a cocktail and wine is quite a good deal. That’s especially true when you consider that this is open to those who don’t have lounge access, and you even then receive access to the lounge after your meal. I would do this in a heartbeat if traveling through the airport.

Now, the challenge remains that it can be tough to sell people on this concept. With only two seatings per day, guests would need to make a plan around visiting this, and it probably isn’t ideal for those simply connecting in Nadi, given the short layover times for those itineraries.

Still, I love to see airlines trying something new, and this looks great. Fiji Airways’ A350 business class is a lovely experience, and I actually quite like the Fiji Airways Premier Lounge Nadi as well, especially when you consider it’s accessible with Priority Pass. It has possibly the best airport lounge coffee I’ve ever had.

One thing that’s worth mentioning is that back in 2019, Fiji Airways introduced pre-flight dining in its lounge, in a way we haven’t seen done before. Specifically, for evening departures, the airline started serving meals on the ground in the lounge, but in lieu of an inflight service. I don’t believe this still applies, though I could be mistaken.

Bottom line

Fiji Airways has introduced a new pre-flight dining concept, named Chef’s Table. Within the carrier’s flagship lounge, there’s a space with seating for 10 people to enjoy a four-course menu of Fijian cuisine. The value is quite good as well, as it costs ~$66, and includes four courses, alcoholic drinks, and even lounge access.

What do you make of Fiji Airways’ Chef’s Table?