It goes without saying that we all have different food preferences. When I write flight reviews, people often have a variety of comments about what I choose to order. In this post, I’d like to share my general thought process when it comes to deciding what to order onboard flights for travel in premium cabins.
In this post:
My general food preferences & likes
First, for some context, let me share my general food preferences. When I was much younger, I was a vegetarian for nearly a decade. I loved animals (and still do), and I was grossed out by the concept of meat and how it’s produced. While I’m no longer a vegetarian, I’d consider myself to basically be a lazy pescatarian:
- I primarily eat fish and veggies, as that’s what I like most; I maybe eat chicken once a week, and maybe have a steak once every couple of months
- I don’t eat pork, not for religious reasons, but because I think pigs are super cute and smart, so I almost view them as being similar to dogs
- For the rare instances where I eat meat, I try to have it in situations where it’s good quality; for example, I’ll almost never have a fast food burger, while I’m happy to have a filet every once in a while
How I approach ordering meals on airplanes
I think it’s important to consider the realities of airplane food. Food isn’t cooked on planes, but rather the food is prepared in a catering facility many hours before you actually consume it, and is then reheated in the galley.
Therefore I think it’s worth almost thinking of airplane food as leftovers — if you go to a restaurant and bring food home, what’s going to reheat best, and taste best the next day? Because that’s the most realistic comparison to airplane food. With that in mind, below are some considerations I have when ordering airplane food…
I go with the airline’s signature dish
For airlines known for having good quality food, I think it’s worth indulging in a carrier’s signature dish, or a dish the carrier is known for. For example, Singapore Airlines’ satay is delicious…
…as is Emirates’ Arabic mezze.
You really can’t go wrong when selecting one of these options.
I select cold options & things that reheat well
There’s something to be said for ordering options that don’t require reheating, given that it might just be as good in the air as on the ground. Emirates’ unlimited first class caviar service comes to mind as an example of that. 😉
When it comes to dishes being reheated, I tend to think that soup, curry, and/or Asian vegetarian dishes reheat extremely well. For example, I love Indian food, and when I order takeout, it tastes every bit as good the next day as when it arrives. The same principle applies to planes, in my opinion.
Main courses are usually underwhelming
Typically, airlines serve way more food in premium cabins than I can eat. So if I have to prioritize what I’m going to eat, I tend to think that it’s often worth just avoiding the main courses. Caviar, appetizers, soup, salad, cheese, and dessert, can all be done well on airplanes. Meanwhile, even on top airlines, main courses just typically aren’t much to get excited about.
When flying Lufthansa first class, a vast majority of the time, the best play is to have all the appetizer and dessert options and skip the main course.
I shouldn’t eat fish on planes, but do
With everything I’ve said above, let me also acknowledge my hypocrisy and inconsistency. It’s challenging to serve a good fish dish on a plane, yet more often than not, that’s what I select as my main course in situations where I order one. Why? It just comes down to the fact that I generally avoid eating meat, and that often leaves the option between fish and pasta.
Between those two options, I’d rather have something that’s not super caloric, and that has a lot of protein (okay, ignore the slab of butter on the salmon below).
So yeah, my logic totally falls apart here, and I own that. Logically, based on my preferences, I should probably order more pasta dishes. But that’s often not terribly nutritious.
Domestically I go for the simple option
While I often indulge in tasty food and great wine when traveling internationally, I take a different approach on domestic flights. On domestic flights, the thing I value most about first class is having more personal space, so that I can comfortably work, without being in some contorted position.
I don’t usually drink these on flights, and my goal is to order the healthiest and/or closest to vegetarian dish. Unfortunately as a frequent flyer with American, this means I typically order the grains bowl. Yes, it’s kind of rabbit food, but it’s decent enough.
What’s my logic? Airline budgets for domestic first class meals are ridiculously low, so if I’m going to eat a super unhealthy meal or have meat, it’s not going to be on a flight where I’m enjoying a $4 short rib and mac and cheese dish.
I essentially order whatever is most opposite from the burgers that US airlines are increasingly serving in first class, which I just can’t wrap my head around. Burgers can’t be reheated well, and when you combine that with the low-quality meat they’re using, it’s just not up my alley.
Bottom line
Everyone takes a different approach to deciding what to order when traveling in first or business class. The above is a rundown of the approach I take when deciding what to order. Let me acknowledge that my logic is by no means 100% consistent, and this is purely based on my own preferences and approach to eating, which won’t be (and shouldn’t be) the same as those of others.
What’s your strategy when it comes to deciding what meal to order on flights?
My husband is vegetarian AND needs gluten free food. It seems to be impossible to pre-order. If I order a gluten free meal, it comes with meat or prawns! There’s no facility in the ‘special meals’ section to explain his needs. Any suggestions?
The only times I thought about what to order was last month on SQ SUITES & First Class.
On all my flights (6 in total), I preordered the lobster (thermidor) from BTC & only ate one time.
The rest of the time, I asked the IFM or Chief steward to let the junior cabin crew have my meals.
Wait. There is a thought process & ordering process for airplane food?
LOL ..
and all this time I just ordered from the menu or BTC, or just ate at the lounge.
Lowkey, I'm glad you posted this one, because sometimes on your reviews, you will order something that clearly will not taste the best on a plane, compared to the other options you have, and I think it can kinda taint your review of food on planes, because the option you're picking is not exactly the best option due to your dietary preferences and wonkiness LMAO
Fly airlines that care about their passengers.
My latest Japan Airlines economy class meal was designed in collaboration with Kikunoi Akasaka, the Michelin 2 star Tokyo branch of a Michelin 3 star Kyoto legend.
Japan Airlines serves actually good food in all classes. I have had brilliant meals in first class, but I have even been served a perfectly poached egg for the second meal in economy.
Try kosher meal.
You figuratively can't go wrong.
As long as Benny is in charge, even shooting at a neutral mediator is kosher.
I usually go for a "least processed" food, of course how to assess this is another problem. I avoid gravy and sauces as much as possible.
The quality of the food differs tremendously depending on where the flight is originating. On flights from North America to Europe (not just USA, CDN as well) there is hardly anything worth eating.
ANA flights have often excellent tasting fish, and SQ Barramundi normally isn't bad either.
Interesting that everyone has their own ideas and preferences. I do agree with the idea of what will reheat well and what would taste better up that high.
There's a... balance between "doing something well" and "trying to stand out" in airline cuisine. Logistically and costwise and creativity.
How I approach it is "how well will the airline be able to execute the dish?" Something that "sounds creative" and gives me a laugh probably won't be executed well (Lufthansa trying to serve sushi on their F menu on a flight to the US springs to mind) And I look at things like... the...
There's a... balance between "doing something well" and "trying to stand out" in airline cuisine. Logistically and costwise and creativity.
How I approach it is "how well will the airline be able to execute the dish?" Something that "sounds creative" and gives me a laugh probably won't be executed well (Lufthansa trying to serve sushi on their F menu on a flight to the US springs to mind) And I look at things like... the nationality of the airline and also where the flight originates from since the airline will probably try to cater to their own country's people and also have SOME kind of familiarity with cooking their own food. I usually try to go for some kind of food I don't typically get on a typical day-to-day basis. Why bother getting a less-well-cooked version of a dish that one typically orders or makes on the ground? I also take into account like... what sort of dish do I feel like eating at that time of the day/flight? Then it's also personal preference of likes/dislikes, plus what how is the dish prepared/what side dishes accompany it?
Oh, and a big plus for me is pre-ordering dishes or at least being able to see the menu before the flight.
JAL’s First class food is where it’s at.
Please do not order anything in BA Business Class! they absolutely suck. Turkish & Qatar Business out of SFO yuck!
Best Food Only If the Flight originates in Asia !
Don’t agree. Do&Co which BA have out of LHR is quite good. Agree though with ANYTHING out of a flight originating in the USA… generally highly processed and disgusting!
I agree with most of what you said, but I had that Delta Shakeshack burger the other day and thought it was quite good. It reheated pretty well and wasn't too far off from what I had on the ground a few days before.
Last time I ordered ahead of a flight was on SQ, SIN to IST last summer. Business. Chicken pie and sauteed spinach. Yum. I thought. The chicken pie was a 5" x 3" x 1" rectangular hard thing, and completely tasteless. I actually had to look up, what I had ordered, because the taste of that thing definitely did not give it away. And the 'sauteed spinach' was full of sand.
The Ribs and Mac n cheese in domestic first on AA used to slap especially when you were a few Jack n Cokes deep.
We like to carry a powdered functional food replacement ( sealed & labeled to make an 8oz beverage ).
For the kids, should add water, juice, milk and ice and you have what they thought was a " milkshake " for years. A complete nutritional meal should something else not appeal.
You should do a post about laundry after gym on long trips, groceries you buy to have at the hotel, how to pack on a carry on for a multiple days trip.
I know most food preferences are a matter of taste and therefore are a silly topic to atgue about, but still…
I’m going to vehemently argue that Emirates Arabic mezze is not a great dish. It is well below average and you can get afar better version of it in practically any Arab restaurant on the ground, including the emirates lounge itself
Similar to dishes rebar don’t heat well, there are those that...
I know most food preferences are a matter of taste and therefore are a silly topic to atgue about, but still…
I’m going to vehemently argue that Emirates Arabic mezze is not a great dish. It is well below average and you can get afar better version of it in practically any Arab restaurant on the ground, including the emirates lounge itself
Similar to dishes rebar don’t heat well, there are those that chilling absolutely destroys, including most mezze items. Addd to that the sad excuse they serve to Arabic bread, and the dry falafels - it would be nearoffensive to call that a mezze
Agree 100% Mike. I long ago stopped expecting (and ordering) the Mezze on EK. I don't understand it. Should be such a simple win.
My approach: is lobster on the menu? If not, go for the 2nd most expensive thing.
I typically avoid steaks on planes. It’s a gamble how cooked it can be, as most of the time it comes well done and dry.
I mostly rely on pre-flight lounge food and usually skip the airline food offering altogether. Anthony Bourdain was spot on in stating how awful airline food is and his preference was to order the fruit and cheese plate, if offered, as a last resort.
One unusually good airline meal of note was on recent travel on Air Canada from ARN to YYZ in Biz; an excellent restaurant quality Thai green curry was served, likely...
I mostly rely on pre-flight lounge food and usually skip the airline food offering altogether. Anthony Bourdain was spot on in stating how awful airline food is and his preference was to order the fruit and cheese plate, if offered, as a last resort.
One unusually good airline meal of note was on recent travel on Air Canada from ARN to YYZ in Biz; an excellent restaurant quality Thai green curry was served, likely catered through Stockholm, nonetheless, amazingly good!
Ben, the ONLY thing that tastes the same on the ground as in the air is Tomato Juice, nothing else. There you can differ the Frequent Flyers from the not. Food is always different in the air, even caviar.
Pasta over everything. Hard to mess up terribly and the carb load helps with crashing out.
No fish ever. Not a big fish eater on the ground though, tbh.
Exception for NH as noted below; I would trust them with any catering.
Burgers on CX are very good. Otherwise I'd be weary. I took the leap of faith years ago after about a month straight of Cantonese food. The F lounges at...
Pasta over everything. Hard to mess up terribly and the carb load helps with crashing out.
No fish ever. Not a big fish eater on the ground though, tbh.
Exception for NH as noted below; I would trust them with any catering.
Burgers on CX are very good. Otherwise I'd be weary. I took the leap of faith years ago after about a month straight of Cantonese food. The F lounges at DXB also make a pretty good burger.
Domestically I try to go for sandwiches but this is on red-eyes or in a pinch. I would much rather have a snack on any domestic flight and get food on the ground, or bring it into F from the terminal (looking right at you, Tortas Frontera).
especially with the justification that pasta is, somehow, less nutritious than something else (which I think is nonsense).
@henare if pasta were that bad, Italians would be the fattest people on Earth. It reminds me of a time I was at a party with a French friend and his pregnant wife. She took a glass of wine from a server. Stupid, naive American me looked at him with eyebrows raised and he said "Eez ok, Santos, if pregnant women in France cannot have a glass of wine, no French people would exist."
Pasta can be good or bad. There's quite a difference between Italian pasta and American pasta (and then there's everything in between). A good pasta dish isn't actually a carb load :)
I second that burgers on Cathay are really good. Have had it several times ex-HKG and also from various outstations.
Agree that for many international F flights, but especially LH, all the appetizers and the desserts but skip the main is the way to go.
NH F on the other hand every dish is superb so the only thing to do is come hungry and try to eat everything.
I ate everything on my JFK to HND NH F flight. It was all amazing!
I will say the DL Shake Shack burgers are pretty decent, as far as domestic F meals go. That UA one though does look dreadful.
The AA grains bowl is now a cold salmon grains bowl, which I think is pretty decent, and prevents that reheated fish feeling.
Ironically, I prefer shake shack’s burgers on delta to the ones they serve in their restaurants. They’re less greasy and the flavors are just as good.
Pre-order when offered to guarantee your meal choice and also, sometimes, get a bigger choice of options than if you wait until the flight e.g. Virgin upper class has a much bigger choice of options if ordered in advance. Also, long/slower cook meats with sauces/stews are always a great option and great when reheated; similar to why curries are great -> so choices such as cheaper cuts of beef - brisket, shin etc, lamb shanks,...
Pre-order when offered to guarantee your meal choice and also, sometimes, get a bigger choice of options than if you wait until the flight e.g. Virgin upper class has a much bigger choice of options if ordered in advance. Also, long/slower cook meats with sauces/stews are always a great option and great when reheated; similar to why curries are great -> so choices such as cheaper cuts of beef - brisket, shin etc, lamb shanks, goat, chicken thighs, anything like that does well when reheated. I do have to give a shout out to Air France's biz class food - their dinner entree choices usually hit the mark every single time.
Austrian Airlines understands you don't want to spill on your shirt. When I flew them (short-haul eurobiz class) the cutlery package came with a clothespin so you could pin the napkin to your shirt and use it as a bib!
Most airline napkins have a buttonhole cutout for that exact reason.
But what if one is only wearing a polo or non-button down shirt ?
A clothespin seems like a better idea ...
I strongly agree with your approach for domestic travel. I’m generally on Alaska or American and the salad/grain bowl/vegetarian option is almost always the best. I also try to be sensitive to a meal I can eat without risking making a mess on my shirt if we hit rough air or if limited elbow space makes it challenging to eat gracefully.
I also don’t understand the prevalence of burgers—they aren’t premium, they are messy,...
I strongly agree with your approach for domestic travel. I’m generally on Alaska or American and the salad/grain bowl/vegetarian option is almost always the best. I also try to be sensitive to a meal I can eat without risking making a mess on my shirt if we hit rough air or if limited elbow space makes it challenging to eat gracefully.
I also don’t understand the prevalence of burgers—they aren’t premium, they are messy, and they rarely look appealing when served on a plane in my opinion.
On US domestic flights, yes. On airlines like ANA and Cathay Pacific, the burgers in premium cabins are quite good.
Yeah... The United burger pictured in Ben's post is a portrait of sadness. Compared to the Etihad Asian veg main course, it's an entirely different universe.
We overweight, diabetic Americans demand our constitutionally guaranteed grease laden 'boigas' !!
I always remember what a first class FA said to me 15 years ago. "Today's choices are a shrimp salad or a chicken enchilada. They look very different but they taste the same."
I appreciate all your reviews Ben and I've flown all over the world in business and a few places in first, but maybe 1% of the food has been memorable. Do it for the comfortable transport, not the food. Eating on planes is to avoid boredom almost always.
you're just flying the wrong airlines
Indeed .. Isn't there the expression of 'eating with one's eyes' ?
... lol
I look for quality food in a restaurant, not in a flying metal tube !