We recently flew on board Qantas's new A380 First class from Sydney to Los Angeles. Here's our review of the airline's current inflight dining experience.
Related: Read our review of the new Qantas A380 First Class seat, cabin and onboard lounge.
Upon boarding first class passengers are offered a welcome champagne, in this instance the champagne was a 2002 Piper Heidseck, served with a selection of olives and nuts to enjoy while the rest of the plane is boarded.
The Qantas first class menu has been created by Neil Perry and the team at Rockpool with 2 main meals offered on the Sydney - LA flight. A 'lunch' to start with after the 11am departure followed by a breakfast prior to landing. The hearty lunch includes 4 courses and is no doubt designed to make you sleepy to assist with moving to a USA timezone and reduce jetlag.
One of the nice ouches with the Qantas First Class menu is the option to do a Tasting Menu, similar to what you'd experience in a restaurant the Tasting Menu eliminates you having to make any decisions, instead picking the dishes recommended by the chef. Passengers also have the option to select a wine flight to match the meals.
The inflight wine list is selected by the Rockpool sommeliers and, excluding the Champagne, is made up of all Australian wines. The flight attendants will offer to match your wines to your meal selection for you should you choose.
The Qantas First Class breakfast consists of a main meal with options such as a Eggs, waffles, or salad along with a selection of fresh bakery options, fruit & yoghurt, muesli and cold pressed juices served alongside tea and coffee.
The meal service starts soon after take off with the offer of another a drink while you make your meal selection. We chose the Tasting menu to enjoy the chef's selection of meals which started with a couple of small canapés including a caviar tart and an anchovy and smoked tomato crostini. Both of which were delicious.
The canapes were followed by the soup course, in this case a spinach and broccoli soup finished off with creme fresh and a hint of coriander. The soup was wine matched with the Gembrook Hill Sauvignon Blanc from the Yarra Valley.
The soup was followed by entree of seared tuna with Moroccan eggplant and cumin mayonnaise, wine matched with the Leeuwin Estate Art Series 2015 Chardonnay from the Margaret River.
The option for the main meal in the Tasting Menu was the airline's Signature Snapper or the Rockpool Bar Grill style Beef Fillet. We chose the snapper which was poached in garam marsla and served with fine egg noodles and snow peas. The snapper was served with a green salad and wine matched with the Tolpuddle Pinot Noir from Tasmania.
The meal was finished with a selection of cheeses (although believe me, there is certainly more food on offer should you want it). The nice sized serving of 3 cheeses was wine matched with the Lillypilly Noble Blend dessert wine from the NSW Riverina.
Following the meal we requested a Peppermint tea from the range of T2 teas available which was served in a lovely teapot.
After lunch was served a selection of chocolates were offered around the cabin. Just when you think you can't fit anything more in, it turns out there's always room for Artisan chocolate.
After the lunch meal service the cabin was prepared for sleep in a bid to move onto the LA timezone and reduce jetlag (read our review of the Qantas First class bed here.). Breakfast service started 2 hours prior to landing. The breakfast meal is constructed in such a way that you can have a full leisurely breakfast if you're awake, or a small bite closer to landing if you'd prefer to sleep.
We enjoyed the waffles served with spiced apple and berry compote, natural yoghurt and pecans, along with a Botanica cold pressed juice and coffee following which we were offered some pastries including a homemade sourdough crumpet.
All in all, we were certainly well fed on this flight, in terms of quantity and quality! The main meal was restaurant quality and should you feel peckish throughout the flight the flight attendants will offer you snacks or you can help yourself to the self serve bar in the onboard lounge that is stocked with drinks and snacks including popcorn and chips.
Contact our Flat Beds expert Airfare Consultants to book your Qantas First Class flights.
