Flew on the BA179 last night and had my first experience of the new service. Overall I'd say an improvement and I expect over time as the crew get more into the grove and feedback is gathered it will continue to improve.
Most of the small negatives from yesterday evening's flight could be very easily improved as the timings tighten and hopefully the menu issue (see below) was a one off thing!
I was in 62A which I snag whenever possible as I particularly like the privacy of the window seats and the ability to access the aisle directly. One of my long running bugbears is the etiquette over the divider and how different crew handle it.
While this doesn't directly relate to the new service it is exacerbated by it - the window seat occupant needs to peer across their neighbor in a way that wasn't necessary before for a prolonged interaction with the crew as the starters are discussed. On yesterday's flight the crew put the divider down for every interaction, and most of the time didn't then put it back up. I've found previously in 62A or K the crew tend to serve from the exit area whereas the new service makes this less practical.
I'd like to see the crew given guidance that if the divider is up and they put it down, that they should also put it back up when their interaction with the passenger is complete. If they know they're going to be back in 30 seconds and want to leave it down that's fine, but how am I to know if they'll be back in 30 seconds or 10 minutes. With the rumored direct aisle access seats in the pipeline this whole thing will eventually be a non-issue.
The service itself was definitely slower than usual. Once in full flow this wasn't really a problem, but there seemed to be quite a wait between them bringing the trays around with the bread and cutlery before they came and served the starters. Felt like 10-15 minutes, although to be fair I didn't time it. The result was that the bread was cold by the time the starters were served - I noticed the occupant of 63A had eaten theirs long before the starters appeared.
Definitely the biggest improvements are the presentation of the starters and how fresh and appetising they all looked so I do get why they're keen to showcase them on the trolley - the presentation really popped. I had the burrata and felt the plate was simple but very refreshing. I'm just not sure for me the positives of the trolley presenation outweigh the new timing issue - given the additional wait I feel like I'd have preferred to have the starter brought out from the galley already on the tray from the get go.
Speaking of the menus - there weren't enough loaded, so every seat pair had to share a menu. That perhaps took a bit of the glean off of things and was another reason the divider spent more time down than is my preference
The nuts being served in a bowl rather than in the package definitely makes things feel a bit more classy.
I missed the default plating of the side salad. Appreciate I could have had a second item from the starter menu and will probably do this next time round.
Whilst the new bread was better than what was previously served I also missed the option to have an extra helping.
The main course was pretty good although didn't seem as well thought out as the starters so it's clear where the effort has been invested - I had the beef gnocchi dish and found it cooked surprisingly well - the beef had a pleasingly warm pink center. I read somewhere above about concerns about the items not being cooked separately so was positiveily surprised to find the asparagus still had a bit of a bite.
The apple strudel I had for dessert was unfortunately barely above ambient temperature and the pastry very limp. Most likely a timing issue but next time I'll definitely have one of the deserts thats intentionally rather than accidentally cold!
I enjoyed the tapas (although not sure I'd really call it tapas?) but there was no offer of sandwiches or scones.
I do wish they'd offer better coffee! I'd actually trade the new starters and service for something espresso based.
Unlike many above I don't have an issue with the club kitchen being a bit "down market" - it's a bit of a guilty pleasure and I usually grab a packet of crisps and a chocolate bar mid-flight to snack on while watching a film. I'm not sure I'd be quite so fussed about an extra desert or something plated.