jokers

Seeking your thoughts on the vegetarian food served in F.

I've accumulated enough miles to treat mrs jokers and I to HKG in F - it would be our first in F. But as a vegetarian I wonder what is the food like in F. I'm aware it is a-la carte but do they have a separate veggie menu? My deepest concern is being fed the same veggie food that I would get in Y!

Any insights would be appreciated!

pgppetch

There are a few veg items on the a la carte FIRST menu and not remotely the same thing as offered in Y. I'd imagine you could request just the sides which accompany a meat main as well-the FIRST experience is supposed to cater to the passenger. I was surprised on my last FIRST flight that the veg main was a salad with a large goat cheese medallion on top. The veg option in Club has always seemed more substantial and filling than that, usually some sort of pasta dish. You will also have the option of dining in the lounges. In Hong Kong, I recommend you visit the Cathay Pacific First Class lounge where there is a more diverse offering of food at their buffet in the dining room with servers providing table service of drinks. The BA lounge had a separate FIRST lounge within a lounge when i visited several years ago but the food offering paled compared to Cathay's. Have a great trip!

Irubi

It's a problem I have as well.

I can tell you that the last time I ordered a Vegetarian meal in first, I got the same as the Y veg (a dried out ravioli dish), but on a plate.

Since then, I have picked from the menu - tends to be on the bistro part of the menu a veg option. In my experience, no veg main at all.

Failing that, I have asked what the CW veg option is.

As pgppetch mentions, there tend to be very good dining options on the ground in the lounges. I also thoroughly echo the recommendation of eating in the Cathay First Lounge restaurant in HKG - had a great meal there before my last flight.

Suffuce to say though, I have never gone hungry even if you do have to pick and mix a little bit.

pinworm

When you book they can make sure they get a veggie option for you. I do it all the time. Most of the time I don't need to though, especially on the Asian carriers

LondonAndy

This was discussed a few months ago - you may find this thread interesting.

BA304

Usually just the bistro option (something along the lines of a pasta dish) instead of a main course.

db7

You can order a special dish (suggest Asian Vegetarian rather than lacto-ova) and you can the decide to take that or select of menu. Menu is normally just pasta with sauce.

sunrisegirl

I know a number of people who prefer the AVML (Asian Vegetarian Meal) choice over the regular vegetarian meal. Even in F they've praised it highly. I believe Smirnoff has done this a few times.

Valueseeker

I suggest you contact You First approximately 2 weeks before your outward flight. They will supply a copy of the onboard menus. You can then decide whether to select from the menu or pre-order a veggie special meal.

Remember that your first choice from the menu may not be available, which could leave a very limited selection.

Set your expectations low. That way you will not be disappointed.

smackie

My wife's vegetarian so I've seen a lot of special meals in F and CW. What she does these days is book the Vegan meal as a backup and, if there's something on the F menu that looks suitable, she'll often have that instead.

The BA straight vegetarian option is often bloody horrible, even in F. It's usually pasta, often in an uninspired and bland sauce. If the pasta option is veggie in the regular bistro menu (and it often is), it's usually miles better. The F cabin staff have often been really embarrassed by what they've had to provide as a veggie special meal (they get no notes on it either, so it's always a mystery meal). The vegan option has been a lot more edible.

If you have a chat with the staff when the menus get handed out, you should be able to negotiate the best of the options on board - they want you to be happy and have almost always been really flexible and open about what's possible.

We were told by the cabin staff on the last trip that BA were experimenting with different special meals catering on the New York route. Hopefully it'll pick up a bit.

rathin100

If you like indian veg food fly Air India or Jet or Kingfisher You will get a "thali" a multi item veg meal with 20-25 different creations.... IT has the best

CCayley

So your wife's approach is 1. order a special meal, causing BA's loading of the regular menu to be reduced since she will be assumed not to be dining from it; then 2. intercept the crew to demand first choice from the regular menu regardless of normal order of service, increasing the chance of someone else not getting their choice of meal.

Somewhat selfish behaviour, perhaps?

aeroman380

I always order Vegetarian sometimes asian vegetarian and the food is much better even in First.

LondonAndy

I'm afraid that I tend to agree more with Smackie on this one - given that you will have paid a lot of money for the flight I feel that you should be entitled to a decent meal that fits your dietary requirements. It's the fault of British Airways if they choose not to allow for some food waste in F by supplying a few too many meals so that most passengers get some choice. I was on a F flight last year where there were 3 dessert choices on the menu, 2 passengers, and they had only loaded 2 desserts! As I ordered second I had a choice of 1 out of 3 choices - a poor show (and this from a BA apologist!).

BA304

I've had good experience with BA's vegetarian (lacto-ovo) special meal but I'm not terribly fussy as long as it's vegetarian.