jsm

Hi - Anyone know what they serve in Business on the LAX/LHR route (A380) in for the Vegetarian and Vegan options? Thanks!

konagirl2

If you pre-order a vegetarian or vegan special meal, no-one will know what you are getting until it is loaded onto the aircraft. However, for US flights my (limited) experience of BA vegetarian business class meals is a garden salad starter and a pasta main. If you like spicy (or not bland!), then request the Asian Vegetarian but be aware your breakfast will also have herbs and spices in it. I have had some very nice veggie food, e.g. thai style tofu salad, and also some really bad veggie food (bland 'risotto', i.e. overcooked stodge).

If you order a special meal, you should politely ask for hot bread when it is brought round and for a choice of dessert / cheese board if you want; the bread rolls that are served with the special meals are gluten free and pretty awful.

For the LHR-LAX leg you will be able to see the menu 1 month out and pre-order the vegetarian option if it takes your fancy over the lottery of a special meal. If you do pre-order the veggie main, make sure you let the cabin crew know you are veggie so that you get the veggie starter too (you can't pre-order the starter even though you can see the menu from the MMB pre-order link). Of course this is mute if you are vegan, you'll have to order the special meal (I have never seen a vegan main course offered as part of the main options).

obduro

I'd follow konagirl2's second piece of advice here. My wife hasn't been impressed with the "special meal" options and on the ex-LHR leg of our flights has always waited to at least see what the vegetarian option is under the preorder menu. She's not a big fan of goat's cheese though, and this features quite often.

kilbornr

I've got this same issue coming up soon with one leg in CW and one in F. Fingers crossed. I didn't request a meal for CW since I've read they should have a veggie option. The F menu that is published was very veggie unfriendly, so I requested a lacto ovo veggie meal. I'll report back in two weeks about how it is.

lemira

The vegan food on BA in first and CW is, without doubt, the worst I have had on any airline.

I flew back from SIN recently and it was pathetic and terrible in equal measure. my breakfast was inedible. The crew and the CSD where embarrassed by how poor it actually was. I've been flying BA on and off for about 10 years in the premium cabins (mainly in First) and the food is getting much worse, not better.

I tried complaining by email. I sent a total of 5 emails and received cut and paste standard answers every time. Utterly pathetic all round.

Vegan food isn't hard to do well but BA couldn't care less about it.

Best vegan food by far is on Lufthansa.

See below

Dinner - looked like a student had made it:



Desert - utterly pathetic (I know this is upside down but i can't be bothered fixing it)



Breakfast - This was inedible



Good luck......

lemira

Maybe we vegans / veggies should start our on thread on here, where we regularly report back on food quality (?)

Maybe we can use this to put pressure on BA to sort it out.

Comments?

dave10

I think that's a great idea; I've always ordered the veggie special meals (ie I don't know what I'll get usually).

I've flown twice over the past year in First to/ from Tokyo and ordered the vegetarian special meal. Only once was it nice (the breakfast) and all other times the cabin crew have actually suggested whether I'd prefer something else from the menu as the main course was so poor (I'd tried some, so it wasn't that they wanted an extra veggie meal for the crew).

Another time they forgot to load my veggie meal full stop LHR-NRT, and the crew really couldn't care less - I had to order the pasta from the Bistro menu (not exactly premium); I got Ł50 in compensation after three emails (the first response saying simply 'thanks for flagging it up, and we'll make sure it dosn't happen again'.... ermm... not acceptable!). And poor in First.

Other comments:
-I've noticed an improvement in CE veggie lunches with heated tofu and salad with pasta on band 3 lately (Turin)
-the evening CE meal from Italy hasn't changed in ages and ages - the veggie curry. It's ok, but boy does it get boring.
-the veggie breakfast in CE seems to be falling in quality - it's a stodgy mushroom and egg mixture. Really quite poor.
-A recent CE trip to Istanbul had fruit as the starter, fruit for main and ..... strangely... fruit for desert. It sucked. It was a veggie meal and not a vegan one.

As for vegans.... I've experienced a couple of times a vegan evening meal being offered on the CE Italian routes and it's the same as the veggie one; including chocolates and milk offerings. Makes you wonder what's in the main ingredients.

Please please please get soya milk on board.... but that's another issue and one quite a few folk have flagged up.

Sorry; no pics. But I think that'd be a nice thread

obduro

Veggie wise was served a (non-preorder) Halloumi salad not long ago on a LHR - OSL 320 that was actually delicious! (Yes it does happen)

We also had some veggie teriyaki noodles on a LHR - YYZ J flight last year that were on the menu available to order pre-flight. Was a 788 if that makes a difference to what is loaded.

No pictures again...if you get good food on BA it goes down the hatch quickly

Dicksbits

I'm a vegetarian and have seen the chickpea curry so many times in Club Europe you wouldn't believe it. They never supply a little box of chocolates with the dinner either - as everyone else gets. When asked the CSD says: None spare, we only have limited meals and trays onboard.

The veggie breakfast is much better out of LCY than LGW in CE. It's really awful hot stodge from Gatters,and best avoided.

I've flown CW to and from LAX a number of times, and as stated it's usually pasta. Once out to SFO I was given a tofu curry (from LHR) which was nice for lunch. Recently to PEK I was handed an Indian style tofu dish which was ok (change from pasta).

In First I would agree that the menu is limited for veggie. In my experience the best thing to do is order a special meal, then when onboard choose anything you like - I've never had a problem, you get more choice and the cabin crew are usually tripping over themselves to help. Especially if you're on a late service and lots of people don't eat and go to sleep (ex-JFK).

lemira

I should add, I always pre-order my vegan meals (it happens automatically because I have it set as a preference). The slop you see in the pictures was the special meal.

I've flown to NRT maybe 3 times with BA in First and the vegan food was not good but better than ex SIN.

Afternoon meals in CE are normally ok and usually better than the finger sandwiches the omnivores get.

UKD breakfasts are non-vegan, so I've never tried them. If they taste anything like they smell, I'm glad I've avoided!

gingeola

You haven't suffered a bad vegetarian meal until you've flown Iberia.

I actually quite like BA vegetarian meals in CE though I do wish they would give us sandwiches like everyone else when it's afternoon tea.

The Vegan meal in the photos above however...

hyperspace

my experience with Vegetarian Meals on the LAX-LHR route has been pretty much always some sort of pasta.
The vegan special meal tends to be less tasty, especially for main entree and desserts.
Remember you can always ask anything from the regular menu even if the special meal is loaded for you.

headingwest

That's a great idea.

Vegetarians and particularly vegans seem to get a bad deal on BA.

lemira

OK, I will start the thread:

'The vegan and vegetarian food thread'

Let's try and assemble a collection (or dossier!) of food because vegans and veggies definitely get a poor deal with BA. Even in the lounges, the offerings are poor. For example, in CCR, there is literally nothing for vegans on the menu