AlwaysOnTheRoad

I just had yet another mediocre breakfast at the CCR. 6:15 AM.

My issue is that other than my fried eggs... everything on the plate was lukewarm at best but mostly cold. This is not the first time.

Other than the eggs... I find I get better food... in the First Lounge. The fruit selection is better and the items on the buffet are generally at least warm... not cold.

At least they added some tables in the CCR where I can use my laptop even though there are no power points.

Simonp27

I prefer the tranquility and service of the CCR and my Eggs Benedict or occasional full english is usually very good.

That said if I want a quick and decent sized breakfast then "build your own" in the First lounge can work well.

HFHFFlyer

I tend to serve myself breakfast in GF, then retreat to the CCR for a quiet coffee and read of the papers.

orbitmic

It seems to me the op is lucky enough to have a predicament that is easily resolved; if he/she feels the breakfast in GF is better/less poor than in CCR, warmer and with better selection then go there since you have access anyway (indeed go through it if you go through FW). Those of us who disagree and largely prefer what we get in the ccr can conversely stick to what we have.

Genius1

Send the cold food back to the kitchen and ask for hot food. I know you shouldn�t have to, but that�s what you�d do in any high street restaurant.

crazy8534

Annoying for it to be cold but as Genius1 says, just send it back.

I agree the new seats and tables between the bar and the high tables are a useful addition.

seanp7

Well, yes - but "go to F then; I like the CCR" isn't exactly the point of the thread, IMO. If there was a cockroach or terrible service in CCR, should the OP just go to the F lounge instead, so you can "stick to what we have"?

As others have stated, send the hot main back or ask for it extra hot when you order. The chef needs to hear the feedback. Just my two cents.

orbitmic

Well, no cockroach was found, and I have to start by saying that I have not really experienced cold or lukewarm food in the CCR despite very frequent visits, so I'm guessing that it is more a case of personal preference than actual systematic coldness. To my knowledge, all dishes are actually made to order so if anything, it might be more the waiters who might need the feedback than the chef? I also don't prefer the fruit selection in the GF, nor is my experience that the food is better (I only occasionally use GF but do so when I know it's unlikely I'll have enough time for the CCR).

By all means, anyone should feel free to give feedback to BA if they are not satisfied (it's precisely not clear to me from the OP that feedback was in fact provided, and it won't likely reach BA just by being posted here), but I'll admit that personally and without any irony, if there is a lounge which proves not to be up to my standards on multiple occasions (as reported by the OP) and I have access to others I enjoy better, I'd just go there, in part because I prefer to pick my battles (and if I can find an ok resolution without picking one it makes my life easier) and in part because if I experience something which strikes me as repeated service failure, I simply would lose trust in the place to take my feedback into account or to have either the skill or will to improve things. Again, there was nothing ironic in my comment, it is just, literally, what I would do in other places when facing similar dilemmas (similarly, many people choose to go to the Soho lounge rather than Chelsea even if they have access to the latter because they find the space a lot more pleasant as do I, and same with a lot of people picking the Cathay J lounge at LHR T3 over the F lounge because again space is nicer and less crowded, so my thought is hardly an original or revolutionary one.

scillyisles

As fairly frequent visitors to the CCR, it is no surprise to read that sometimes the breakfast can be cold. We have experienced this on a number of occasions - it has been better on our recent visits. We have experienced the cold poached eggs on the eggs Benedict and other egg dishes (whilst the dishes are assembled to order, the poached eggs are pre poached, drained ready for use and then need popping in boiling water to reheat. Often they either omit this stage totally or just pop then in for too short a period so the outer egg white is warmish but the inner yoke is stone cold).
The other issue which we have experienced a lot is lukewarm coffee - again this seems to have improved on our most recent visits.
In terms of the full English, I would agree that the bacon, sausage, mushroom, tomato etc are never piping hot or even what I would define as hot - they are mostly lukewarm. All of these are precooked and kept warm - the dish is then assembled to order and it is this process where further cooling can occur. I wonder if pre-heated plates are used as putting warm food onto cold plates leads to fairly rapid cooling.
I agree with Genius1 - if food or drinks are cold/lukewarm then send it back - we do this.

SW7London

Unbelievable this is at all considered acceptable in a premium lounge full of First class/highest status passengers.

Forget about comparing the CCR to CX or QF lounges, my local greasy spoon does a better job for �9.99 and it includes chips as well as hot coffee!

Umbongo

Apropos of sending food back, the actor Sir Cedric Hardwicke explained that he never complained or sent food back in a restaurant but just gave up going to that establishment. He explained his reluctance to complain by the following story.

Apparently, he was lunching in a famous West End restaurant in the 1950s and had a table near one of the waiter stations and thus could overhear any banter between the waiters there. A patron had sent back a dish to the kitchen. A waiter had returned and served the complainant with the now apparently acceptable product. The waiter made his way to the waiter station where a colleague stood. About 30 seconds later he – the waiter – leaned over to his colleague and muttered with pleasure “He ate it!”

I agree with Sir Cedric: although I might complain I’d never let the complained-about dish out of my sight

Fruitcake

As a fairly infrequent visitor to CCR, and a much more regular incumbent of the FL, I have always preferred breakfast in the CCR, particularly because of the service and the peace in the restaurant area.

Cold food could indeed be sent back but, unlike the OP, I haven't yet experienced that in the CCR. It shouldn't happen. However, Mrs Fruitcake has just reminded me that her English breakfast in the CCR in August wasn't that hot, whereas my egg benedict was. But then she likes hotter than me.

orbitmic

Are you sure? I thought the CCR was using one of those egg poacher machines which is not great but at least gives some consistency and wouldn't seem compatible with pre-poaching? The only eggs I ever have in the CCR are poached or soft boiled, and I have to say I never had cold eggs there myself though I may of course have been lucky.

seanp7

I think most people realize that feedback on Flyertalk won't always reach the airline, but that does not mean folks cannot start a new thread about their complaints and look for comments & healthy discussion (of which your comments are a part of!) Whether they can walk to an alternative and solve their own problem is relevant, for sure, but not a barrier to posting on this community forum, nor expecting something of a higher standard (and mentioning it). Cheers.

NWIFlyer

Given the CCR and F lounge share a kitchen, I can say that the issue of inconsistently presented food applies to both. As a mere mortal in these parts I don't have access to the CCR (the last time I was in, burning the only GUF2 I've ever earned, was pre-Covid - I expect a lot's changed), but given I don't particularly want to fill myself with greasy food in the F lounge I usually seek out a member of BaxterStorey staff and order kippers.

Last week they came quickly and were perfect. The time before less so. I don't detect any less BS staff around, they still seem helpful and responsive to me, the removal of the QR code ordering should have lessened their workload, and yet we still see variable wait times and consequently food temperature. It must therefore be a question of organisation.

It's not something that massively bothers me, and time constraints usually mean I wouldn't have time to send anything back, so the only option left is to complete the experience survey and hope it ends up somewhere useful.