The most expensive (and crappiest) coffee/food you've encountered at airports
 

Nominate your most expensive coffee and/or food (snacks, not restaurant food) you've encountered at airports in terms of worst price/performance.

I think worst I've seen was at Moscow's Sheremetyevo airport about 15 years ago - once cup of coffee - $12. And it was undrinkable.

Gotta go with water at FRA. No water fountains, shallow sinks in the washroom prevent filling a bottle there and the absolute lowest price for a small bottle of water in any shop is 4.5 EUR (plus a recycling deposit which obviously you'll not be able to ever reclaim since you're leaving the country).

One thing I like about returning to my home airport of YVR is abundant, free, clean water.

I bought a chicken cesar wrap thing from a restaurant/coffee place at sydney airport. it was so bland, chicken was dry and flaky, hardly any sauce tasted like nothing. and it cost me best part of 12AUD

At ZRH..........I was "Switzerlanded" as they say.

Coffee, croissant and an OJ........35 francs.

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Obscure2k
TravelBuzz. Moderator

I try to put the specifics out of mind ("was the inedible sandwich US$25 or $35?" "did I really pay $15 for a packaged granola bar?"), but I've had some bad experiences in what I'll call secondary (Niamey) and tertiary African airports (Faya-Largeau or Franceville) where there is only one food source.

Not to be too snarky, but in most airports the most expensive and worst coffee is from Starbucks. I typically get it from anywhere but there, when there are other convenient options.

KEF
 

This dubious distinction has to go to Keflavik International Airport in Reykjavik, Iceland.
Stale cheese sandwich & nondescript drink for $20. Everything about that airport was so bad I wrote them to suggest improvements. Their response (reproduced below) did not even acknowledge the limited food options:

Thank you for your suggestions.
The airport is 30 years old but we are expanding and improving as fast as we are able. There are several charging stations throughout the airport. I am sorry that the employee did not know. I will look into that.
When we have finished expanding we hope to have room for some off the things you suggested. But right now we are to small compared to the number off people going through.

Again thank you for your suggestions. J





Með kveðju,

Kind regards
[Removed name per FT Rules]

Project Manager Passenger Service

Another common disappointment: the US$3 apple that looks okay, but turns out to have been sitting in the cute farmer's basket display for a month.

To be honest, just about anything I have eaten in any airport, anywhere.

My solution was to get a lounge pass. Then at least the crappy food is free.

Singapore is an exception. Staff canteen in T1 has the same prices as in the city hawker centers and food count in T3 just 10% more expensive than airconed food courts in the city. Yes, both are landside.

United’s FreshPoo was pretty bad coffee a few years ago. I’m glad they got rid of them.

Ok, I take the point about SIN (a strong contender for "world's best major airport").

It might cost A$12 in the city too (but hopefully it will taste better).

You could have gone to one of the supermarkets and got a pastry and juice (can't remember if they have coffee machines) for less than 5 francs. Perhaps the café ones are better, but not seven times better.

Well, I had a fish and chips at KEF for about 1400 ISK, and it was reasonably edible, as well as being the cheapest meal I had in Iceland.

The T2 landside food court at HKG is similar to this.

I had a long delay at EWR last year so I sat at some seafood restaurant in the center of the C Concourse. I ordered a shrimp cocktail which was awful, some sushi which was tasteless and a scotch and it came to something like $80.