Airport Food

I took Friday and Monday off to go to Prague for the weekend, travelling on my own as Sue had other commitments. For the first time I was flying out from Terminal 5 at Heathrow. The new terminal had its teething problems when it opened, and when I found out that on Thursday they were introducing a new tranche of long-haul flights at T5 I was prepared for trouble. I decided to leave home early to allow more time. I could always spend the extra time exploring the new terminal.

As it happened there were no delays. There was a minor hitch at the car park. I had booked in advance so the number plate recognition system was meant to print out a personalised ticket with my car number and tie that to my pre-paid reservation. It didn't recogise the number, so I had to go to the desk to sort that out on Monday when I returned.

Having allowed extra time I got to the terminal in good time, and since I had printed my boarding card at home and had no checked luggage I was through security very quickly. In fact the entire journey from home to airside took about an hour.

It was lunchtime so I was hungry when I went airside. I checked out the eateries straight away. There were the usual Pret a Manger and Costa Coffee bars, but I wanted more than a sandwich. The pub serving food was very busy. I passed Gordon Ramsay's Plane Food and took a look. Main courses were about £15.00. Restaurant prices, but not totally outrageous. So I went in.

The place was about 40% full. The waitress was friendly and informal but very professional. I had a mineral water while I studied the menu and wine list. I went for the salmon fishcakes and a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The wine was crisp with tart apple flavours. The fishcake was perfect; a crisp crumb coating, not at all soggy, a lovely creamy filling with a hint of tarragon, and meaty chunks of salmon. It came on a bed of spinach which was moist without being soggy, and there was a creamy mustard sauce which went better with the salmon than I had expected. There was a small side salad and I had ordered fries which were hot, crisp and tasty. It was the best salmon fishcake I have ever eaten.

I finished my glass of wine while I studied the dessert menu. I went for the Knickerbocker Glory (a large ice-cream sundae for those who don't know the term). It came in a tall sundae glass; there was a soft jelly base, lots of fresh fruit and fruit sorbet filling the glass. On top was a good helping of thick whipped cream with vanilla, sprinkled with freshly-toasted sliced almonds and a fresh black cherry on top. It was wonderful.

There were two flaws in the perfection, the Americano was more like an Espresso, but was beautiful coffee nonetheless, so I didn't complain. The more serious problem was that the spoon was too wide to reach the bottom of the sundae glass so I couldn't eat all of the jelly. I mentioned this to the waitress, who said that she agreed with me that this was a problem and reported it straight to the manager. Maybe they will have different spoons next time.

It was an excellent meal, the best airport meal I have ever eaten, and the most relaxing time I have spent in an airport. At just over £40 including service it was expensive, but good value for what I got.

Sue was quite jealous when I told her about it so we will have to go there again next time we pass through Terminal 5.