From smashed avo to scones, here is Virgin Australia’s new lounge menu
Virgin elevates its domestic lounge spread from ‘casual cafe’ to ‘upmarket bistro’.
By David Flynn, November 1 2021
Sourdough toast topped with avocado fetta, Japanese-style karaage chicken, Chinese dumplings, penne bolognese, mediterranean platters, Macaroons and scones: even if Virgin Australia's still not flying overseas, its latest lounge menu is an international journey in itself.
Those dishes are among the highlights which Virgin travellers can expect to see from this week as the airline rolls out an on the ground refresh which follows the same upmarket cafe trend as its business class catering, albeit with a few unexpected twists.
Part of the spread in Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
The morish menu comes as Virgin pulls back the curtains on its overhauled Melbourne lounge, which takes some of the relaxed and even playful elements from its new-look Adelaide lounge and integrates them into Melbourne's sharper style.
Virgin Australia's refreshed Melbourne lounge.
"Frequent flyers can expect to see more 'Virgin Flair' through signage, seating areas, bathrooms and the general aesthetics," explains Virgin Australia Group Chief Customer and Digital Officer, Paul Jones.
Virgin Australia's refreshed Melbourne lounge.
Read more: Virgin’s refreshed Melbourne lounge is ‘same but different
The airline says its lounge menu is "part of its ongoing program to enhance the guest experience and appeal to its heartland customer."
Part of Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
The selection will be rotated each month while "providing variety and choice to suit a range of taste buds at any time of the day."
Part of Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
Here are some of the headliners:
- Sourdough toast topped with avocado fetta served with chilli flakes and a lemon wedge
- Breakfast croissant (ham, scrambled eggs, cheese)
- Penne bolognaise with parmesan cheese
- Potato rosti with crispy bacon and baked beans
- Avocado, baby spinach, grated, carrot, cucumber, Hummus, and falafel wrap
- Black rice, beetroot with walnut and fetta salad
- Karaage chicken served with slaw and mayonnaise
- Mediterranean plate with falafel, tabouli and hummus.
- Freshly baked cookies
- Chocolate coconut Macaroon
- Scones topped with fresh cream and Jam Gelato cups
Part of Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
A selection of freshly-prepared sandwiches, salads, wraps and snacks will continue to be served to complement the new menu items.
Part of Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
Virgin Australia says the reopening of its Melbourne lounge means the airline's entire national lounge network is back in business, with other lounges at Sydney, Brisbane, the Gold Coast, Adelaide, Canberra and Perth.
Part of Virgin Australia's new lounge menu.
Up next will be the launch of Virgin's new premium VIP program built around what were formerly The Club lounges at Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane – the airline says this will take place by March 31, 2022, which could also accompany a new top-level VIP tier of the Velocity Frequent Flyer program.
Read more: Is Virgin going to transform The Club into a Velocity elite tier?
Virgin Australia - Velocity Rewards
06 Mar 2015
Total posts 231
Now this is a big improvement!!
Well done VA and can hardly wait to try it.
23 Oct 2014
Total posts 238
Excellent !!! Looks fantastic and bang on market
23 Oct 2014
Total posts 238
Looks great! Perfect food offering for all, and will make all happy.
20 Oct 2015
Total posts 245
The 'new' Virgin continues to impress me, these meals are even better than what Qantas serves in its domestic business class lounges. And they're very much in line with the airline's own business class catering. Well done!
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
27 Jun 2013
Total posts 22
Karaage chicken & Chinese dumplings - yes please!! Menu looks great
08 Mar 2021
Total posts 7
Looks good virgin, a big improvement and the lounge looks modern and minimalist. Now will you please hurry up and offer some international destinations again. Get those 3 triple 777’s sitting at Toowoomba cleaned up and at least get the Los Angeles service back up and running a couple of times a week. A lot of us have velocity points waiting to be used on something other than domestic flight.
28 Oct 2020
Total posts 4
too right! but I think they only have one (1) in Toowoomba. Happy to be corrected - but I'm quite sure the other two have been handed back ages ago
01 Jun 2021
Total posts 10
Oh yeah! This looks awesome. Love the ADL lounge but Melbourne is home. Flying on Wednesday, can't wait!
02 Nov 2021
Total posts 1
Not according to its Web site this morning (2 Nov):
Our Canberra and Gold Coast Domestic Lounges are temporarily closed due to government restrictions and operational requirements.
28 Oct 2020
Total posts 4
Flying J BNE DRW in two weeks - this looks awesome (hmm I wonder if their business catering will eventually step up as well. This looks awesome though. Yea VA 👍
20 Nov 2015
Total posts 477
Much better than I was expecting from Virgin, to be honest. I think a lot of people who were skeptical of 'the new' Virgin under Bain Capital and Jayne Hrdlicka and worried it would be a bit too LCC, a bit too Virgin Blue, would be thinking twice. The business class menu was a great first step, and this new lounge menu really lifts the game. Better than even the Qantas Business Lounge at Sydney, and while the other Qantas domestic lounges have their own special eatery such as pizza in Perth and Asian in Melbourne, this Virgin menu has a great variety across the board.
11 Sep 2015
Total posts 225
I just hope Virgin's monthly rotation of this menu also sees a different menu in place at each lounge, eg Menu 1 at Brisbane, Menu 2 at Sydney, Menu 3 at Melbourne, Menu 4 at Adelaide. Business travellers and frequent flyers don't want to see the same menu at both ends of their journey , especially when they're flying once or twice a week.
21 Dec 2012
Total posts 44
wow, this looks excellent. While they're in the mood for building value in the program, can someone have a word in their ear - plenty of us decade+ platinums would gladly have the golden handcuffs slipped on.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
15 Aug 2020
Total posts 8
Wow - something appealing from Virgin. A reason to consider. and for once they have let the story/product do the talking - no Jayne impact to detract.
15 Sep 2021
Total posts 13
Salvia working overtime while I type.
Massive improvement on what was on offer with Sydney and Melbourne earlier this year.
Well Done!
Etihad - Etihad Guest
07 Feb 2019
Total posts 2
Anything marked Gluten Free?
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