LOT Airline Lounge, Warsaw

During my recent trip to Poland, I returned from Warsaw on Swiss, by way of Zurich, with my initial flight from Warsaw on their partner Helvetic Airways.  This gave me a chance to check out the LOT airline lounge.  It was really quite different from most other airline lounges I've visited, and while it had plenty of lackluster options, some of the desserts in particular were quite good!

Setting

The lounge is located right after security, up one level.  It features two buffet areas, tiny bathrooms, and some uninspired seating.

Main Lounge.

The main lounge was pretty crowded, and not interesting.  I didn't get many photos there of the seating areas, but they were all full of people.  There was a bar, but it wasn't staffed, which, makes sense given that it was 8am.

Elite lounge-within-lounge.

But within the lounge, is an Elite lounge, a lounge-within-lounge, for their highest status members, or those of us flying long haul business class for connecting flights.  Since I was continuing on to the United States after a connection in Zurich, this meant I had access.

It was an oasis compared to the main area, and I'm glad I tried on a whim to see if I had access, as no one mentioned it to me at checkin (they didn't mention *any* lounge actually).  If you have access to this section, don't even bother stopping in the main lounge.

Back Room.

This area had entirely different seating, including several different back rooms, light filled with windows and more comfortable chairs.

More Seating.

Decor was just generally a bit nicer, and the seating more geared towards individuals.

Work pods.

I liked the individual work pods, as they doubled as standing desks.

Food & Drinks - Main Lounge

Not pictured is the corn flakes (only cereal option), breads (no fun pastries), and cookies.  

Juices, Milk Beer.

Another cooler had soft drinks and waters.

Coffee Machine.

The first coffee machine I found was out of order.  The main area had a second one, with a loooong line of confused people.  I later used the identical one in the Elite lounge, and hated the coffee.  I went to nearby Costa Coffee instead, which was dramatically better.

Fruit.

Simple fruits, apple, pears, grapes.  I appreciated the grapes.  Something juicy and refreshing when in an airport and feeling very dry is always nice.  

Fruit, Condiments.

Bananas, ketchup, mustard, mayo.

Treats.

The only snack mix was a trail mix with peanuts, which was offered alongside just peanuts, fudge, and chocolate bars.

Chilled Selections.

A glass case held the chilled selections.  The lineup was cheeses and cold cuts, salad pots, pastes, a few random other things, and a fish tray.  Only some were on the menu.  This selection seemed to be more geared towards lunch, and it was 8am, so I suspect this remains the same all day long.  I was surprised not to see basics like yogurt though.

The cheese platter (top row) had gouda with herbs, fourme d'ambert, red leicester, and port salut.  The cold cuts (third row) were salami with nuts, roast pork loin, smoked chicken, and canned ham (!).

I tried everything from the seafood tray (second row)

Marinated argentine:

I looked this up, thinking argentine was a kind of fish I was not familiar with, but it seems to just mean "marine fish" generically.  Hmm, ok.  Anyway, it was a breaded fish cutlet, with a fish inside that tasted a bit like pickled herring?  The breading was soft and soggy, and it was definitely an "acquired" taste in the way pickled herring is.  I can't say I liked it.  **.

Mini tart with salmon and mango:

The tart shell was decent, soft and lightly sweet.  I didn't taste mango, but there was a fruity compote inside.  There was a hunk of cooked fairly fishy salmon on top.  The shell and compote were enjoyable, and if I liked the taste of fully cooked salmon perhaps I'd like this.  *** shell/compote, ** overall though.

Tuna paste on pumperknickle:

Mushy tuna salad.  Very fishy.  Too much mayo.  Soggy pumperknickle.  Nothing good here.  *.

Shrimp in potato dough:

This could be awesome if, well, not in a buffet and cold like this.  I knew the coating couldn't possibly be crispy, but a girl can hope right?  As a soggy buffet item, obviously, meh.  But I took one with me on ice and put it in the air fryer at home, and it was much better.  And it was kinda fascinating - the wrapper was thin spirals of potato, just all wrapped around, that got nicely crispy.  It was like drawn out hash browns almost.  Inside though I expected just a shrimp, but actually, it was a very thin and tiny shrimp (tail on!) and then a big oval of ... something.  I think a fish cake.  At first I thought it was mushy potato insides, or uncooked dough or something, but I think sorta spongy, sorta fishy fish cake it was.  Not a bad thing, just expected.  So, cold buffet item?  *, but air fried? ***.

Salad Pots.

There were three salad pots available, none labelled.  Dressings were on the side that I did not try.

The top one looked to be spinach and melons, so I had to skip that, as I am allergic to melon.

Next was mixed greens, with lots of quinoa, olives, and goat cheese.  The base salad was fairly fresh, the quinoa added some crunch, and I avoided the other toppings as they aren't really my thing.  ***.

The final one was again mixed greens, with slices of yellow bell pepper, roasted mushy tomato that I didn't like, and (cooked) broccoli.  Not really ingredients I loved, but it was fine, and the broccoli wasn't too mushy.  ***.

Bottom Row Close Up.

Very little from the bottom row was labelled.  The two pitchers I think were dressing for the salads (which, were also not labelled themselves).  Some of the rest was obvious, like sundried tomatoes, fresh tomatoes, marinated artichokes, pickles, and presumably hardboiled eggs.  I tried a hunk of squash, it was fine.

This row also had the "pastes", which were actually listed on the menu.  I tried the pumpkin and millet one (the other was blue cheese and broccoli).  It was basically mashed pumpkin with some texture.  It was fine.  Sorta needed something to dunk in it or spread it on though.   ***.

Sausages with Spices.

Hot breakfast is served until noon. The line up in the steam trays had only 3 items. Sausage with spices, frittata with vegetables, and mini dumplings with cottage cheese.

I like sausage, and I like hotdogs (which is what these looked like), but I didn't try these.  I can't say they looked very attractive.

Fritatta with Vegetables.

I hate fritatta, so I didn't try that either.

Mini Dumplings with Cottage Cheese.

I did try the dumplings, but I wish I had not.  They were gummy.  Thick shells.  Not good.  Vanilla sauce that was on the side did not help.  *.

Desserts.

I was happy to see that desserts are available all day as well, in a separate chilled case.  Here we had apple pie bars, and ... something else.  Not what the menu said it was, as the menu said vanilla cake with sicilian oranges, and this looked like some kind of mousse.

Apple pie with roasted apples:  This wasn't really apple pie, but rather, an apple pie bar.  Still, one of the better labelled items in the lounge.  It was not very good.  No actual distinct pieces of apple, just mushy applesauce goo.  Perhaps that is the style?  I didn't care for it.  The crumble topping was mediocre, a bit crispy, a bit sweet, but not really flavorful.  The whole thing was just blah, not great in flavors nor textures.  *+.

The other one was clearly not vanilla cake with Sicilian oranges.  It was a chocolate cake base (light, fluffy, mild chocolate flavor, not dry), topped with a mousse (thick, rich, creamy), and topped with a fruity gel that slide off easily, and didn't look great, but did have nice flavor.  Cake + mousse + gel isn't really what I'd put together, but each element was actually pretty good, and I enjoyed this.  ***+.  

Food & Drinks - Elite Lounge

The Elite area had everything the main area did, but then far more.  

Not very helpful menu.

Much like the regular lounge though, the menu only listed some of the items, many of what it listed did not exist, and many other things did instead. 

Elite Lounge Vodka.

The elite lounge had a lineup from J.A. Baczevski in a fairly fancy display case.

Yogurt & Fruit.

The main lounge had no yogurt, but the Elite did.  Individual packaged yogurts, plus pots with compote and granola, AND fruit cups were added to the juice fridge in here,  This fridge had nicer juices too.

More Extensive.

They still just one kind of cereal, but the Elite side had extra toppings like seeds and dried fruits.  Fancier jams.

Canapes.

Not listed anywhere on the menu were the little canapes, which seemed to be hunks of cheese, topped with something randon, with a skewer.  One had grapes, other olives and pepper, another kiwi .. and no clue what kind any of the cheeses were.  There was also a cheese platter on the side.  I didn't try any of these.

Sandwiches.

Not on the menu, but several kinds of sandwiches with cold cuts on various breads were added to the bottom row here.

Platter.

The menu did not list the salad platters either, again, added to the lineup of just the smaller pots.  These had dressing packaged in them, orzo on one side, cooked green beans and edamame, and large hunks of cheese, along with cherry tomatoes.  Herbs on top.

The orzo wasn't too mushy, and it was well seasoned, but it was kinda slimy and greasy.  I wasn't into it.  **.

I wish I knew what the cheese was.  At first glance, I thought it was going to be goat cheese, as it was clearly a soft cheese, but it wasn't.  It was in the direction of cream cheese, but more firmly set than that.  I really liked it later with some crackers. ****.

The edamame and green beans were fine.  ***.  The tomatoes a bit mushy, and the few small pieces of lettuce kinda slimy and wilted.  **.

So a mixed bag in terms of enjoyment, and sorta random stuff to begin with.

Premium Desserts.

The dessert lineup too had premium offerings, in addition to the same two from the main lounge (second shelf), the top row had two types of pudding pots, the third row was an assortment of 5-6 other items, AND there was a giant cake at the base.  The menu only listed a few of these, so I'm guessing on the rest.  It mentioned a banana cake, and I saw nothing that looked like banana cake.  It mentioned a brownie, and yup, no brownie. A cupcake ... maybe?  Anyway, I tried, um, most of them?

Top row:

Earl grey mousse with current: Assuming the menu was accurate, which I think it was for this one.  It had very mild earl grey, but the flavor was complex. It was thick, rich, and fluffy, and the topping had actual currants along with tart currant gel.  Loved the tart and sweet contrasts.  My second favorite, and one I truly enjoyed.  ****.  I'd gladly have taken another, but, I was trying not to be *too* crazy.

The other pot I'm not sure what it was.  It had a chocolate crumb base, a thicker, richer mousse.  A really really delicious chocolate crunchy topping.  So good, even at 9am.  My favorite.  ****+.  (Was this the nougat mousse from the menu?  It didn't really seem like nougat in any way to me though).  I was so so tempted to grab one for the road, after all, they came packaged to go, lids and all, with optional paper spoons on the side rather than metal.  It did sorta seem like this was a lounge where grab and go and take it with you wasn't frowned upon?

Third row:

Tart? Cupcake? 

The menu mentioned an almond cupcake, and I saw no cupcake.  It didn't list any tarts.  And yet, here we had a tart, topped with cream and a strawberry.  This might actually have been the "almond cupcake"?  It was not bad at all, a fairly soft shell, sorta like a cake, if I squinted enough.  You *might* be able to convince me it was a cake base in a fluted shape like a tart shell.  On top, or, what I thought was tart filling, was a very thick and rich cream, I think mango.  You might be able to consider it frosting, if you really tried. Topped with some almond slivers on top for crunch, hence, "almond cupcake"?  Maybe?  Anyway,  I liked it - cake, cream, fruit.  Check, check, check.  ****.

Rum Truffle: 

Chocolate truffles came next.  These might have been the "rum truffle" from the menu?  They were milk chocolate balls, with a thick shell, and somewhat soft brownie-like interior that was loaded with bits of nut (and maybe coconut).  Good textures, very rich, decadent.  Large size for a truffle, and I really didn't want it any bigger.  I perhaps tasted a touch of rum?  Unsure really.  ***.

Mousse Bar (?) :

No idea what this was. Was this the nougat mousse?  It looked fruity, and didn't match any descriptions.  // HERE

Coffee panna cotta:

I originally thought one of the above pots was the panna cotta, but I think this 4th item on the third row was the panna cotta.  Just a tiny little one.  Coffee flavored.  Well set, good jiggle, not gelatinous, reasonable coffee flavor.  Better than average but simple, not remarkable. **+.

Cherry Praline?

Another round truffle piece, a pink ball, so I guessed it was the cherry praline given the menu.  Another piece that I don't know what it really was.  It was a ball of perhaps white chocolate and thickened cream?  A white chocolate ganache maybe?  It was rolled in something fruity, and I could be convinced it was cherry, although it seemed more raspberry.  No nuts, no chocolate, just sweet and lightly fruity.  There was something kinda off about the flavor that I didn't care for.  **.

Bottom Row (cake):  

The menu said "brownie", and I didn't see a brownie, but this certainly wasn't that.  Instead, it was a full size cake, with huge slices, many layers, and plentiful chocolate components.  It had a thick rich chocolate coating, two layers of chocolate cake, a center layer of nut filling, layers of cream filling between every other layer, and was topped with pecans.  So much going on here.

The chocolate cake layers were the weakest element.  Fairly dry cake, not very moist, not particularly strong chocolate flavor.  Isolated on their own, this would be a pretty "meh" item.  ** cake.  

The nut filling though is where things got very interesting.  I wasn't expecting nuts other than the topping, and this was a surprise.  They added tons of texture, tons of crunch, and of course nutty flavor.  I think it might have been all pecan, but I sorta tasted walnut too.  Or hazelnut maybe?  The nuts were all chopped up and lightly held together by something else, but weren't as well formed as an actual cake layer.  Great nutty layer. ***+.

The cream layers were fine.  I thought they'd be like cheesecake, but I didn't really taste cream cheese nor ricotta.  But they were thick, rich, well set, not like a mousse, definitely thicker.  Maybe mascarpone in here?  Not sure.  A good element to round out the cake.  ***+.

The coating turned out not just be plain chocolate, or at least, it didn't taste that way. I tasted Nutella.  Milk chocolate, but definitely a nutty note to it, that seemed like hazelnut.  It had a nice snap to it, and was a good shell to the bevy of other layers.  ***+.

So overall, an adventure of a cake, and I wouldn't call it particularly cohesive, or actually as good as it looked, but, it was good enough, better than your average lounge food for sure, but not as good as some of the other items. ***+.