The Club, SFO

It finally opened.  The Club, at San Francisco International Airport, in the newer section of Terminal 1.  for Priority Pass members, at long last, a club we could use.  Or, theoretically at least.

Setting

The Club is located close to the entrance to the main wing of the terminal.  If you visit at what seems to be most times of day, it won't be hard to spot: just look for the line.  Access issues aside, it is a relatively large lounge.  In addition to the dining spaces I focus my review on, they did have a kid's play area, and some private work areas, along with a wellness area that was locked.

The Line!

Well, all the early reviews were right.  Expect wait times.  This ... was the line to get in the front door midday during the week.  Once through the door, you got in another line.  That line was just to put your name on a waitlist (!).  You then get a text when your spot is ready, and it is held for 10 minutes.

I waited in line for 20 minutes to put my name on a list.  I was quoted 30 mins wait at that point, but got my text within 20 minutes.  But yes, expect a line.

Fire Pit.

Inside, right at the top of the stairs when you enter, is a lovely fire pit.  It was the only area in the lounge not heavily used.  It looks great, but lacks tables or electricity, so sadly underutilized.

Seating.

The rest of the space is basically one huge room, with assorted styles of table seating, or arm chairs with side tables.

Yes, the ceiling is cool.

Bar.

I didn't visit the bar, but it was an attractive looking space.

Live Action Station.

It wasn't available during the daytime, only in the morning, but there was a live action station that serves breakfast sandwiches in the morning.

Food & Drink

The food and drink offering were pretty standard for a US domestic lounge.  Interestingly, no salad bar (just pre-made salads) and only one soup.  I've always thought that basic salad offerings and 2 soups was kinda standard fare.  There were two hot entrees.  No sandwiches, although signs indicated that there should be.  Two desserts.  Two snack mixes.  All fairly low end average quality.

Coffee / Tea.

No barista station (that I saw) in this lounge, but brewed coffee and tea bags were available self-serve.

Water Tap.

No water bottles or flavored water infusions are available, but there is a water tap with still, sparkling, or hot water.

There was also a soda dispenser with basic soft drinks.

Snacks.

No classic snack mix, but instead California Mix with assorted nuts and dried fruit, and gummy bears.

Breads.

Several types of bread, with a toaster on the side.  Basic spreads were located further down.

Soup.

There was a single soup of the day, along with some garnishes.

Fermented Station.

I eagerly tried a few of the pickled things.  The carrots were mushy and way too soft (and didn't taste pickled ...).  The radish wasn't quite as soft, but it certainly lacked any snap or crispness.  Cornichons were standard.

California Cabernet Chopped Salad.

"California kale chopped salad with cauliflower florets, sunflower seeds, tomatoes, and ricotta tossed in a Cabernet vinaigrette."

I really liked the idea of this salad, as I love curly kale as a base, I enjoy cooked cauliflower in salads, and of course, yay for tomatoes in season in summer, and ricotta for creaminess and sunflower seeds for crunch.  But it wasn't as good in practice as it seemed it would be.  It was heavily dressed, and I think had been made quite a while before, as it was pretty soggy.  The cooked cauliflower was rather soft, not roasted or lightly charred as I had hoped.  The tomatoes were tiny tiny bits, entirely lost in the rest of the mix.  It was ok, but just not great, and really suffered from the dressing (I also probably liked it even less as I don't care for vinaigrettes in general).  

Low *** for being well thought out at least.

Peas and Black Rice Salad.

"Black rice served with sheared English peas, fresh radish, and tossed in tarragon dressing."

Next up was another composed salad, also with a kale base.  This one was also over dressed, but less soggy, and everything else in it was great.  The radishes were crisp and sharp, the peas lightly sweet and not too soft, and the rice added nice texture.

I really enjoyed this one.  ****.

This area was also supposed to have a vegetarian wrap, but I never saw any during my 45 minute stay.

Curry.

There were two hot entrees, the first was a vegetarian coconut based curry.  I didn't try it.

Rice.

People waited a long time for rice, needed for the curry or the other hot entree.  It was entirely out the first few times I went by the buffet.  They definitely are having issues keeping the buffet full.  (I suspect switching to large format self-serve rice would make things better?  Curious why the entrees themselves are large format, but the rice isn't?).

Orange Chicken with Broccoli.

I'd been craving Panda Express when I visited the lounge, so I was pretty excited when a batch of the orange chicken was brought out about 30 minutes into my visit (it was missing previously).  The chicken looked, um ... suspect let's just say, as it looked more like gnocchi?  As one who doesn't actually like chicken anyway, I wasn't too upset by this.

The broccoli was large hunks, reasonably well cooked.  The chicken balls actually did have real chicken in them, just, lots of breading, and an unusual appearance.  The sauce coated everything well.  But ... the sauce was also very sweet and one-note.  This just wasn't all that good, and made me crave Panda Express even more.  **.

Fruit.

Fresh fruit on offer, even in the middle of summer was ... melons.  Not even very ripe looking ones at that.  I skipped due to allergy anyway.

Desserts.

I was happy to see a US domestic lounge that had a dessert offering other than just cookies or brownies.  Yes, they *did* have little brownies, but also an item dubbed "strawberry shortcake". 

Strawberry Shortcake: 

"With whipped vanilla cream and fresh strawberries."

When I think of strawberry shortcake, I think of a sweet biscuit, topped with macerated berries, and whipped cream.  I know some people believe angel food cake is also an acceptable base (I am not one of those people).  But I certainly think of some kind of base sweet carb topped with fresh albeit sweetened berries.  This dessert was clearly not that.  But still, I tried.

It was really quite odd.  Balls that seemed like they had been scooped with an ice cream scoop of mushed cake and some cream.  Drizzled with a cloying sweet very fake berry sauce.  No actual strawberries, despite what the menu card said.  It tasted highly artificial, and the fake flavor that strawberry sauce was impossible to get past.  Hard pass. *.