This airport lounge is more like a five-star restaurant

Truffle edamame dumplings. Hamachi crudo and beef carpaccio. Dry aged prime hanger steak. Taittinger Champagne.

While these could easily be items plucked from the menu of a fine-dining restaurant, I happen to be sitting in an airport lounge.

But this isn’t some airline’s showcase flagship first class lounge, or a hidden invitation-only haven for VIPs, high flyers and big spenders.

As unlikely as it sounds, I’m in a business class lounge – specifically, the Delta One Lounge at Seattle – and it’s proof of just how good a business class lounge can be.

The Delta One Lounge at Seattle.

Delta One Lounges are exclusively for passengers in the airline’s upmarket Delta One business class, plus business and first class passengers on selected SkyTeam partner airlines.

No frequent flyers, lounge passes or people brandishing the correct credit card: they all head to the Delta Sky Club (for what it’s worth, the newer Sky Clubs are quite impressive in their own right.)

The Delta One Lounge at LAX.

Having a dedicated lounge exclusively for high-revenue passengers allows the airline to invest more money in the ground experience.

Over the past two years, Delta Air Lines has opened premium Delta One Lounges at New York, Los Angeles, Seattle and Boston, with more – including its home hub of Atlanta – to follow.

The Delta One Lounge at Boston.

And it’s no exaggeration that these are less a conventional airport lounge and more like a five-star restaurant nestled inside the terminal.

Ahead of my flight from Seattle to Los Angeles, I chose to spend the sunny mid-summer afternoon on the wrap-around terrace of the Delta One Lounge at Seattle-Tacoma Airport, with views both across the tarmac and to distant Mt Rainier.

The Delta One Lounge at Seattle.

Like most other Delta One Lounges, à la carte dining is available at every seat in the lounge – from solo chairs, tables for two and long communal-style benches to banquettes and semi-private booths.

The Delta One Lounge at Seattle.

Forget the frustrating ritual of having to put your name on the waiting list at a too-small dining room: just make your way to wherever you feel most comfortable in the Delta One Lounge, and the dining comes to you.

The exception is New York JFK, easily the largest lounge in the Delta One network: but even there, the dining room holds more than a quarter of the lounge’s total seating capacity.

The Delta One Lounge at New York JFK.

A favourite of visitors to Seattle’s Delta One Lounge are the house-made dumplings and ramen.

So that’s where I start, with both the truffle edamame dumplings (with black garlic and miso broth) and shrimp & chicken dumplings (served in a chilli vinaigrette).

Truffle edamame dumplings and shrimp & chicken dumplings.

There’s no need to chase down a waiter to take my order.

Several hospitality-minded staff are assigned to each part of the lounge, offering prompt and pleasingly pro-active service while engaging with guests in a genuinely warm way.

While also tempted by a hearty ramen – there’s traditional pork with shoyu egg and sesame, or a vegetarian version with bok choy and shiitake mushroom – I decide to leave room for what’s next.

“What’s next” is a Pacific Northwest Chowder. Not having had any chowder during my all-too-brief visit to Seattle, this was something I had to cross off the list.

Pacific Northwest Chowder.

And I’m glad I waited for this rich, creamy New England-style chowder of sweet and tender Manila clams with bacon.

The Seattle menu leans into local produce – especially seafood – and regional influences, while the many Asian dishes also reflect Delta’s direct flights from Seattle to Tokyo, Taipei, Shanghai and Seoul.

A lychee martini on the terrace of Seattle's Delta One Lounge.

After a spell of work on the laptop, I try the beef carpaccio (topped with artisan cheese from Beecher’s, a local hero from the Pike Place Market) and the beets & burrata, built around pickled Candy Cane heirloom beets.

Beef carpaccio and beets & burrata.

Note that we’re still on the Starters menu, where other choices include Hamachi crudo, sticky hoisin ribs, wood-roasted shrimp toast and pear & endive salad.

Highlights of the Entrees menu (which the rest of the world calls the main course) see Dungeness crab cannelloni and wood-fired teriyaki salmon sitting alongside the popular dry aged hanger steak and signature Delta One Burger.

Dry aged hangar steak, and a glass of French Bordeaux.

Later that evening, a pit-stop at LAX Terminal 2’s Delta One Lounge before flying home to Sydney illustrates how Delta strives to give each lounge its own unique look, vibe and menu.

The Delta One Lounge at LAX.

The Delta One Lounge at LAX also has an outdoor terrace.

The LAX Delta One Lounge – which also follows the restaurant-style ‘dine anywhere’ approach – likewise embraces its location.

The sushi bar at LAX's Delta One Lounge.

Sushi chefs transform fish flown in daily from Japan into platters of Yellowfin tuna sashimi, California rolls, spicy tuna rolls, shrimp tempura rolls, and more. You can even get a variety-packed bento box.

A selection from the LAX Delta One Lounge's sushi bar.

Adjacent to the sushi bar, a multi-tiered sweets table tempts with pastries from LA bakery Sqirl and chocolates from Culver City’s Milla – and the staff will happily put together an assortment you can take on your flight.

The dessert bar at LAX's Delta One Lounge.

The dessert bar at LAX's Delta One Lounge.

The drinks menu is also a cut above that of almost any other business class lounge in the world.

The Champagne is Taittinger Brut La Française – whiskeys include Johnnie Walker Black Label, Macallan Double Cask 12 Year and Suntory Toki – and the Seattle lounge has three brands of sake.

Delta One Lounges offer a full bar service with both complimentary and paid drinks.

The crafted cocktail list also shines, with many creative nods to destinations such as:

• Sleepless in Seattle (rye, espresso liqueur, cold brew coffee and orange bitters)
• Seoul Mates (soju, tequila, yuzu, dry curaçao, lime and gochjang agave)
• Paper Crane (Japanese whisky, Aperol, Asian citrus sour and candied ginger)
• HNL Island Sapphire (rum, pineapple, coconut and lime)
• HND Sakura Chuhai (shochu, Luxardo liqueur, lemon, hibiscus and rose water)

Beyond this: a ‘Reserve’ selection of paid top-shelf tipples available to purchase with your credit card or frequent flyer miles.

Here are some examples:

• Taittinger Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs Brut – US$335 or 335,000 SkyMiles per bottle
• Laurent Perrier Grand Siècle #26 – US$340 or 340,000 SkyMiles per bottle
• Johnnie Walker Blue Label – US$25 or 2,500 SkyMiles per dram
• The Macallan 18 Year – US$38 or 3,800 SkyMiles per dram

You’ll also find highly-rated Californian reds and whites from Sonoma and the Napa Valley ranged from US$75 (or 75,000 SkyMiles) to US$450 (450,000 SkyMiles) per bottle.

Although a controversial move, I don’t take issue with giving guests this ‘buy up’ option as long as the standard selection measures up – and at least in the Delta One Lounges, it certainly does.

The case for business-only lounges

There’s no doubt that business class travellers would prefer to see more airlines open exclusive business-only lounges.

It’s already a trend among carriers as diverse as Air Canada, British Airways, Singapore Airlines, United Airlines and Qatar Airways, but Delta Air Lines has set a new benchmark with its Delta One Lounges.

These are not only the world’s best business class lounges, they’re better than many first class lounges.

David Flynn travelled as a guest of Delta Air Lines.