Qantas Sydney, Melbourne first class lounges: new autumn 2024 menu
The latest seasonal menu for Qantas’ flagship lounges sees plenty of new dishes plus a refresh of the cocktail list.
“What’s on the latest menu at the Qantas first class lounge?”
It’s a surprisingly common question of top-tier frequent flyers who begin their journey from the Qantas International First Lounges at Sydney and Melbourne.
But perhaps not so surprising: the airline’s approach to seasonal menus means a raft of new dishes appears every four months, alongside the many favourites that remain.
Being able to begin your international flight on Qantas, Jetstar, Emirates or other partner airlines – particularly Oneworld members such as Cathay Pacific, JAL, Malaysia Airline and Qatar Airways – at these first class lounges is one of the key benefits of holding Platinum or Platinum One status with Qantas.
(And again, that same perk is enjoyed by Emirates Platinum and Oneworld Emerald frequent flyers.)
Executive Traveller has previously taken you behind the scenes of how these menus are developed for winter and summer, so let’s just dive into the latest autumn 2024 dishes now being served at the Qantas First Lounges in Sydney and Melbourne.
These are in addition to the special ‘secret’ menu reserved for actual first class passengers, along with Platinum One frequent flyers and Chairman’s Lounge members, who are seated in the roped-off ‘premium’ dining area.
At the end of this article you’ll find links to PDF copies of the Qantas First Lounge Autumn 2024 menus to download and peruse ahead of your next trip.
Breakfast: served from 5am to 11am
As is the norm, the Qantas First Lounge’s autumn breakfast menu is more about seasonal tweaks to a handful of dishes.
A case in point are the ever-popular buttermilk pancakes, which are now served with plums, strawberries and cinnamon yoghurt (compared to the summer combo of mango, coconut yoghurt and coconut flakes) plus ‘Qantas honey’, which comes from beehives at the airline’s Mascot headquarters.
There’s also a breakfast salad of avocado, soba noodles, crispy mushrooms, poached egg and nori (this is also available in a pared-back ‘plant based dining’ version sans avocado and egg).
But we’ll be the first to admit it’s always hard to go past the perennials of corn fritters, eggs Benedict, an omelette or the simple delight of a toasted sandwich.
All day dining: served from 11am onwards
The main ‘all day dining’ menu is where the biggest changes swing from one season to the next, and there are plenty of those in autumn.
Rest assured that signatures such as the salt and pepper squid, club sandwich, cheeseburger and that oh-so-Instagrammable ‘pavlova in a glass’ remain on deck – although in the later, summer’s tropical tastes of mango and pineapple make way for strawberries, plums and passionfruit.
That said, you’ll find plenty of new choices to make from the Qantas First Lounge autumn 2024 all day dining menu, including:
Tomato soup with polenta croutons and crisp pancetta: this boasts a deep almost rustic flavour and is an ideal way to warm up on a crisp autumn day, but being a rather large serving you risk losing limited tummy-space for other delights. That said, you could always ask for a small bowl to be dished up...
Salad of carrot with witlof, horseradish, nasturtium and spanner crab: consider this a modest side dish or starter.
Korean Fried Chicken with cabbage and pickles: yes, this was on the menu last year when Qantas launched flights between Sydney and Seoul – now it’s back, and hard to resist for anyone who can’t go past this unique version of KFC.
You’ll notice many of these dishes are quite modest in size, which we rate as a plus because it lets you sample more of them, especially if you’re sharing with a partner or high-flying friend.
Spicy cumin lamb noodles with sesame, cucumber and chilli oil
Fabbrica pappardelle with roast pumpkin, sage and burnt butter: we’re going to rate this as our must-try recommendation from the Qantas First Lounge autumn 2024 menu. It’s not at all heavy, as you might expect pasta to be – the pumpkin, greens, capers and pine nuts really lighten and lift this dish.
Grilled snapper with kale, polenta, pine nuts and celery leaf salsa: one for lovers of fish, or if you’re just trying to cut down on the red meat (especially ahead of a long flight when it’ll be sitting onm your stomach).
Beef brisket, shallot tarragon sauce, Tuscan kale with anchovy butter and baby kipflers: well, speaking of meat, this is a solid slab of brisket, best enjoyed with a chunk of potato on the fork.
Spicy cumin lamb noodles with sesame, cucumber and chilli oil: lamb isn’t a regular guest on the Qantas First Lounge menu, and this sesaonal Asian-influenced take adds a spicy kick.
Plant-based dining: stir-fried shiitake with marinated tofu, sesame spinach and jasmine rice.
The popular Gua bao with braised pork, chilli paste, sesame and pickles has been carried over from the summer menu – but it’s a very modest serve, so you’ll have ample room left for a more substantial main course.
Just leave a little space for dessert, with highlights of the autumn menu including:
Butter mochi cake with banana, caramel and cocoa sorbet: absolutely delicious, yet lighter than you might expect.
Fresh strawberry tart with pistachio and mascarpone: packed with sweet strawberry tang, it could be a hard choice between this and the mochi cake. But who said you can’t order both..?
New cocktails
Three new lounge-created cocktails are also on the runway, including
- Pear Royale – vodka, pear, elderflower, sparkling
- Go figure – gin, Cointreau, fig, olive oil, lemon
- Californian Margarita – tequila, Cointreau, falernum, lemon, salt
As we’ve previously noted, and to the dismay of many visitors, the Qantas First Lounges favour these cocktails over whatever else a traveller may want – and while the bartenders can pull together other light aperitif-style cocktails on order, they won’t make stronger classics like martinis.
“We want cocktails that are something special, not your standard cocktails,” explains Lexie Bucholtz, from the Neil Perry team which overseas the food and drink at the Qantas First lounges, “and something that's refreshing, very easy to drink and lower in alcohol,” saying Qantas’ preference is towards “a lighter aperitif-style offering.”
“If someone asks for something that's not on the cocktail menu but within that lighter aperitif-style, we’re able to serve that… but when it comes to things like martinis and double-shots, that’s not our style.”
Champagne is no longer listed separately on the Qantas First Lounge menu, as the airline appears to be rotating its selection within each season, but on recent visits the bubbles have included Ayala, Jacquart, Lallier, Piper-Hiedsieck and Pommery.
We also recommend lovers of red wine ask about the decanted red of the day – this has been known to pack some superb high-end drops.
Also read: Which airlines serve the best Champagne in business and first class?
You can download the Qantas First Lounge Autumn 2024 menus using the links below:
- Download the Qantas First Lounge Autumn 2024 Breakfast menu
- Download the Qantas First Lounge Autumn 2024 All Day Dining menu
PS Don’t forget that you can also visit the Qantas First Lounges on the domestic leg of the Melbourne-Perth-London flight (at least until mid-July 2024), along with the upcoming Sydney-Perth-Paris flights starting July 2024 and seasonal Sydney-Perth-Rome flights between June and October 2024.
21 Jun 2022
Total posts 4
can pull together other light aperitif-style cocktails on order, they won’t make stronger classics like martinis." This is outrageous, have experienced this first hand when a group of friends wanted to order an espresso martini and they said they didnt'have the ingredients.... This all makes sense. What sort of nanny state have we turned into???? Apparentely we are not adults.
Qantas - Qantas Frequent Flyer
05 Jan 2015
Total posts 17
And why would one fly 1st Class without a Martini prior to boarding?
Just another Alan Joyce fail, even though he, and our money are out the back door.
Jetstar Airways - Qantas Frequent Flyer
24 Aug 2018
Total posts 107
Thank you ET, will look forward to sampling the menu in May '24 as my Emirates flight won't take off until 9.15 pm with dinner out of the way and straight to sleep...( apart from a drink in the A380 Bar)
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