Though it marks the fourth Capital One Landing lounge for the banking company, it’s the first of several planned partnerships with acclaimed chef Jose Andres.
Washington: Capital One Financial Corp is shaking up the airport lounge space with its latest opening at Washington DC’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA).
Though it marks the fourth Capital One Landing lounge for the McLean, Virginia-based banking company, it’s the first of several planned partnerships with acclaimed chef Jose Andres.
As such, it’s more like a private, high-end restaurant – with food you’d rave about even outside an airport – than a traditional rest-and-recharge space. Bloomberg previewed the restaurant at an invitation-only dinner last Thursday.
A Washington local, Andres said DCA has been his most frequented airport over the last 33 years.
And while he owns more than 30 restaurants around the world, including eight in his hometown in Spain, Capital One Landing is his first foray into airport dining. “With (Capital One), we’ve always had this great partnership and they allow my voice to be what it needs to be,” he said, referring to trips he’s led exclusively for cardholders in the past.
At Andres’ Zaytinya in DC, getting a reservation on a weekend evening means planning weeks in advance.
Here, it’s as easy as having a Capital One Venture X or Venture X Business card up to three hours before your departing flight.
If you have a Venture or Spark Miles card, entry costs US$45; for everyone else it costs US$90 to enter.
In a democratic move, all travellers are welcome to enjoy a neighbouring cafe with grab-and-go options.
“The opening of Capital One Landing comes at a time when air travel is on the rise and more and more passengers are looking for special dining experiences along the way,” said Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority chief executive officer Jack Potter.
At the preview dinner, the food was worthy of Andres’ reputation-and not just an instance of a well-known chef slapping their name on a menu.
Unlike most airport restaurants, everything is prepared fresh rather than pre-cooked. And like at the Bazaar by Jose Andres, servers push interactive carts around the dining room.
At breakfast they peddle mimosas in a variety of fruit combinations (orange, pomegranate and pineapple); in the afternoon, it’s a selection of cheesecakes (try the burnt Basque one).
During the preview event, there was a caviar cart – no word yet as to how often it’ll make appearances.
And at the bar, there’s a tight selection of creative cocktails, Spanish wines, DC beers and mocktails such as the Negroni-esque cuadra tura, made with non-alcoholic vermouth and ginger spice.
Andrés confirms this is just the first lounge bearing his stamp, with “more to come” in the near future.
Capital One’s Matt Knise, head of travel and premium product experiences, said travellers can also expect this type of chef-driven lounge experience at the three lounges in its current pipeline, set to include New York’s La Guardia (which will also be done in partnership with Andres), John F. Kennedy International Airport and Harry Reid International Airport in Las Vegas.
“It will be an opportunity to have people enjoy my restaurants in the city, enjoy my hospitality with Capital One in the airport, then landing in another city and enjoying my restaurants in that other city,” said the chef of his plans to expand to airports from coast to coast. — Bloomberg
