Capital One’s latest airport idea, achieved in collaboration with famed chef José Andrés, has Spanish-style tapas, craft cocktails on draft, and a roving cart of caviar-filled ice cream cones. Simply don’t name it an airport lounge.
Capital One Touchdown, a brand new sort of airport expertise extra akin to a full-service eating venue than a typical lounge, opened at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport (DCA) on November 19.
This venue marks the fourth preflight airport idea from Capital One. The monetary companies model unveiled its first lounge space in Dallas in 2021 and has since launched outposts in Denver and Washington, D.C.’s different airport, Dulles Worldwide. Nevertheless, not like the normal lounges from the bank card firm, the brand new Capital One Touchdown area is concentrated far more on meals and caters to the particular wants of D.C. vacationers.
“Virtually all the visitors right here is origin to vacation spot,” mentioned Jenn Scheurich, head of Capital One journey and retail expertise. “There isn’t a lot layover visitors. We all know that prospects are transiting by way of rapidly, and we needed to develop an area the place they may have a quick however elevated dining-forward expertise earlier than their flight.”
That is the primary foray into airport eating for Andrés, a Spain-born James Beard Award–profitable chef who helms varied Michelin-starred or -recognized eating places (together with the two-starred minibar by José Andrés and the Bib Gourmand–awarded China Chilcano by José Andrés, Jaleo by José Andrés, Oyamel, and Zaytinya by José Andrés). He additionally based World Central Kitchen, a disaster-relief nonprofit that gives meals to folks in occasions of disaster. Nevertheless, it’s not his first time working with Capital One (he beforehand partnered with the bank card issuer to supply non-public dinners completely for cardholders) or within the air journey sector (in 2022, he despatched his rooster and mushroom paella to the Worldwide Area Station).
Of his new enterprise, Andrés informed journalists at a preview occasion forward of the launch, “This is a chance, once we are away from our properties, to have a spot to name house for a couple of minutes. Or perhaps a number of hours when you miss your aircraft.”
Afar bought a sneak peek of the brand new lounge idea earlier than it opened. Right here’s all the things you want to know in regards to the new Capital One Touchdown at Ronald Reagan Washington Nationwide Airport.
Format and design
Measuring 5,500 sq. toes and providing seating for 90 visitors, Capital One Touchdown incorporates a heat coloration palette, comfortable leather-based chairs, and the form of decorative vases, espresso desk books, and knickknacks you’d discover in a classy café or high-end plant store, lending a mellow vibe to the area.
Most tables and cubicles are set for 2 or 4 visitors, with every seat inside an arm’s attain of an influence outlet, a devoted bag hook, and a built-in baggage nook. Among the tables overlook the airport’s exterior, whereas others look out onto the concourse. Not like typical lounges, that are completely closed off, this area is bordered by a half wall that forestalls fliers from wandering in however permits diners to people-watch.
The area showcases work from each native and Spanish artists.
Whereas there are two non-public bogs, vacationers received’t discover the showers, sleep pods, or assembly rooms widespread within the different Capital One airport areas; that is an space devoted predominantly to eating. There’s additionally free high-speed web for vacationers who need to compensate for work, emails, or searching in between tasty bites.
The meals
At Capital One’s different lounges, all of the meals is self-serve. Nevertheless, on the Touchdown, vacationers have the choice of serving to themselves to a chilly tapas bar or utilizing a QR code to request made-to-order entrées delivered to their desk.
For these with much less time to spare, the grab-and-go tapas are an excellent possibility, famous Scheurich: “One of many causes that tapas is so nice for this area is that they’re one thing that may be ready and consumed rapidly, so folks can spend a comparatively brief period of time right here.”
For breakfast, some choices embody pincho de tortilla (a Spanish omelet made with confit potatoes and caramelized onions), olive oil pancakes, and a toast montadito (an open-faced sandwich) with scrambled eggs and Paleta Iberica (thinly sliced dry-cured pig meat).
The lunch and dinner menu is extra sturdy, with sizzling dishes corresponding to gambas al ajillo (crimson shrimp confited with additional virgin olive oil, garlic, chili, and oloroso wine), carne asada con mojo verde (grilled hanger steak with mojo verde sauce), and quillos confitados (peppers roasted and confit with garlic, thyme, and olive oil).
On the tapas bar, visitors will discover snacks like gazpacho, grilled zucchini with yogurt, Spanish olives, two anchovy dishes (one with the fish cured in vinegar and one cured in salt and preserved in additional virgin olive oil), and a number of cheeses and charcuterie (a few of that are sourced from Andrés’ favourite purveyors in Spain), in addition to desserts like Basque cheesecake and flan. And although airports basically aren’t identified for stellar meals (although there are some exceptions), the choices listed below are on par with Andrés’ brick-and-mortar experiences.
As occurs on the Bazaar, Andrés’ assortment of eating places in cities corresponding to New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, interactive meals and beverage carts will flow into all through the area. Friends would possibly see a day cheesecake cart that includes a wide range of fruit and sauce toppings or tiny ice cream cones stuffed with caviar. Equally, a roving booze cart may characteristic the fixings for mimosas within the morning or gin and tonics within the night.
Even when you don’t have entry to the Touchdown, you may get a style of the choices at On the Fly, an adjoining fast-casual eating space with a separate entrance that provides breakfast objects, sandwiches, and salads ready by the Touchdown employees, in addition to snacks like Xuixo (deep-fried Catalan pastries filled with vanilla or chocolate cream) and made-to-order espresso-based drinks. Anybody can store at On the Fly, however the choices aren’t complimentary (as they’re for many who acquire entry to the Touchdown). These with out a Enterprise X or Enterprise X Enterprise card pay the common value, whereas cardholders obtain a reduction.
The drinks
It’s actually evident that fliers received’t go hungry on the Touchdown, and so they received’t go thirsty both.
Eight completely different cocktails can be found through faucet handles that appear like foosball gamers, a playful nod to a recreation that’s notably common in Spain. Of those prebatched cocktails, one stand-out drink is the Continental Bitter, a whiskey bitter with Spanish tempranillo. One other, referred to as Ben Franklin’s Milk Punch, takes Torres 20 brandy, lemon, and nutmeg and clarifies it, which entails stirring a cocktail into an equal quantity of chilly milk for 3 days till the milk curdles and binds to undesirable particles which might be then strained out. A model of the recipe was pulled from a 1773 letter the Founding Father wrote to a pal.
Beers and wines from Spain are additionally out there. For nonalcoholic choices, there are mocktails such because the Flamingo Shuttle (made with guava, lime, and soda water) and the Cuadratura (utilizing Seedlip Grove, honeydew, lemongrass lime, and celery), in addition to espresso drinks, teas, and sodas.
entry the DCA Capital One Touchdown
The Touchdown is within the Nationwide Corridor of Terminal 2 close to Concourse D. It’s open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. each day, whereas On the Fly is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. each day.
These with a Enterprise X or Enterprise X Enterprise card are allowed limitless entry to Capital One Touchdown, plus complimentary entry for one visitor per go to. Any further visitors can be charged $45 per go to. These with a Enterprise or Spark Miles card can buy entry for $45 per go to. All others, together with different Capital One cardholders and non-cardholders, can enter the Touchdown for $90 per go to. Clients will need to have a boarding move for a departing or connecting same-day flight and may solely enter the Touchdown as much as three hours earlier than their departure time.
Vacationers with a Capital One Enterprise X or Enterprise X Enterprise card could make reservations prematurely of their go to by way of the Capital One app (and may also monitor real-time capability and be part of a digital waitlist whether it is busy). These reservations could be made between in the future and 6 months forward of their journey day, although there’s solely a 15-minute grace interval for reservation occasions, after which tables can be given away.
One other Capital One Touchdown is slated to open in New York’s LaGuardia Airport throughout the subsequent 12 months. New normal Capital One lounges are additionally anticipated to open at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid Worldwide Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy Worldwide Airport.