Food Review: AMEX Centurion Lounge at JFK Airport
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The AMEX Centurion Lounge at JFK is one you can easily miss if you don’t know where to look. That’s been our experience the past few times we’ve flown out of Terminal 4, not even remembering there is a lounge here.
When we finally decided to make an effort to find it we were certainly glad we did.
On this trip I was there pretty early in the morning so was hoping for a quick breakfast. I also had access to the Delta Sky Club, which usually has pretty good food, but I thought AMEX might be a better bet for a quick bite. I had high hopes after visiting the AMEX lounge in London Heathrow for one of the best airport breakfasts I’ve ever had.
The lounge is located in Terminal 4, immediately to the left after you pass through security. Typically you take the escalators down to the gates in Terminal 4 but to access the lounge you stay on the upper level and go past the escalators.
You’ll spot two lounges in the distance, the AMEX Centurion and the Etihad lounge that’s a bit easier to see.
When you get a bit of a closer look the AMEX Centurion branding is just behind a pillar so lookout for the green plant wall instead.
It’s always a great site to see an AMEX Centurion Lounge with no line outside. It is often the case they get so overcrowded that you will see many people just waiting to get inside. I knew it was unlikely on this trip given how early it was but you never know until you get inside.
Upon check in and entering the lounge you’ll notice its not the largest in the network. You will navigate through a few different turns with some secluded seating areas, which are always nice if you can get a spot.
As you go through the middle hallway there is a speakeasy bar on the left but given the time it wasn’t open when I visited.
You’ll make your way to the back room that has a huge glass overlooking the aircraft out front. This area was definitely the busier part of the lounge since it had the most natural light.
The lounge itself was moderately crowded but definitely not full. I can see this place being a bit hard to spend some time if it was at capacity but on this visit it wasn’t too hard to find an open seat.
I checked out the buffet and and they had a usual spread of cold items including fruit, yogurt, muffins, and some sort of chia pudding.
When we got to the hot items is where it got interesting. They had a selection of breakfast quiche, roasted potatoes, pastries, and biscuits.
As you move down the line there was scrambled eggs, sausage and peppers, and french toast. What I really appreciated about this food was how often I saw them replace the old ones with fresh. Usually you see them just add new pieces to a dish but they seemed to take them away and replace (but most likely combining in the back).
They also had a selection of bagels and toast as well as different types of cereal.
There was also a full bar that wasn’t the biggest but definitely fit the lounge size and number of potential seats in the space.
I decided to go with a high top seat so I can look out the window while I had breakfast and did some work. There were plenty of these available and I didn’t want to take up a whole couch section as a solo traveler.
I decided to go with a plate of eggs, sausage, potatoes, and the quiche. Everything was really well seasoned and had plenty of flavor. I don’t like to eat too much in the morning so I only had a few bites of everything but wanted to give it all a try. I decided to sip on my espresso as I did some work for the rest of the time in the lounge.
Overall the AMEX Centurion Lounge at JFK has an ok offering and is definitely a little small. I think AMEX Centurion Lounges in general have some of the best food but JFK lounge is far behind the offering at London Heathrow.
A good breakfast in an airport or airline is definitely one of the most challenging meals to get. I would argue that AMEX really does the best spread for an early morning meal including the offering at JFK.
If you haven’t been to the AMEX JFK Lounge I would say it’s worth checking out if it’s not overly crowded. Maybe I would like it better if I got a chance to checkout the speakeasy bar so I will certainly have to go back and give it another shot.
