Best places to eat at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3

If you’re looking for the best places to eat at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3, we’ve got the essential guide to what’s on offer. From family feasts to sophisticated fine dining – the info’s here…

Find your Terminal 3 food here…

Best for breakfast
Where’s best to start the day at T3

Best for family eating
Relaxed dining and a menu for all

Best healthy food 
Feel great before you fly with this

Best for a quick meal
If time is tight – this is for you

Best for fine dining
Start the way you mean to continue

Perfect food for flying
Eat the right food for air travel

Restaurants and cafes at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3

Plan your trip from Heathrow Airport Terminal 3 with our guide to restaurants and cafes before and after security.

Restaurant name Opening times Type of food Before/After security
Bridge Bar and Eating House 05:00-last departing flight Classic dishes After
Cafe Nero 06:00-21:00 Coffee and snacks After
Caviar House Oyster Bar 06:30-21:30 Shellfish After
Caviar House Seafood Bar 06:00-21:30 Seafood After
Costa 24 hours Coffee and snacks Before
EAT 05:00-21:00 Healthy snacks After
Leon 05:00-last departing flight Healthy fast food Before
M&S Simply Food 06:00-22:00 Lunch and snacks Before
Oriel French Restaurant and Bar 06:00-last departing flight Brasserie After
Pilots Bar & Kitchen 06:00-last departing flight Classics After
Pret A Manger 06:00-22:00 Sandwich Before and after
Strada 06:00-last departing flight Italian After
The Three Bells 06:30-last departing flight Pub grub Before
The Curator 05:30-last departing flight British After

Gluten-free? Find our list of Heathrow restaurants that offer gluten-free menus here

Add some luxury to your trip through Heathrow by booking an airport lounge here

Book an airport hotel to cut stress levels; it could be cheaper than you think 

Our top five Heathrow Terminal 3 places to eat

Our five best places to eat in Heathrow's Terminal 3

Our five best places to eat in Heathrow’s Terminal 3

Okay, you’ve made it through security and it’s time to kick back with a relaxing meal ahead of your flight. Here are APH.com’s top five suggestions to suit your needs.

Best for breakfast

Rhubarb British Restaurant and Bar
Opening hours: 06:00 – last departing flight
Where: After security. Find it here

Who’s it for: Welcoming everyone from lone travellers to large groups and families, flyers looking for fresh ingredients and an equally appetising approach to their pre-flight breakfast will love Rhubarb British Restaurant and bar.
What’s on offer: Priding itself on using only the freshest ingredients, ‘Rhubarb’ offers a welcome alternative to the ‘stodgy’ full-English breakfast we’ve come to expect from many outlets. There’s an option to suit everyone, from a light breakfast basket and coffee – with a selection of hunger-zapping pastries, croissants and muffins – to a light and refreshing ‘breakfast brûlée’ of creamy Greek yoghurt layered with granola, berry compote and orange. For those who prefer a more traditional culinary start to the day, there’s eggs and toast, smoked salmon and scrambled eggs, or the ‘English’  – a traditional cooked British breakfast with poached or scrambled eggs and crisp fried bread. Vegetarian options include Eggs Benedict and that cosy morning classic porridge. Various breakfast butties are also on available. A truly eclectic and mouth-watering selection of early-morning fayre offers something to satisfy all palettes. ‘Rhubarb’ also has a 15-minute menu for those on a tight schedule.
Menus*: Check out the full menus right here…
Main menu
15-minute menu
Kids’ menu

Best for feeding the family

EAT
Opening hours: 05:00 – 21:00
Where: After security. Find it here

Who’s it for: Great for families looking for simple, freshly prepared grab-and-go food that holiday-happy kids can eat with the minimum of fuss and disruption from being seriously over-excited and unable to sit on their bottoms for more than three seconds.
What’s on offer: Expect to find fresh food that’s baked or prepared on the premises, with soups, salads, baguettes and pies just some of the nourishment on offer. You won’t need to worry about upsetting your junior foodies with curly-leafed salads of stale sarnies – EAT only sells food that’s made on the day. You can also choose from a selection of hotpots – such as the pulled pork with brown rice and chunky slaw for a more substantial option. Food changes with the seasons, so pop in to see what’s on offer.
Menus*: See in-store for seasonal menu.

Best for healthy eating

Leon
Opening hours: 05:00-last departing flight
Where: After security. Find it here

Who’s it for: If you have an interest in healthy food that’s prepared using innovative ingredients and ethically sourced meat from trusted farms, then Leon will ensure you can eat with a clear conscience.
What’s on offer: Finding food that’s healthy, ethically produced and affordable can be a thankless task in most airport terminals, but that’s exactly why Leon gets our recommendation. Fast food that’s good for you might be a confusing concept, but a quick look at what’s on offer proves it’s not an impossible dream. From sourcing meat through farms it knows and trusts – gaining recognition from the RSPCA in the process – to going that extra mile to find healthy ingredients that replace less wholesome standards, Leon’s healthy eating mantra is more than just an empty slogan. It’s touches such as replacing flour with ground almonds to swapping plain old sugar for fruit sugar, that prove Leon’s on a mission to promote both health and taste in a fast food environment. From low saturated fat to wheat and dairy free, the great-value menu puts you in complete control of what you’re eating.

Best for a quick-but-tasty meal

Strada
Opening hours: 6:00am – last departing flight
Where: After security. Find it here 

Who’s it for: Just because you want a quick pit-stop, it doesn’t mean you have to settle for a soulless sarnie with a big name that fails to deliver an equally impressive flavour. Dine in style and haste, with a trip to Strada, as you visit the Italian restaurant’s 15-minute menu.
What’s on offer: Dodge the fast food outfits and enjoy some Italian cuisine based on good-quality ingredients and served in a contemporary family-friendly restaurant. With plenty of casual seating available, just roll up and enjoy favourites such as antipasto sharing boards, spicy Rossa pizza and creamy rigatoni with speck ham. Parents will love the takeaway option – where unfinished food can be boxed up for in-flight nibbles.
Menu*: Take a look at what’s cooking here – and don’t forget to ask about the 15-minute menu if you’re in a rush.
Main menu

Best for fine dining

Oriel French Restaurant and Bar
Opening hours:  6.00am – last departing flight
Where: After security. Find it here

Who’s it for: Anyone who wants their holiday or business trip to start in style. Take a seat in one of Heathrow’s most elegant eateries and let the restaurant’s art deco elegance transport you to a golden age of air travel.
What’s on offer: The grand brasserie offers a full French menu of classics such as confit de canard and creme brulee, along with an all-day ‘full-Anglais’ breakfast for those want a final taste of home-cooked fayre before heading to their sojourn on foreign shores. There’s also a sleek cocktail bar on hand, to toast your departure with a Martini or glass of Champagne. Despite the sophisticated surroundings, Oriel’s prices are extremely competitive compared with rivals. Most meals are served within 12 minutes, so there’ll be no need to rush your food. There’s also a dedicated kids’ menu – see below.
Menus*: Download the full menu
Main menu
Kids’ menu 

Before or after security? Why it’s best to wait…

Avoid indigestion by following our advice

Avoid indigestion by following our advice

Making your way through an airport can be stressful so it makes sense to wait until you’ve negotiated security before sitting down to a meal. You’ll also get the best selection of restaurants. This is why we’ve based all of our selections for the best places to eat on airside restaurants, so you can get the unpleasant bits out of the way before sitting down to a relaxing pre-flight meal. 
Top tip: While a large meal before you pass security could result in serious indigestion – as you’re left nervously worrying about leaving enough time to negotiate the queues – grabbing yourself a coffee or snack for the kids from a landside café will help keep the hunger and boredom at bay while queuing at check-in and security.

Remember… kids eat for free

Look out for eat-for-free deals for kids

Look out for eat-for-free deals for kids

We all know that taking a break with kids during school holidays can be expensive, but Heathrow Terminal 3 is doing its bit to cut costs with some handy kids-eat-for-free deals. Grab your free food during these dates…

  • 30 March – 23 April 2017, 13 July – 10 September 2017,
  • 12 – 29 October 2017, 8 December 2017 – 7 January 2018
  • Other terminals: Kids Eat Free all year round at The Perfectionists’ Café (Terminal 2) and Gordon Ramsay Plane Food (Terminal 5).

Get full details and participating restaurants here

Mile-high winners – Best Economy Class Airline Catering

Eating at the airport offers a wide variety of options, but it’s a different matter once you take your seat on the plane. Not a problem for travellers flying on these airlines, however… they’re the Best Economy Class Airline Catering winners in the 2015 World Airline Awards.

1 Asiana Airlines
2 Thai Airways
3 Turkish Airlines
4 Singapore Airlines
5 Cathay Pacific
6 Etihad Airways
7 Garuda Indonesia
8 Qatar Airways
9 Emirates
10 Austrian

What’s your dietary requirement

Find out where your dietary needs are catered for

Find out where your dietary needs are catered for

Whether you’re looking for gluten free, wheat free vegetarian or vegan, Heathrow Airport caters for you. Here’s a full list of what’s on offer in the airport’s eateries and bars. Click below for details.

Click here for special dietary info at Heathrow Airport

Allergies in the air

Don't take chances with allergic reactions in the air

Don’t take chances with allergic reactions in the air

If you suffer from allergies, you’ll need to know what you’re eating while in the air. Get the information you need here with this airline-by-airline guide to allergy policies on all major carriers.
Get the allergy information you need here

The perfect food for flying…

You’re sure to get a great meal at Heathrow Terminal 3, but what you eat in the air or in the days leading up to your flight is just as important – especially for those on long-haul flights. Airline meals have improved in recent years, but following our in-flight eating tips will help you arrive looking great, feeling fresh and ready to go.

The perfect food for flying… You’re sure to get a great meal at Heathrow, but what you eat in the air is just as important – especially for those on long-haul flights. Airline meals have improved in recent years, but following our in-flight eating tips will help you arrive feeling fresh and ready to go.

Water: Humans feel most comfortable when humidity is around 40-70%, but on many aircraft this will dip as low as 12%. This can break down mucus barriers in our nose and throat making us more susceptible to any bugs you come into contact with. Taking fresh, clean water on the flight will help keep your defences in place. You might be sent to the loo more often, but this will simply help keep you mobile and fight the risk of DVT.

Don’t eat green vegetables: Going on holiday usually involves a straight swap between healthy green vegetables and week-long orgy of pasta and chips. Nothing wrong with that, but trying to counter this with a pre-flight tum-trimming frenzy of eating nothing but waist-squeezing greens could seriously damage your health. If you’re one of the thousands of people using blood-thinning medications such as warfarin, bombarding your body with greens such as cabbage, spinach and broccoli will create a huge spike in vitamin k. This will make the warfarin ineffective and could result in a dangerously low INR reading (the measure of how long your blood takes to clot) – leaving you dangerously prone to a killer DVT. So, if you’re using a blood thinner, don’t be tempted to boost your diet by eating extra greens.

Chewing gum and sweets: Air pressure at cruising height is much lower than you’d find at sea level. This can cause the amount of oxygen in your blood to fall – resulting in a mild form of hypoxia, which can leave you feeling listless, dizzy and faint. Low pressure can also affect your ears and make them painful – especially for kids. Recent research suggests that chewing gum can improve memory and alertness by sending more oxygen and nutrients to the brain. So, if you’re finding it hard to concentrate on the scintillating in-flight movie, you might want to get chewing. Additionally, we all know that sucking a boiled sweet will help ‘pop’ your ears.

Don’t eat baked beans: They might look tempting as you tuck into your pre-flight full-English breakfast, but baked beans will make for an uncomfortable flight – for you and the passenger sitting alongside you. Reduced air pressure in planes can cause gases in the digestive system to swell by a third – resulting in bloating that cause aches and discomfort. You know your body better than anyone, so make sure you avoid the foods that fill you with gas.

Meal times: Long-haul travellers will have to deal with jet lag and all the problems it brings. Getting your body’s digestive system in time with that of your destination will help minimise fatigue and the possibility of developing constipation on the flight. In the week before you travel, gradually move your mealtimes closer to those of where you’re heading.

Oily fish: If you want a fresh, healthy complexion as you step from the plane, then scoffing plenty of oily fish such as salmon and mackerel in the week before you fly will help achieve this goal, according to skin therapist Louise Thomas-Minns (uandyourskin.co.uk). If a smoky dead fish doesn’t float your trawler, opt for walnuts and fruits such as Kiwis.

Don’t rock the salt – go pepper instead: Airline meals used to be heavily salted, but health-savvy travellers have forced providers to look at other ways of creating tasty meals – without having to resort to a Sodium Chloride overload. However, travelling at 27,000 feet results in humans losing around 30% of their taste sensations – which could prompt you to add more salt that normal in an attempt to compensate for the loss of flavour. This will merely result in damaging dehydration and uncomfortable bloating. If you need some seasoning, choose the pepper sachet instead.

Eat to beat jet lag

Are you about to cross a few international timezones? Here’s how to eat your way around jet lag – according to research by boffins.

*Menus correct at time of publication, as per heathrowairport.com/

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4 comments for “Best places to eat at Heathrow Airport Terminal 3

  1. Lauren says:

    I have just eaten at Pilots, which is the restaurant now in the space where Rhubarb used to be. They claim it’s the same place but different name, however I’m sorry to report that the classic English breakfast wasn’t very good. I had a better meal at the train station.

  2. H Hackett says:

    Is there a coffee place in the area waiting for passengers to come out through security to the concourse where they are met?
    Is there free wifi in Terminal 3.

  3. J Tabinski says:

    You’ve made the assumption that everyone who would like to make use of a restaurant is a passenger. Not so! We will need to wait a couple of hours before being picked up by our daughter at terminal 3 and thought we could specify a restaurant or nice cafe, but you don’t even list the before-security options, despite what was implied in your Google listing. It’s not much trouble to provide this info, so why not be more helpful?

    • Pete Barden says:

      Hi – Sorry this feature didn’t work for you. As an airport parking company we have designed it to meet the needs of our customers who are predominantly passengers. The best deals and most choice is available after security, so it is only right we pass this on to our customers. Additionally, at many airports in this guide, we include restaurants located before security. Thanks for your input and we will try to ‘cater’ for non-passengers in our next update.

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