Capital One Lounge at JFK

“This is the best lounge I've ever been to. Wow! It makes me want to book more flights just so I can visit this lounge...seriously! The star of the show is Mohammed, the cheese monger. Now, I don't know how much he gets paid, but I know he should definitely be compensated more than whatever he currently is. That really goes for all of the workers at the lounge -- they truly made my experience incredible. Mohammed and the other waiter at the cheese station quickly cleared a place just for me, so that I could experience the tasting, before my flight. There is usually a set seating every hour, but since they were running a bit behind, they allowed me to have a quick, private tasting. I couldn't believe how kind and willing they were to make this work. The tasting experience was incredible and Mohammed is so knowledgeable and sweet. The bar experience was also a highlight, as was the bodega with to-go snacks. The prepared dinner plates, such as the Mac and cheese and tomato crostini, were amazing as well. I can't wait to experience the lounge in the morning! Thank you to all of the workers at this lounge for making it so outstanding!”

“NOT GREAT AT ALL. This was a total disappointment compared to the Capital One Lounge at DFW. We had high hopes for this lounge since it's supposed to be their flagship location, but the experience was subpar and check-in was not very helpful. (The DFW lounge is hands down way, way, way better than JFK in terms of food quality and selection.) The focus here at JFK is bagels, and they were... to say it bluntly... gross. If you're a New Yorker, be prepared to be thoroughly disappointed. This lounge gets a lot of hype because they're trying to recreate the NYC bagel and bodega experience, but it falls short. Whoever created this concept should visit a real bodega or local bagel shop and compare that to what they're serving here. They source their bagels from Ess-a-Bagel (a famous NYC bagel institution), but sadly, the quality is not what it used to be. They mass-produce their bagels, and you can tell these were frozen. I had an everything bagel, and it had absolutely NO flavor (onion, garlic, salt -- completely nonexistent) and wasn't fully cooked or properly toasted. You can find better at ANY bagel cart on your way to work in the city. (Or if you're on the Upper East Side, you know The Bagel Shop on 93rd and 3rd Ave!) The eggs here are some kind of microwaved creation. At DFW, you have various hot dishes (FRESH eggs, sausage, grits, etc.) individually served in small pans on a hot buffet line, along with high-quality pastries like pain au chocolat, croissants, and a great coffee shop and bar. Here at JFK, the pastries were COLD -- right out of the box -- and poor quality (rock-hard, day-old cinnamon rolls and DRY apple turnovers and coffee cakes that are a challenge to finish). The self-serve line had three choices: quarter-sized avocado toast, fruit salad, oatmeal, and Egg McMuffin-style sandwiches. The online menu offered three options: challah French toast, spinach egg Benedict, and steel-cut oats. The eggs Benedict was the only fresh item I enjoyed. The dining area staff and coffee bar employees are super attentive and hardworking -- so much so that I left them a tip, which is why I'm giving two stars. The Amex Centurion Lounge might not be brand new, but it's still the BEST at JFK.”

“Overall, great lounge. No wait, and pretty spacious and not very busy. Vibe wise, better than JFK Chase Sapphire Lounge imo, and amenities are pretty good. Bathrooms are huge and clean, and they have showers. Cheesemonger experience is goated - so cool! Also better bar drinks than Chase. Food wise, not as good full meal wise, but you can order food from their menu to your table. === BREAKFAST === - French toast: 8/10, pretty good. - Potatoes and eggs Benedict: 6/10, good but just okay - C1 BEC: 2/10, dry - skip - Ess-a-Bagel lox cream cheese bagel: 7/10, not as good as the dinner spread but still pretty good (only got it bc regular spread wasn't available for breakfast) === LUNCH === - Cheesecake at the bagel counter: 5/10, just okay === DINNER === - To-go order Ess-a-Bagel lox dinner spread: 11/10, goated - SO GOOD. It's really small tho (not sure how the size compares to actual Ess-a-Bagels) They have a lot of snacks (rice cracker mix - really good, freeze dried veggie crackers - really good, etc.) and fresh baked pastries that you can pack away in to-go bags. Pastries are okay. Hors d oeuvres are okay. Fruit was yummy Chai latte is good, not mind blowing. Same with matcha latte.”