The city’s airport was recently voted the UK’s best in the 2024 Which? annual survey
Inside the renovated Kissing Gate at Liverpool Airport
Passengers travelling through Liverpool John Lennon Airport will be greeted by a host of new places to eat and drink before jetting off on holiday this summer. The airport has seen a number of renovations, with a new look ready for the summer holiday season.
The south Liverpool airport was recently voted the UK’s best airport in the 2024 Which? annual survey – and airport bosses want to make flying from the city an even more enjoyable experience with a range of new food and drink options.
Work is still underway in the airport’s departure lounge, to construct a range of new, expanded and refurbished passenger facilities. There have also been changes to security measures, as well as new airlines and aircraft operating out of the south Liverpool airport.
We rounded up five changes that passengers may have noticed since their last holiday abroad and what’s on offer in each new venue.
Monty’s American diner
In January, the airport launched Monty’s – an all-day diner with seating for almost 200 customers, with a menu of classic dishes like burgers, hotdogs, milkshakes and more.
This table service venue aims to offer a welcoming space for families and all passengers looking for a hearty meal or a drink before their flights.
Food at Monty’s All Day Diner,at Liverpool JLA Departure Lounge.(Pic Andrew Teebay).(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
With neon accents, a 1950s style mirrored bar and a range of booth and counter seating, the new restaurant feels like stepping inside an old-school diner, with touches of Americana throughout the venue as well as locally-inspired pictures of The Beatles and Cilla Black.
On the menu, customers can choose from an ‘all-American burger’, a taco salad, a mac and cheese hot dog and desserts including a banana split.
Monty’s All Day Diner at Liverpool JLA Departure Lounge.(Pic Andrew Teebay).(Image: Andrew Teebay Liverpool Echo)
Lucy O’Shaughnessy is commercial director at Liverpool Airport and she told the ECHO: “We wanted to offer something for different passengers and different travel experiences. If I was with my family I’d be in here today – if I was with the girls I’d be in Sable & Co. It’s for family dining, groups, fuelling people up for their flights all day long and this perfectly ticks that box.
”I think this massively complements what we did last year with Sable & Co which really elevated the food and drink offering at the airport. That was about a premium brand and this is about family favourites, good food and a bit of a quirky American theme. We can push the boundaries in Liverpool, as a regional airport, and this does that for us.”
The Kissing Gate
The Kissing Gate has long been a familiar feature of the airport’s departures lounge – but now it has been completely renovated, with a new look ready for the summer holiday season.
The pub and restaurant is usually the first thing passengers see after exiting duty free and entering the departures lounge – but it looks very different following a brief period of renovations.
Inside the renovated Kissing Gate at Liverpool Airport
The Kissing Gate reopened to passengers in March, with anyone flying out of the airport from Thursday, March 6 able to see the venue’s new look.
Liverpool John Lennon Airport shared photos of the new venue on its social media channels as the first pints and cooked breakfasts were served to customers.
The renovation was part of a series of multi-million pound improvements to the departure lounge, which will be launching throughout 2025. All of the airport’s new outlets from food travel business SSP are now open in time for the summer.
SOHO coffee shop
A third coffee shop will be introduced at the airport for travellers to pick up a pre-flight brew. The existing Starbucks and Upper Crust units have already been updated by SSP.
Work is underway to bring a new brand to the airport’s departure lounge with SOHO Coffee due to open a unit at the airport in June.
This will be the business’s first store in the North West and in addition to their range of coffees and other hot drinks, they will be serving food throughout the day for passengers.
SOHO’s menu will feature jacket potatoes and salads, as well as breakfast rolls and drinks. SOHO’s collaborations with brands like PerfectTed, will introduce matcha to the menu, while a partnership with Jammie Dodgers brings a twist to a new hot chocolate.
Artists impressions of the new SOHO Coffee unit in the airport’s Departure Lounge
This new unit will have seating space for 100 passengers in addition to a ‘grab and go’ offer for those wanting to take their food away with them to eat onboard their flight later.
Lucy O’Shaughnessy, Commercial Director for Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: “SOHO Coffee will bring something a little different to the range of coffee shops here at the airport with their alternative take on certain hot drinks, pastries and other snacks, which are sure to prove popular with our passengers.”
Artists impressions of the new SOHO Coffee unit in the airport’s Departure Lounge
Fiona Nuttall, Head of Proposition at SOHO Coffee added: “We’re incredibly proud to be opening our very first store in Liverpool, and Liverpool John Lennon Airport is the perfect place to do it. This opening marks an exciting step in our growth journey, bringing our crafted coffee and handcrafted food to even more customers across the UK.
“This new retail unit will complete the works we have been undertaking over the past 18 months to develop new and improved food and beverage facilities for our growing numbers of passengers.”
These latest food and beverage improvements are the latest phase of works that started last winter following the signing of a new long-term deal with SSP and which will see them extend their operations at the airport until at least 2036.
A bigger and better premium lounge
There will also be a new expanded premium lounge that will be twice the size of the existing facility. The new Aspire Executive Lounge is under construction and when it opens to holidaymakers it will be more than three times the floor space of the existing facility an able to cater for twice as many guests with space for over 200 people.
In addition, the new lounge will feature a two-tiered offering, with guests able to choose either the usual classic Aspire facilities or upgrade to the Luxe by Aspire offer for the first time, with its private booths, communal workspace, premium snacks and drinks and is for adults only. The lounge will also include its own dedicated toilet facilities too for the first time.
Since first opening its doors in the heart of the airport’s busy departure lounge in May 2012, the Aspire Lounge, operated by Swissport has become so popular with airport users that despite a previous expansion and refurbishment, a new much larger facility is now needed to cater for the continued growing demand.
Sable & Co
Last year, the airport opened Sable & Co, which is a ‘premium’ bar and kitchen in the departures lounge, offering luxury food and drinks with an amazing view of the airfield.
The airport’s website says: “Sable & Co proudly sources artisan ingredients from local suppliers including products from Bulters Farmhouse Cheeses, jams from Duerr’s and meat from Birtwistles Catering Butchers, as well as a selection of premium spirits.
“You’ll find plenty of choice here, with a comprehensive breakfast menu featuring favourites such as the breakfast brioche and eggs benedict, as well as the all-day offering with everything from luxury sharing boards to gourmet burgers.
“There’s even a great menu for little ones, too. The Little Flyers menu includes a kids’ breakfast, spaghetti bolognaise and vanilla ice cream.”
Sable & Co has a breakfast menu, an all-day menu and a drinks menu. There are multiple options when it comes to ordering food or drink at Sable & Co. Diners can go contact-free and scan the QR code, enter their table number, place their order and their items will soon be brought to them.
Alternatively, customers can head up to the bar to order using cash, card or contactless. You can find Sable & Co on the upper level (Level 3) in departures, immediately after exiting World Duty Free, on the left-hand side.
It is open from 3.15am every single day, closing at 8pm on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, 7pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, and 8.30pm on Sundays.