Review: Capital One Lounge at Dallas–Fort Worth (DFW)

The Capital One Lounge at DFW is currently the only Capital One lounge available. With continuing delays at Denver and Dulles and with more expected, it looks like this will be the only lounge in their own network for a while.

When Capital One opened their lounge for Venture X cardholders, I was interested to see whether it’d be a worthy competitor to American Express. Slowly, I heard the news: apparently, it’s one of the best lounges in the entirety of the United States. I found myself asking how such a remarkable lounge would be located in such a boring city like Dallas, but I digress.

The real question now becomes: how does this lounge compare to Centurion Lounges and other normal Priority Pass lounges in the U.S.?

I got access to a Venture X in February when a friend added me as an authorized user. In March, I was flying from DFW and finally got the chance to try out the lounge. (Authorized users of the Venture X also get access to this lounge.)

In the future, I’ll be comparing the Capital One Lounge at DFW with five other lounges at DFW:

• American Airlines Admirals Club, Terminal D
• American Airlines Flagship Lounge
• American Express Centurion Lounge
• The Club DFW
• Plaza Premium Lounge DFW

Location

The Capital One Lounge is located next to the American Airlines Flagship Lounge in Terminal D. They are both near the center of the terminal. It is not immediately adjacent to any SkyLink station. The SkyLink station serving the higher-numbered gates of Terminal D (D20 to D40 or something like that) and the Grand Hyatt will be the most appropriate station to use to get to this lounge.

There are clear directions to the Capital One Lounge on the overhead direction signage in Terminal D.

When you see the following two-story vestibule between the gates, you’ll be at the entrance to both the Flagship Lounge and the Capital One Lounge. Go inside and take the elevator upstairs.

Access policy

Rather than me providing you a breakdown of the eligibility requirements, I’ll let the conveniently placed information screen outside of the lounge do the talking.

Lounge layout and ambiance

When you first enter the lounge, you’ll see that the lounge is actually operated on behalf of Capital One by Plaza Premium Lounges. That’s quite interesting; I then wondered what that meant for the quality of the lounge. Would it have the same poor quality as the Plaza Premium Lounge in Terminal E of DFW?

After providing my Venture X card at the check in, I was welcomed in. The lounge itself is not too large and you can pretty much take a lap around it within 30 seconds. The lounge layout is essentially a square (not literally a square, but basically a square) with a kitchen in the middle that interrupts the continuity of the space. Seats are generally near the floor-to-ceiling glass windows, while the bar and bathrooms are away from them. In my opinion, this design makes the lounge seem both spacious and cozy at the same time.

When you walk in, you’re greeted by the grab-and-go foods section. Unlike the Centurion Lounge, you’re allowed (and essentially encouraged) to take food with you on your flight. More on that later in the article.

There were a variety of different seats you could sit at. Of course, they were only available if they weren’t already occupied by all of the other people in the lounge. It seemed like this lounge was unfortunately suffering from capacity issues because more people are getting Venture X cards.

I had difficulty finding a seat, but I finally found a mini sofa with a mini table next to it where I could place my food. I had a clear view of the Terminal D tarmac, which was pretty cool.

The seat was comfortable. The lamp on the mini table was elegant. There were both AC power ports and some USB-A ports, but one of the USB-A ports on my table was already broken. This is a new lounge, so if that port was broken, this place must have been used quite heavily already!

Food and drinks

The food at this lounge is truly exceptional. In my opinion, it’s what makes this lounge stand apart from all of the other lounges in the United States.

The food options were scattered around different stations, all centered around the middle of the lounge. There were delicious options for both omnivores and vegetarians. Rather than putting all of the food in a large tray for people to portion themselves, the dishes were served in little plates, little pots, or covered bowls. They were very cute, but this was smart, as it preserved the quality of the food within.

Not pictured is the pastries and desserts section, which featured a variety of desserts such as danishes, croissants, scones, cookies, and brownies.

I picked out a wide variety of food. Here is my tray:

Not pictured is the mac and cheese with bacon bits that I later got.

All of the food here was absolutely divine. This is by far the best airport lounge food I have ever had among all of the lounges in the United States and dare I say better than any airport lounge I visited in Europe.

The bar and alcoholic beverages

The bar was wonderful. The bartenders were all very nice. They were able to make many cocktails, although not all. I asked for an Old Fashioned (a whiskey-based cocktail) to get started with.

I was impressed by the single large block of ice they used for my Old Fashioned. The ice was clear with no air bubbles in it. It was so clear that I could see the Capital One logo on the coaster through the ice block!

I visited the lounge in March 2023. The lounge had a special silver tequila-based Women’s History Month cocktail ready to enjoy. It was great!

Grab-and-go

You are allowed to grab as many things from the grab-and-go section as can fit in a small paper bag. When you are ready to get some food to take with you, ask for a bag from the front desk. They will give one to you. (They don’t keep them out in the open because each visitor can only get one bag.) Also, when you leave, they give you a cake pop to enjoy too! How nice of them!

There is an open refrigerator with packaged sandwiches, salads, and fresh-pressed juices. I did not take a dedicated photo of it, but you can see it in the panorama of the lounge at the beginning of this post.

Realistically, you can also take the desserts like cookies and scones with you in the bag. They provide wax paper for you to wrap the desserts in.

The grab-and-go food was as equally delicious as the regular food in the lounge. I brought some back to my friend to try, and even though he had it the next day, he still said it was “outstanding”. Needless to say, he cannot wait to enjoy more of the food from this lounge, whether he makes a stop at DFW next time or whether I bring some to him from the lounge.

Restroom facilities

Instead of having a men’s and women’s room, there’s roughly five individual bathrooms. This allows for a more private setting for you to take care of your business, which is much more relaxing than having to do so in a shared bathroom setting. Good quality hand soap and lotion are provided at the sink too.

Final thoughts

Wow. This lounge, while a bit smaller than I was hoping for, definitely ranks as one of the best lounges in the world. The indelible product offered here has set a new bar for other lounge providers to match. Even though this lounge is operated by Plaza Premium, they clearly have upped the ante for their standards for Capital One, because this lounge is better than even the regular Plaza Premium lounges.

It’s safe to say this lounge beats not just the Centurion Lounge in DFW but also all other Centurion Lounges. By transitivity, that means The Club DFW and the Admirals Club in Terminal D are no match for the Capital One Lounge either. American Express has lots of work to do if they want to catch up and beat Capital One.

It’s safe to say that as long as I have my Venture X, I’ll only be going to the Capital One Lounge at DFW for the foreseeable future. I won’t miss you, overcrowded DFW Centurion Lounge!

Whether the Flagship Lounge beats Capital One remains for me to see. (It is American Airlines’s premium lounge offering for international long haul passengers who are traveling in business class or for those with AAdvantage Platinum or above, and it’s coincidentally located adjacent to the Capital One Lounge.) I haven’t been to the DFW Flagship Lounge since before the pandemic started, so I’d be curious to see if there have been any changes since then. However, Capital One has set the bar so high that I don’t really see how the neighboring Flagship Lounge can surmount it.