José Andrés Will Open a New Tapas Lounge at Reagan National Airport

Capital One just tapped celebrity chef José Andrés to lead the menus at a cluster of newly announced airport lounges.

On Tuesday, October 18, the credit giant announced plans to roll out a disruptive model of airport lounges called Capital One Landing that bring “elevated dining to the heart of the terminal.” The first will land in two of the Northeast’s busiest airports: Arlington’s Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) and New York’s LaGuardia Airport (LGA). Two more Capital One Landings will debut in Dulles International Airport (IAD) and Denver International Airport (DEN) next year.

Each pre-boarding oasis will feature a food and beverage program designed by José Andrés Group. Lounges will center around tapas and small plates, though it’s unclear whether the in-the-works menus will be tied to a specific Spanish restaurant in his portfolio (like a Jaleo). Its Crystal City location recently closed near DCA after 17 years.

“When Capital One came to us with the idea of creating a new kind of dining experience, our team immediately started to think of the Spanish tapas way of eating with the bounty of American farms and traditions — the very best of both countries,” says Andrés, in a statement.

Access details for cardholders and the public will be released closer to opening, a Capital One rep tells Eater. For his humanitarian hat as founder of World Central Kitchen, Andrés is an avid flyer himself and constantly travels around the globe to feed those in need.

The DCA lounge, sized 5,400 square feet, will sit post-security in Terminal B (at the intersection of National Hall and Concourse D).

The LGA lounge will be twice as large, located on one of the sky bridges in the new, state-of-the-art Terminal B.

Andrew Kelly