Capital One’s newest airport concept, done in collaboration with famed chef José Andrés, has Spanish-style tapas, craft cocktails on draft, and a roving cart of caviar-filled ice cream cones. Just don’t call it an airport lounge.
Capital One Landing, a new type of airport experience more akin to a full-service dining venue than a standard lounge, opened at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) on November 19.
This venue marks the fourth preflight airport concept from Capital One. The financial services brand unveiled its first lounge area in Dallas in 2021 and has since launched outposts in Denver and Washington, D.C.’s other airport, Dulles International. However, unlike the traditional lounges from the credit card company, the new Capital One Landing space is focused much more on food and caters to the specific needs of D.C. travelers.
“Almost all of the traffic here is origin to destination,” said Jenn Scheurich, head of Capital One travel and retail experience. “There isn’t much layover traffic. We know that customers are transiting through quickly, and we wanted to develop a space where they could have a fast but elevated dining-forward experience before their flight.”
This is the first foray into airport dining for Andrés, a Spain-born James Beard Award–winning chef who helms various Michelin-starred or -recognized restaurants (including the two-starred minibar by José Andrés and the Bib Gourmand–awarded China Chilcano by José Andrés, Jaleo by José Andrés, Oyamel, and Zaytinya by José Andrés). He also founded World Central Kitchen, a disaster-relief nonprofit that provides meals to people in times of crisis. However, it’s not his first time working with Capital One (he previously partnered with the credit card issuer to offer private dinners exclusively for cardholders) or in the air travel sector (in 2022, he sent his chicken and mushroom paella to the International Space Station).
Of his new venture, Andrés told journalists at a preview event ahead of the launch, “This is an opportunity, when we are away from our homes, to have a place to call home for a few minutes. Or maybe a few hours if you miss your plane.”
Afar got a sneak peek of the new lounge concept before it opened. Here’s everything you need to know about the new Capital One Landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport.
Layout and design
Measuring 5,500 square feet and offering seating for 90 guests, Capital One Landing features a warm color palette, comfy leather chairs, and the kind of ornamental vases, coffee table books, and knickknacks you’d find in a trendy café or high-end plant shop, lending a mellow vibe to the space.
Most tables and booths are set for two or four guests, with each seat within an arm’s reach of a power outlet, a dedicated bag hook, and a built-in luggage nook. Some of the tables overlook the airport’s exterior, while others look out onto the concourse. Unlike typical lounges, which are entirely closed off, this space is bordered by a half wall that prevents fliers from wandering in but allows diners to people-watch.
The space showcases work from both local and Spanish artists.
While there are two private bathrooms, travelers won’t find the showers, sleep pods, or meeting rooms common in the other Capital One airport spaces; this is an area devoted predominantly to dining. There’s also free high-speed internet for travelers who want to catch up on work, emails, or browsing in between tasty bites.
The food
At Capital One’s other lounges, all the food is self-serve. However, at the Landing, travelers have the option of helping themselves to a cold tapas bar or using a QR code to request made-to-order entrées delivered to their table.
For those with less time to spare, the grab-and-go tapas are an ideal option, noted Scheurich: “One of the reasons that tapas is so great for this space is that they’re something that can be prepared and consumed quickly, so people can spend a relatively short amount of time here.”
For breakfast, some offerings include pincho de tortilla (a Spanish omelet made with confit potatoes and caramelized onions), olive oil pancakes, and a toast montadito (an open-faced sandwich) with scrambled eggs and Paleta Iberica (thinly sliced dry-cured pig meat).
The lunch and dinner menu is more robust, with hot dishes such as gambas al ajillo (red shrimp confited with extra virgin olive oil, garlic, chili, and oloroso wine), carne asada con mojo verde (grilled hanger steak with mojo verde sauce), and quillos confitados (peppers roasted and confit with garlic, thyme, and olive oil).
At the tapas bar, guests will find snacks like gazpacho, grilled zucchini with yogurt, Spanish olives, two anchovy dishes (one with the fish cured in vinegar and one cured in salt and preserved in extra virgin olive oil), and a selection of cheeses and charcuterie (some of which are sourced from Andrés’ favorite purveyors in Spain), as well as desserts like Basque cheesecake and flan. And though airports in general aren’t known for stellar meals (though there are some exceptions), the offerings here are on par with Andrés’ brick-and-mortar experiences.
As happens at the Bazaar, Andrés’ collection of restaurants in cities such as New York, Washington, D.C., and Chicago, interactive food and beverage carts will circulate throughout the space. Guests might see an afternoon cheesecake cart featuring a variety of fruit and sauce toppings or tiny ice cream cones filled with caviar. Similarly, a roving booze cart could feature the fixings for mimosas in the morning or gin and tonics in the evening.
Even if you don’t have access to the Landing, you can get a taste of the offerings at On the Fly, an adjacent fast-casual dining area with a separate entrance that offers breakfast items, sandwiches, and salads prepared by the Landing staff, as well as snacks like Xuixo (deep-fried Catalan pastries stuffed with vanilla or chocolate cream) and made-to-order espresso-based drinks. Anyone can shop at On the Fly, but the offerings aren’t complimentary (as they are for those who gain entry to the Landing). Those without a Venture X or Venture X Business card pay the regular price, whereas cardholders receive a discount.
The drinks
It’s certainly evident that fliers won’t go hungry at the Landing, and they won’t go thirsty either.
Eight different cocktails are available via tap handles that look like foosball players, a playful nod to a game that is particularly popular in Spain. Of these prebatched cocktails, one stand-out drink is the Continental Sour, a whiskey sour with Spanish tempranillo. Another, called Ben Franklin’s Milk Punch, takes Torres 20 brandy, lemon, and nutmeg and clarifies it, which involves stirring a cocktail into an equal amount of cold milk for three days until the milk curdles and binds to unwanted particles that are then strained out. A version of the recipe was pulled from a 1773 letter the Founding Father wrote to a friend.
Beers and wines from Spain are also available. For nonalcoholic offerings, there are mocktails such as the Flamingo Shuttle (made with guava, lime, and soda water) and the Cuadratura (using Seedlip Grove, honeydew, lemongrass lime, and celery), as well as coffee drinks, teas, and sodas.
How to access the DCA Capital One Landing
The Landing is in the National Hall of Terminal 2 near Concourse D. It is open from 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily, while On the Fly is open from 5 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily.
Those with a Venture X or Venture X Business card are allowed unlimited access to Capital One Landing, plus complimentary entry for one guest per visit. Any additional guests will be charged $45 per visit. Those with a Venture or Spark Miles card can purchase entry for $45 per visit. All others, including other Capital One cardholders and non-cardholders, can enter the Landing for $90 per visit. Customers must have a boarding pass for a departing or connecting same-day flight and can only enter the Landing up to three hours before their departure time.
Travelers with a Capital One Venture X or Venture X Business card can make reservations in advance of their visit through the Capital One app (and can also monitor real-time capacity and join a digital waitlist if it is busy). Those reservations can be made between one day and six months ahead of their travel day, though there’s only a 15-minute grace period for reservation times, after which tables will be given away.
Another Capital One Landing is slated to open in New York’s LaGuardia Airport within the next year. New standard Capital One lounges are also expected to open at Las Vegas’ Harry Reid International Airport and New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport.
