Travel: Heathrow Terminal 5

THERE are several reasons for being in an airport terminal for hours and hours: you could be grounded by ash clouds, a new and unwelcome addition to the travel scene, or perhaps airline personnel/traffic controllers' strikes, not so new, but ditto.

Then there are technical delays and, in normal times, the combination of connecting flights and enhanced security, making air travel a lengthier business.

So, assuming normal times, you have to get to London Heathrow to get a connecting flight with BA. You leave home with enough time to get to the airport, check-in, get through security, and get your flight, arriving in Heathrow what, 3-4 hours after leaving home? BA may have given you a breakfast roll and a hot drink, or at any other time of day, just a drink, and once you reach Heathrow you will have factored in a comfort zone period of time at Terminal 5 before your connecting flight to Europe, America or Asia. And the good news is that Terminal 5 is designed to comfort you in your comfort zone.

Terminal 5 is Heathrow's newest terminal, a huge airy space, with a lot of glass giving great views of the runways and beyond, and is solely dedicated to BA flights. It caters for all types of passenger and appetite, for, as I was told, "people arriving here have body clocks at different stages".

First, and most important appetite. There are 14 food and drink venues airside at Terminal 5, open from 5:30am until close of business, and if you want, say, a coffee and a sandwich or a pastry you have a choice between Eat, Espresso, Pret A Manger and Starbucks, all different, all catering to their now very established consumers' preferences.

For something different, how about some sushi at Itsu? You will find a great array of boxes offering just that, and as with everything in the terminal, freshly prepared. Still not tempting you? How about a traditional pub setting and pub fare? Here there is Wetherspoons' The Crown Rivers, which in this modern setting certainly looks traditional, and has family friendly menus. Or what about a bagel at Bagel Street, with their huge New York deli fillings?

Speaking of New York, there's a definite US feel to Huxleys diner, but looking more closely, it's a blend of US and British, with a bar to one side, and old black and white photographs on one wall, and that icon of all things "like it or loathe it" Marmite jars images on another. Here the menu ranges from soup and sandwiches, salads and light dishes to burgers, grills and British classics, including an all-day breakfast and a roast of the day.

Thinking of different meals, breakfast is an experience at Wagamama, and exclusive to Terminal 5. People familiar with the Glasgow Wagamamas will know the setting of rows of communal tables and here you can have an English breakfast, or smoothies and juices, breakfast noodles either in a bacon and eggs or vegetarian style, or the very good Wagamama kedgeree, with naturally smoked haddock and eggs in a light curry sauce, but made with sticky rice, giving a much more moist and succulent dish than conventional kedgeree.

And can I mention porridge? Your Highland granny would be horrified, but whilst other outlets do regular porridge, Wagamama's version is cooked with water — right — then whole and coconut milk and an apple and chilli jam are added, to give a different, delicately flavoured comfort food.

But you have the family with you, small children who want feeding and entertaining, and whilst most venues welcome children, they will be really happy in Giraffe. Soon to open in Aberdeen, Giraffe is for everyone, but is particularly good for children. There is a children's menu, and fun and games to keep them happy while you eat from a world menu featuring, for example, a mezze plate with warm naan, brunch favourites, pizza, bang bang chicken salad, burgers, Vietnamese chicken curry, or the great Mexican quesadilla, duck fajita - burrito, and even good old steak and chips, all to the background accompaniment of world music.

Moving on, is it lunch or dinner you want? You can do it in style at Plane Food, the Gordon Ramsay restaurant. A true restaurant setting, with great views all the way to the Wembley Arch, there is porridge here in their breakfast menu until 12 noon, then lunch or dinner menu choices with pasta dishes or salads, a range of starters such as white onion soup, ham hock and chicken terrine, or the sweetest ceviche of Scottish salmon, main courses including cod, sea bass, sea bream, and stout-braised beef, or 28 day aged steaks. Desserts include the freshest possible flavour of pineapple carpaccio with banana and passion fruit sorbet.

The wine list here contains some recognisable labels, at unexceptional mark-ups, and as a passenger down from Glasgow told me "it is better to sit here with a nice glass of wine, have a good meal, then get on the plane and sleep". What he also said about the food quality of inflight meals I can't repeat.

Of course, if you really want to push the boat out, there is always the Caviar House and Seafood Bar, to satisfy your very expensive appetite, together with premium vodkas and champagne. Perch at the bar and enjoy salmon, including Balik salmon, lobster, and other seafood, through to caviar at up to 200 per portion.

Back to reality, or not, go shopping, and browse the designer labels from stockists including Harrods, Dior, Gucci, Prada, or follow the signs for World of Whiskies, with its almost 350 malts, including some rare and exclusive bottles, telling yourself that all these luxuries are duty free, and then recover at the super smart Bar Five with its spectacular fibre-optic lighting, and range of cocktails.

And if everything goes wrong, and you have to leave Terminal 5 and return another day, there are more food and drink choices landside, with Cafe Nero, Costa, Krispy Kreme doughnuts, M&S Simply Food, and Carluccio's.

All the restaurants/outlets at Terminal 5 are geared to speedy service, so you shouldn't dismiss them in terms of 'don't have the time'. But if you really don't have the time to stop for a meal, another solution is the various take-out menus from most of the suppliers, and insulated picnic packs from Plane Food, with three courses for 11.95 of breakfast or main meal dishes.

Choices, choices, and personally I would be torn between Plane Food's Caesar salad, Hereford beef salad and chocolate brownie, or a tub of Wagamama's toropikaru senzai soup, with coconut, mint, lemongrass, mushrooms, peashoots, beansprouts, and lime, so fresh and fragrant the scent will drive your fellow passengers wild with envy.

It's almost worth a delayed flight. Almost.

For further information on Terminal Five go to www.baa.com

• This article was first published in Scotland on Sunday, August 1, 2010