Swiss First Class ZRH-SFO

After another wonderful visit to the Swiss First lounge in Terminal E, it was time to make my way downstairs for boarding at gate E19. The boarding process turned out to be fairly orderly with first class and HON's being asked to board first.

We boarded through door L2 and I was escorted up to my seat in 1K. The Swiss First cabin is made of two rows of 1-2-1 and is absolutely beautiful and elegant.

My suite for the next 11 or so hours (aka not enough)!

A view across the middle seats which are great for couples traveling together. If you're not traveling together there is a divider that can be raised.

Wide and spacious with elegant wood and finishings, plus the windows with shades that I love and think all first class cabins should have it even though they cut down on direct window views, but it's worth the trade off.

The massive 32" HD TV is fantastic.

Starting off with a glass of Laurent Perrier Grand Siecle, one of my favorite champagnes. The new amenity kit from Bally's was nice enough with high quality items, but nothing special.

Then pajamas were distributed and I usually change into them right away before takeoff.

Plenty of storage all around including this section that houses more seat controls and the entertainment controller. The headphones were in one of the crevices, but they are absolute crap, poor sound quality and uncomfortable, Swiss should really upgrade these to Bose or another high end brand instead of generic and poor performing ones.

A view across before the gentlemen in the middle seats arrived. I love the Matterhorn on the front bulkhead. The one note I do have, for the future I'd avoid the right side because it's closer to the galley and feels like there's more action than my last flight when I was in 1A.

There are two bathrooms for first class passengers, a larger one that is the standard front large lav for a 77W and then a smaller one that is the primary one for the crew.

Back at my seat and enjoying the view out of the triple windows.

Menus were distributed, let's see what this flight has in store.

So taste of Zurich this time.

The standard format Swiss F menu which I love and with solid options for my taste, plus one unlisted one of Zurich sausage.

The cheese offerings.

The beverage menu, curious to see which wines.

Of course the LPGS champagne.

Nice selection of wines, super solid and I was very happy to see the Pichon Baron available for the primary red.

Teas, port and spirits, all fine but nothing special compared to other spirits offerings like EK.

Ahhh ready for a nice flight.

A LX 330 getting ready for departure as well.

We pushed back and taxied past the length of Terminal E.

Taxing past the Emirates 380 getting ready for departure.

More great plane spotting.

Quick hold and off we go.

We quickly got to altitude quickly and it was time for another glass of LPGS. It's slightly toasty with a lemon curd nose and the body is medium with creamy lemon, fuji apples, minerality, grassiness and acid making it fresh and lively.

An amuse of smoked tuna, wasabi tobiko, some sort of pickled radish and creme fraiche with chives. The cheesy crackers are always awesome and addictive.

The table was soon set to kick the feast off.

Of course the wonderful warm and fresh whole grain and white bread rolls presented in a personal basket.

For the appetizers I had a glass (or 2) of the Jean-Marc Brocard Chablis, which had a nose of grass and citrus. The body had lemon, tropical fruit, slight finish with cantaloupe and good acid and minerality to finish, very refreshing.

Then the appetizer trolly was rolled down, I absolutely love the presentation!

I tried everything but the cured meats, with the Balik salmon being absolutely wonderful, delicate and fresh. The asparagus panna cotta with egg yolk cream that was tasty and the perfect size as a bite. Snow crab with dill, cucumber and king crab on top was really refreshing, sweet and tasty. Fantastic appetizers!

Then time to get into one of my absolute favorites and curious to try the 2011 Pichon Baron. 2011 wasn't a great year for Bordeaux, but amazingly this wine was stunning! It had an amazing nose of cedar, menthol and blackberries. The body was deep with blackberries, black raspberries, cassis, herbs, menthol, tobacco, slight earth and firm but fine tannins, and some acid on the long finish. Really stunning wine and I hope because 2011 wasn't a great vintage, I can pick some of these up for a deal back on the ground.

Look at that beauty and in proper stemware. I don't get when airlines serve good quality drinks in F with stubby stemware that doesn't allow the wine to express itself.

Next up was the mixed greens salad with smoked cod. The smoked cod was unnecessary and the salad and dressing were fresh and perfect for a bit of healthy in this extravaganza.

For my main I ended up going with the bison. It was tender and more flavorful than beef. The mashed potato was a mix of regular potato and sweet potato, for me I'm not a big sweet potato fan so it was meh. The Pichon Baron went amazingly with it of course.

A close up.

And it was cooked perfectly. Also the flight attendants came around with seared spinach and greens that went great with the dish.

After really enjoying the main, it was time for some cheese and with it some Graham's 20-years Port. It's one of my favorites with a caramel nose, caramel body with some acidity and beautiful nuttiness.

The wonderful cheese cart was wheeled by.

And of course they insisted I try a bit of everything. The cheeses were excellent and I loved the presentation. None of the pre-packaged or cut stuff like other airlines try to pass off in first.

Then for dessert I of course had to try the 2006 Chateau Suduiraut. The Sauternes had a sweet nose like golden silk. The body had a hint of mango, slight light caramel, just a golden taste, floral notes and beautiful acid to keep it fresh.

For dessert I went with the yogurt cake that came with raspberry ice cream and pistachios. It was light, flavorful and perfectly balanced. It went fantastically well with both the Sauternes and Port.

A beautiful presentation.

Now time to relax, since this was a day flight, the buzz helped make me sleepy, but it was time to enjoy some TV and started to close up my suite.

The mood lighting in the cabin.

And the awesome lamp.

Watching a few documentaries and enjoying the wine.

And I couldn't help myself, but had to have another glass or two of Pichon Baron. I wasn't the only one really enjoying it and I'm pretty sure I saw several new bottles being opened for all of us gluttons.

The Movenpick ice cream trolly was then rolled around, but even I had to waive the white flag, that would've been just too much.

However about an hour later, I decided it might be a shame if I passed up trying the chocolate ice cream dessert and roasted pear. Definitely tasty.

With that it was time to stretch and ask for turn-down service. In the galley they had macarons and a fruit bowl. There's really no reason for this though because the service was excellent and they'd bring you anything you could want.

I came back to a nicely made bed with a thick mattress pad and great bedding.

I closed up my suite for full privacy and fell asleep to a documentary.

I slept for a bit over 4-hours, but woke up because the cabin was a bit warm for my liking, plus a bit of a hangover after that over-indulgence. So time for water and a soda.

Then some food to ward off the hangover with the landing meal. I started with the melon and tomato salad that was fresh, tasty and well presented.

Then for my main I went with Zurich veal, a local dish that is famous for the canton and this rendition was tasty and perfect to get rid of the hangover.

And then polished off with an apple pie with meringue on top that made it light and airy.

With a bit over an hour until landing, I did a little work and enjoyed the view out of my three windows.

And spotting Mt Shasta.

And the California coastline as we began our descent into the Bay Area.

And on final almost over the San Mateo bridge.

And touching down on 28L on a nice sunny afternoon at SFO.

Pulling into the gate is always bittersweet and never long enough when flying a great first class product.

Pulling up next to a UA Dreamliner.

And another fantastic Swiss First flight, fantastic as always.

Swiss First is still my overall favorite first class product, I have another trip with them later in the year for another try, but I do need to try La Premiere again to see how it stacks up in another round. I can't recommend if you're able to fly Swiss First to do so, the style, service, catering, wines and overall experience is fantastic.

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