Hot towel service and then post take off drink and warm nuts were served. The champagne was quite acceptable.
The starter, salad and main were served together. The starter was more of a canapé, a prawn with cream cheese on a crustini, but it was fine remembering it was now about midnight. The salad was good. For the main I went with the lobster ravioli and it was actually really delicious. The pasta was maybe a tad over cooked but the filling and sauce was yum. Had it been served on a plate by itself it could have easily passed for a good QF J small plate meal. I was really impressed. Enjoyed it with a glass of Chardonnay
For desert I went with the cheese plate and a glass of port. A relaxing way to end the meal service.
After a another drink and finishing watching a film I put the seat into bed mode. Pillow, blanket and mattress topper are provided although you are left to fit the topper yourself. There is plenty of room to sleep either on your back or side. I had a really decent 6 or 7 hours of sleep. Woke up and put some TV shows on. I headed up the the self service galley to grab a bag of chips and bottle of water (I really like the idea of being able to help yourself to this sort of thing) and the FA was straight over to ask if I wanted her to make me some sliders. I was tempted but just not hungry enough and it would be time for breakfast soon.
Overall the service was excellent. Possibly not as slick as on QF but the FA who looked after me just couldn't do enough and she was so nice.
With 1.5hrs to go breakfast was served. Eggs were maybe slightly rubbery but overall everything was really tasty
I've got to say I think AA is a really viable alternative to QF for US-AUS routes. The hard product is so much better and the food and service are up there even if they don't fully hit the mark. I booked months ago and the SC earn was the same as flying on QF metal although I believe this may have recently changed
