Cooked breakfasts and prosecco at 06:00 in T1
Airside in T1’s small departure lounge, The Olive Tree is the main sit-down option once you clear security, open roughly 05:00–23:00. If you want more than a £4 meal deal, this is where locals point you. It runs pub‑style: table service for food, a bar for drinks, and a menu that reads like a standard UK airport pub rather than a café.
Pricing lands in the $$ bracket: think town-centre pub food with an airport mark-up. Reviews call out cooked breakfasts with eggs, sausage and toast, burgers with chips, and classic fish & chips as the default orders. One TripAdvisor flyer mentioned a “proper cooked breakfast and a glass of prosecco” before a Flybe flight, which sums up the vibe: straightforward hot food, beer and wine, not gourmet dining.
Service is the catch. Multiple TripAdvisor reviews quote 20–30 minute waits for burgers and other hot dishes, even when the place looks half empty. That’s tight if you’re boarding a Flybe or Eastern Airways Dash 8 with a 25‑minute turnaround. Regulars say this is the restaurant locals complain about when they talk about “the one with terrible reviews” at SOU, mainly for speed and consistency rather than outright food disasters.
What to order: stick to breakfast plates, fish & chips, or simple burgers; these are mentioned most often as “fine” or “decent” across reviews. If you just want a drink, many flyers grab a pint at the bar or a glass of prosecco and then sit, treating it like a pub to dodge any delay in table service.
Practical tip: go straight through security and sit down here early; be in The Olive Tree at least 45 minutes before boarding if you plan on a hot main, and pay at the bar on the way out to cut one more wait.