Unfortunately, not everyone was able to leave their busy schedules in Manhattan to parade around Rio watching soccer games, tanning, applying tanning oil and indulging in all manner of debauchery. No, some of us must stay here, working and reading World Cup headlines on our Twitter feeds. If you do manage to get out of work at some point over the next few weeks, there are a whole lot of bars where you can drain your sorrows and watch soccer on all manners of expensive flat screen TV’S. Here are eight bars that are doing the World Cup NYC-style right.
Smithfield Hall
138 West 25th Street, New York,
NY 10001
Ranked, “The best bar to watch soccer (erm, football) in New York City, this Chelsea watering hole will be playing every game throughout the Cup over a variety of easy-to-see flatscreen TV screens. The food is classic American and rather delicious and can be washed down with a huge selection of craft beers, whiskeys, and cocktails. Game on!
Stout NYC
133 W 33rd St, New York, NY 10003
This Midtown West pub is perfect for a group of buddies getting out of their finance or media jobs and trying to grab some beers and snacks before having to do it all over again. A huge beer list (but a Guinness order always gets you macho points at these places) and some tasty Hors Doeurves like mini potato cakes and plaintain chips with pineapple salsa that get better with every alcoholic sip. You might get so lost in gluttony you’ll realize that the outcome of these individual World Cup games doesn’t and never really has mattered all that much to you.
Summer Garden and Bar at Rock Center Café
20 W 50th St, New York, NY 10020
An excellent choice for soccer lovers accompanied by soccer naysayers. While the soccer enthusiasts can bask in the glow of six simultaneous games being played on six separate TV’s surrounding a spacious bar, the could-care-less folks can still absorb blessed sunshine and take in the views of the scenic Rockefeller Center. The snacks here are particularly wonderful, the garlic prawns, got to have them!
Louro
142 W 10th St, New York, NY 10014
Louro’s Portuguese-American chef loves him some al fütbol! For the World Cup the creative culinarian champ went all out, purchasing a 100-inch television to be viewed at the restaurant and is even going as far as to adjust the joint’s hours to accompany the World Cup in its entirety. This West Village gem is perfect for those who might want to be experiencing some actual Portuguese food in lieu of not being able to make the trip to Brazil. Try shrimp tacos.
Kinsale Tavern
1672 3rd Ave, New York, NY 10128
A fresh of breath, alcoholic odor. Kinsale Tavern is a traditional Irish Pub in the heart of the perpetually one percent Upper East Side. A lot of beer, draft and bottle, and snack food. Good for Upper East Siders looking to watch the games in a less pretentious environment but still allowing the comfort of the UES’s swanky surroundings.
The Red Lion
151 Bleecker St, New York, NY, 10012
This Greenwich Village staple will give you a taste of what it’s like to watch soccer and drink with a slew of cranky British expats! Intensely, is the word I believe. There is also live music every night so if your eyes start to acquire that fuzzy, heavy-lidded feeling maybe you can start dancing. Build up a sweat. The World Cup should still be there when you’re back.
Birreria at Eataly
200 5th Ave, New York, NY, 10010
Let’s face it, a lot of us use sporting events as an excuse to go way off our Paleo or Adkin’s diets and gorge ourselves on rich, self-congruagulatory, and delicious foods. And let’s fact it, stuffing yourself at Eataly, it doesn’t get much better then that. You will probably lose track of the score whilst face-numbing at the deliciousness of the homemade sausages and pork chunks.
BarBossa
232 Elizabeth St #1, New York, NY 10012
Of course. The World Cup is in Brazil, we’d be awfully silly to not include NoHo’s Brazilian gem of a restaurant. Get a taste of the traditional flavors of the World Cup’s host. Meat, drinks, and lots of football!. Game on!
