NYC Pub Scene: The Mecca for Premier League Fixtures

Your up-to-date NYC pub footballing guide heading into the 2024-25 Premier League season

By Charlie Corr
SlideTackles.com

Watching top-division European football (we're not calling it soccer here) is an early-morning ritual, especially in New York City. The modest five-hour time difference from the UK, the easy access to every televised match and the bevy of unique pubs have turned this into a mecca for watching the world's most popular sport, and your favorite overseas club.

The Premier League season gets underway on Friday, Aug. 16, and supporters will be starting most of their Saturdays with a coffee or cocktail, and a couple boisterous hours of football.

Brentford's NYC supporters at
The Red Lion, Greenwich Village

I oversee the Brentford New York supporters' group, the NYC Bees. Since the small West London club's first Premier League season (2021-22), we've made The Red Lion in Greenwich Village our home. The no-frills pub has the flavor of a gritty European establishment, perfect for an up-and-coming fanbase that has drawn 40-plus supporters on our best occasion: Not bad for a team that most in the USA didn't even know about before 2021.

Over my time in NYC, I've stopped inside a handful of establishments that host Premier League gatherings. The Football Factory at Legends in Midtown is a natural destination: The Disney World of NYC's footballing pubs. The wall-to-wall and ceiling signage, combined with officially hosting a whopping seven Premier League clubs, has been a go-to locale for more than a decade. Many times it's a shoulder-to-shoulder experience, especially since some supporters who don't have their own club destination tend to make Legends their semi-official home.

Smithfield Hall is the closest challenger for pub footballing status, the host site of Manchester United, Nottingham Forest and West Ham, and it's in a great location a few blocks away from Madison Square Garden. With more than a couple dozen TVs, it's also the easiest venue to stay on top of the action.

Manchester City supporters, the
New York Sky Blues, at Amity Hall

Arsenal and Liverpool both have a massive worldwide presence, and their stateside fan bases are so heavy that they host match day watches at more than a half dozen pub locales throughout NYC and New Jersey to cater to their supporters. Tottenham is in a similar boat, with most of the chants resonating from Flannery's in Manhattan, but also at official pub options in Brooklyn, Queens and Hoboken.

The two-floor Amity Hall Downtown in Greenwich Village is the polished type of environment you'd expect for the multi-champion Manchester City base; Everton's Flatiron District home, Turnmill, draws some massive support; and Wolves have been a budding supporters' group at McHale's Bar & Grill in Midtown.

The EPL pub scene is ever-growing. Stateside viewership continues to expand, and the dynamic of North American supporters and visitors from the UK and beyond will always make for a special experience.

Here is a breakdown of the most pertinent NYC locations that will be starting up their regular Premier League club watch events (if there are any updates or changes, please email charliecorr@gmail.com):

NYC Pubs: The Premier League Guide

Arsenal: O'Hanlon's, 349 E. 14th St., Manhattan; Highbury Pub, 1002 Cortelyou Road, Brooklyn (nine Arsenal locations in NYC and N.J.)

Aston Villa: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Bournemouth: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan (note: not an "official" partner, but supporters regularly attend here)

Brentford: The Red Lion, 151 Bleecker St., Greenwich Village / Manhattan

Brighton: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Chelsea: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Crystal Palace: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Everton: Turnmill, 119 E. 27th St., Flatiron / Manhattan

Fulham: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Ipswich Town: Area 140 First Bar, 140 1st Ave., East Village / Manhattan (note: new location; source: Reddit)

Leicester City: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Liverpool: 11th St. Bar, 510 E. 11th St., Manhattan (seven Liverpool locations in NYC and N.J.)

Manchester City: Amity Hall Downtown, 80 W. 3rd St., Greenwich Village / Manhattan

Newcastle: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan

Nottingham Forest: Smithfield Hall, 138 W. 28th St., Chelsea / Manhattan

Southampton: The Football Factory at Legends, 6 W. 33rd St., Midtown / Manhattan (note: not an "official" partner, but supporters regularly attend here)

Tottenham: Flannery's, 205 W. 14th St., Chelsea / Manhattan; other official locations include: Banter Bar, 132 Havemeyer St., Brooklyn; Rivercrest, 33-15 Ditmars Blvd., Astoria; Mulligan's Pub, 159 First St., Hoboken, N.J.

West Ham: Smithfield Hall, 138 W. 28th St., Chelsea / Manhattan

Wolves: McHale's Bar & Grill, 251 W 51st St., Midtown / Manhattan