Top 10 Restaurants and Cafes in New York City to Watch UEFA Champions League on a Big Screen (2026)

Here's the part most guides get wrong: in New York, the Champions League is not a night out. It's a lunch break. European kick-offs at 18:45 and 21:00 land at 12:45 pm and 3:00 pm Eastern Time, on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. So the best venue isn't the one with the biggest screen. It's the one that's actually open, staffed, and full of people at 1 pm on a workday.

The short answer? Smithfield Hall in Chelsea and The Football Factory at Legends in Midtown are the two most reliable big-screen picks for a full season. Smithfield was built from the floor up for watching soccer, with 26 screens inside. Legends opens at noon on weekdays, shows over 100 matches a week, and hosts 30-plus supporters groups.

The 2026/27 league phase runs from 8 September 2026 to 27 January 2027, then knockouts through spring. The final is on Saturday 5 June 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. Below are ten real places to watch it in NYC, plus the practical stuff: times, costs, crowds, and getting home.

Champions League kick-off times in New York (ET)

Save this table. It's the difference between a great afternoon and a locked door.

Kick-off in Europe	New York time (ET)	When this applies
18:45 CEST/CET	12:45 pm, same day	Most of the season
21:00 CEST/CET	3:00 pm, same day	Most of the season
18:45 CET	1:45 pm	16–17 March 2027 only
21:00 CET	4:00 pm	16–17 March 2027 only
Final, Sat 5 June 2027	12:00 pm or 3:00 pm	Kick-off time not confirmed yet

Two games per matchday start at 18:45. The rest go at 21:00. So a normal Champions League night in Europe is a 12:45 pm and 3:00 pm double-header in New York.

That odd row in the middle is real, and people get caught by it every year. The US moves its clocks forward on 14 March 2027. Europe waits until 28 March. For those two weeks, the gap shrinks from six hours to five. The round of 16 second legs on 16–17 March 2027 kick off an hour later than you expect.

One more date to circle: Wednesday 27 January 2027. On the final matchday, all 18 games kick off at the same time — 3:00 pm ET. Eighteen matches, one room, every screen showing something different. It's the best afternoon of the league phase.

1. Smithfield Hall (Chelsea)

If you only bookmark one place, make it this one. Smithfield is the only bar in New York built specifically for watching soccer, and you feel it the second you walk in. 26 TVs inside, angled so every seat sees a screen, plus nine heated outdoor tables with eight more.

It's the home of several supporters groups — the New York Reds (Manchester United), NYC Hammers (West Ham), Penya Barcelona NYC and American Outlaws. That means the room already has a side on most big nights.

Address: 138 W 25th St. Pints run about $7.50–$12. Call ahead and they'll almost always put your match on at least one screen.

2. The Football Factory at Legends (Midtown)

Six blocks from the Empire State Building, downstairs, and completely soccer-obsessed. Legends shows over 100 live matches a week and hosts 30-plus NYC supporters groups, from AC Milan to PSG to Leeds. The memorabilia collection on the walls is the biggest of its kind in the country.

Here's the key detail for Champions League: it opens at noon Monday to Friday. That's 45 minutes before the early kick-off. Show up at noon, not 12:40, or you're standing.

Address: 6 W 33rd St. Phone (212) 967-7792. This is also the easiest pick if you're coming in from Penn Station or Herald Square.

3. Carragher's Bar & Boot Room (Financial District)

Named after Jamie Carragher, and it takes the name seriously. Three separate rooms, screens in all of them, and it's the home of the New York Kopites (Liverpool).

The reason it's on this list is location. It opens at 10 am on weekdays, and it sits at 17 John St, minutes from Wall Street. If you work downtown, a 12:45 pm kick-off is genuinely a long lunch. Weekday drink specials run around $5 on drafts.

4. Banter (Williamsburg, Brooklyn)

Brooklyn's best soccer bar, and it isn't close. Banter has been a Williamsburg fixture for over 15 years — six TVs, two projector screens, 24 taps, and a room with high ceilings that somehow stays comfortable when it's packed.

It's an official NYCFC pub partner and the home of Brooklyn Spurs. Normal hours start at 2 pm, but it opens early for matches, usually about 15 minutes before kick-off. Check its social feed the morning of the game.

Address: 132 Havemeyer St, right at South 1st. Sandwiches around $8.

5. 11th Street Bar (East Village)

Small, dark, and completely serious about football. This has been the official home of LFCNY, the Liverpool supporters club, since 2004 — one of the longest runs in the city.

There are 10-plus screens in a space that isn't big, which tells you everything about the priorities. It posts its doors-open time for each fixture, so check before you walk over. Beers are $2 off Monday to Friday, 2–7 pm, which lines up neatly with a 3 pm kick-off.

Address: 510 E 11th St.

6. Jack Doyle's (Garment District)

Arsenal territory, and loud with it. Jack Doyle's is where Arsenal NYC sings, and it's open 10 am to 4 am daily — no worrying about whether the doors will be unlocked.

The location is the quiet superpower here. It's at 240 W 35th St, a two-minute walk from Penn Station. If you're commuting in from New Jersey or Long Island, you can watch a full 3 pm match and be on a train fifteen minutes after the whistle.

7. O'Hanlon's Bar (East Village)

Eleven screens, 16 beers on draught, plus pool, darts and shuffleboard for the half-time break. O'Hanlon's runs the longest-standing Arsenal room in the city and also hosts the First & Fourteenth Street Supporters.

It's open from 10 am on weekdays and stays open until 4 am. Bigger and roomier than 11th Street Bar, so it's the better pick if there are six of you and you want a table rather than a spot at the rail.

Address: 349 E 14th St.

8. Amity Hall Downtown (Greenwich Village)

The New York Sky Blues — the Manchester City supporters club — moved their home here, and the room suits it. Ten-plus screens, a proper kitchen, and enough space that you can actually eat a meal while you watch.

It's at 80 W 3rd St, a block from Washington Square, so the crowd skews younger and more mixed than the Midtown pubs. Members get 10% off on matchdays. Weekend doors open at 11 am.

9. Reichenbach Hall (Garment District)

Something different, and the best pick in the city for a group of eight or more. Reichenbach is New York's largest German-style beer hall — long communal tables, big screens at the ends, liter steins, schnitzel and pretzels.

It opens at 11:30 am every day, which covers both kick-offs with room to spare. When a Bundesliga club is in the draw — Bayern, Dortmund, Leverkusen — this room turns into something special. The rest of the time it's simply the easiest place in Midtown to sit twelve people together.

Address: 5 W 37th St.

10. The Red Lion (Greenwich Village)

A Bleecker Street institution with 10-plus HD screens and the official Brentford NYC crowd. It's less of a shrine than Smithfield or Legends, and that's the point — it's a good, normal bar that happens to take football seriously.

The timing is the trick. Happy hour runs 4–7 pm, Monday to Friday, and a 3:00 pm kick-off ends around 4:50 pm. Walk out of full time and straight into cheap drinks. Live music starts later if you want to make a night of it.

Address: 151 Bleecker St.

A few more worth knowing

Ten isn't enough for a city this size. These all check out too:

• The Monro Pub (481 5th Ave, South Slope, Brooklyn) — OLSC Brooklyn, the other Liverpool room. $10 membership, breakfast tacos.
• Flannery's Bar (205 W 14th St) — New York Spurs. Cash only, and there's often a $10 door charge for Tottenham games.
• Peter Dillon's (2 E 36th St, Murray Hill) — Toon Army NYC, the Newcastle crowd. $6 pints.
• McHale's Bar & Grill (251 W 51st St) — 15 flatscreens and two projectors in the Theater District.
• Long Acre Tavern (146 W 47th St) — One United USA, the Manchester United room, free watch parties.
• Highbury Pub (1002 Cortelyou Rd, Ditmas Park) — Arsenal, Barcelona and Gotham fans in one Brooklyn dive. Bring cash.
• Rivercrest (33-15 Ditmars Blvd, Astoria) — Queens Spurs, $6 drafts.
• Berry Park (4 Berry St, Williamsburg) — theater-sized projection and a heated rooftop. One catch: it's closed Mondays and doesn't open until 4 pm Tuesday to Thursday, so it misses weekday kick-offs. Save it for the Saturday final.

Cafes and family-friendly options: the honest answer

Let's be straight with each other. New York's coffee shops do not show live European soccer. Third-wave cafes don't have TVs, and the chains won't put a match on for you. If you want a cafe with the game on, you have to leave the tourist map — and that's where the city gets genuinely great.

Steinway Street in Astoria, Queens. The stretch between Astoria Boulevard and 28th Avenue is "Little Egypt," one of the densest strips of Egyptian and Middle Eastern life in North America. The cafes here show every big match, serve coffee, mint tea, juices and desserts, and stay busy with backgammon and dominoes between goals. Al Sukaria (2562 Steinway St) is the classic old-school one. No alcohol needed, and the atmosphere on a big European night is as good as any pub in Manhattan. Fair warning: most of these places serve shisha, so expect smoke.

Roosevelt Avenue in Jackson Heights, Queens. Around the 82nd St–Jackson Heights station, nearly every storefront with a television turns into a viewing room on match days. The crowd leans Ecuadorian and Colombian, the food is excellent and cheap, and the bakeries and restaurants along here will put the game on without being asked. El Encebollado de Victor has locations in Jackson Heights and Corona.

Arthur Avenue, Belmont, the Bronx. The real Little Italy. When an Italian club is playing a big European tie, the cafes and salumerias here get loud in the best way. Espresso, pastries, and a room that knows the fixture list.

For families with kids, the daytime kick-off is actually your friend. A 12:45 pm match on a school holiday, in a restaurant with a real kitchen — Reichenbach Hall, Amity Hall, Smithfield's outdoor tables — works far better than a 3 am watch party ever could.

What channel is the Champions League on in the US?

This matters more than people think, because it decides which bars can legally show it.

Paramount+ streams every single match. CBS Sports holds exclusive English-language US rights through the 2029/30 season. Selected league-phase games also air on CBS, CBS Sports Network and CBS Sports Golazo Network.

For Spanish-language coverage, it's TUDN, Univision and ViX, with those rights running through the end of the 2026/27 season. Most of the bars on this list can pull up either feed. If you'd rather hear the game in Spanish, just ask — in this city, they've been asked before.

Five rules for a New York matchday

1. Get there 30–45 minutes early. For a 12:45 pm kick-off at Legends or Smithfield, that means arriving as the doors open. Big ties fill up before the anthem finishes.
2. Call ahead if you want a specific match. Most of these bars have more screens than games, but sound only goes to one. A phone call the morning of the game gets your match the audio.
3. Book for groups of six or more. Some bars take reservations, most don't. The ones that do — Smithfield, Reichenbach, Amity Hall — are worth calling.
4. Expect a cover on marquee ties. It's usually $10–$20, sometimes cash only, and it often includes a drink. That's normal in NYC, not a rip-off.
5. Check the supporters group, not just the bar. Almost every club in Europe has an official NYC home. Searching "[your club] NYC supporters club" will tell you exactly which room to walk into.

What a matchday costs in New York

Plan on $40–$70 per person for an afternoon with food and a few drinks. Here's the breakdown:

• Pints: $7.50–$12 at most of these bars. Happy hour drops that to $5–$6.
• Food: $15–$25 for a burger or sandwich with fries.
• Sales tax: 8.875% on top of the menu price, added at the end.
• Tip: 18–20%. Not optional here. Cash on the bar works fine for drinks.
• Supporters club membership, if you want one: around $10 a year, and it usually pays for itself in discounts.

Open a tab rather than paying per round — it's faster and you're less likely to lose track of your card. Always ask for the receipt and check it before you sign.

Staying safe and having a good time

New York bars on a Champions League afternoon are friendly places. Still, a few practical things save the day:

• You need ID, and you need to be 21. If you're visiting, bring your passport. Many NYC bars will not accept a foreign driver's license, and the doorman will not negotiate.
• Pick your room on purpose. Nothing here gets nasty, but walking into an Arsenal pub in a Real Madrid shirt on a knockout night isn't relaxing. Choose a neutral bar — Smithfield, Legends, Reichenbach — if you want a mixed crowd.
• Watch your drink and your bag. Don't leave a glass unattended, and don't hang a bag on the back of your chair in a packed room. Standard big-city sense.
• Standing-room crowds get tight. Arrive early instead of pushing through. If a room feels too full, walk two blocks — there are six more bars showing the same game.
• Pace yourself. A 12:45 pm kick-off followed by a 3:00 pm kick-off is five hours of drinking if you let it be. Eat something. Order a water between rounds.

Getting home after the match

Here's the best thing about Champions League in New York: you go home in daylight. The subway runs 24/7, but you won't need it late.

• 12:45 pm kick-off: done by about 2:35 pm. Easy trains, empty platforms, and you can still get some work done.
• 3:00 pm kick-off: done by about 4:50 pm — which drops you straight into rush hour. Either leave at the whistle and beat the worst of it, or stay for happy hour and travel at 7 pm instead.

If you're driving in from New Jersey or Westchester, don't. Park at a station and take the train. A 3 pm game plus a couple of pints plus the Lincoln Tunnel is not a plan.

Quick answers

Where's the best big screen for the Champions League in NYC? Smithfield Hall in Chelsea has the most screens — 26 inside, eight more outside — and was purpose-built for soccer. The Football Factory at Legends has three floors and the biggest supporters-group scene.

What time is the Champions League in New York? 12:45 pm ET for the early game and 3:00 pm ET for the late one, on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. For two weeks in March 2027 it shifts to 1:45 pm and 4:00 pm.

Which bars are open for a 12:45 pm weekday kick-off? Carragher's and O'Hanlon's open at 10 am, Jack Doyle's at 10 am, Reichenbach Hall at 11:30 am, and Legends at noon. Banter opens early on match days.

Where can I watch without drinking alcohol? The Steinway Street cafes in Astoria, the Roosevelt Avenue restaurants in Jackson Heights, and the Arthur Avenue cafes in the Bronx all show big European matches and don't revolve around a bar.

How much does a matchday cost? About $40–$70 per person with food and drinks, before you add 8.875% sales tax and a 18–20% tip.

When is the 2027 final and what time is it in New York? Saturday 5 June 2027 at the Estadio Metropolitano in Madrid. UEFA hasn't confirmed the kick-off time yet — recent finals have started at either 18:00 or 21:00 CEST, which means noon or 3 pm ET in New York. Either way, it's a Saturday afternoon. Book something.

---

New York does the Champions League better than almost anywhere outside Europe, and the reason is simple: half the city came from somewhere that cares. Every club has a room. Every room has a crowd. You just have to pick the right one and show up on time.

Get there 30 minutes early, choose a bar with your club's supporters group in it, eat before the second game, and enjoy the strangest luxury of watching football in New York — walking out into the afternoon sun with the whole evening still ahead of you. See you at the bar.