Tomorrow, Saturday May 28th at 2:45 pm is the Champions League final, European Soccer’s biggest prize. This year’s final is an all-Madrid derby between Atletico Madrid and 10-time champion Real Madrid, a rematch of the 2014 final won by Real. Around this time, New York’s football (the real kind) fans and visiting tourists wonder, ‘Where can I watch the match?” The answer, thankfully, is pretty much everywhere. You won’t have difficulty finding a bar with game on. The match will be on live on free-to-air tv on Fox (channel 5.1 over an antenna) or on ESPN Deportes in Spanish. It can also be streamed on a phone over foxsoccer2go.com
A few weeks ago I published a post recommending where to watch England’s Leicester City clinch the Premier League. Most of the bars listed there will be very good, if crowded, places to watch the match. But given the particularly Castilian flavor of this final, I think it’s worth recommending a few specific places in New York to get an experience unique to this match.
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo
1. Barleycorn: Craft Beer and Grill
Tne Real Madrid NYC Supporters Club will be meeting a Barleycorn at 23 Park Pl in Tribeca. It’s a solid soccer venue downtown otherwise. It’s not their regular spot–they move around. In the past they had met regularly at Quinns Bar and Grill in Hell’s Kitchen but it closed last February.
Crest of Atletico Madrid, Real’s local rival.
2, Suite 36, 14 W 36th Street, Midtown
Suite 36 is the regular gathering spot of NYC supporters of Atletico Madrid. Expect a mostly Spanish-speaking crowd.
3. Donostia, 155 Avenue B, East Village
This Basque-themed Spanish venue in the East Village will offer an Iberian flavor with a neutral (?) atmosphere. Unfortunatlery, the previous go-to Spanish spot for Spanish football, La Nacional, has closed (temporarily we are told).
4. Fornos of Spain Restaurant, 47 Ferry St, Newark
OK, it’s not New York City, but definitely within the NY Metro area and accessible from Manhattan by the PATH rail system. Newark’s Ironbound neighborhood has historically been home to Spanish and Portuguese communities and has several restaurants to boast (given that many of the players on both teams are Portuguese, those restaurants may also be worth a try).
My prediction: the winner will be football.