Aston Villa will be returning to Wembley this weekend when they take on Premier League rivals Crystal Palace. It will be the first time Villa have been at Wembley since their 2-1 defeat to Manchester City in the 2020 EFL Cup Final.
Since the redevelopment of Wembley, clubs are generally allocated either the East side or the West side of the stadium, with Villa generally getting the latter in recent visits. However, this year we have been allocated the East side of the stadium, leaving fans wondering where they can get their pre-match pint.
Ok then, where can I drink?
The East Side is often considered the worst of the two sides of the stadium for drinking options, but don’t let this spoil your day, as there will still be plenty of options for you.
THE TORCH – 1-5 Bridge Rd, Wembley Park, Wembley HA9 9AB
The Torch is a Green King pub and is probably the most popular choice on the East side of the stadium. They offer food, live sports and have disabled access. If you normally enjoy the Green Man, then this is the pub for you, well, it’s the only pub on this side of the stadium that comes close to the Green Man in terms of size.
It has a large beer garden at the rear, but due to the size, it normally fills up very quickly when they open at 11.00 am. Previous fans have stated then due to the small bar, it often struggles to keep up with the demand once the venue gets busy.
STADIUM SPORTS BAR – 125 Wembley Park Dr, Wembley Park, HA9 8HQ
The Stadium Sports Bar is exactly that. A sports bar located just a four-minute walk from Wembley Stadium. Like many bars on this side of the stadium, it’s not the biggest, but they do have outside seating. It is an oblong bar with screens and sports memorabilia on the walls. Beers include Carling, Staropramen, Guiness and a host of cocktails.
The bar is currently taking pre-bookings with fees starting from £10 per person.
BLUE CHECK – 12 -13 Empire Way, Wembley, HA9 0RQ
The Blue Check, from the outside, looks like a bar you may frequent on a holiday strip in Spain, but it is one of the favourites on this side of the stadium. Inside the bar is quite spacious and has quite a large food offering, including Vegetarian and Vegan options.
The bar opens at 10.00 am and, with most bars around Wembley, operates on a first-come, first-served basis, with it filling up relatively quickly.
Other bars include:
WEMBLEY TAVERN – 121 Wembley Park Dr, Wembley Park, HA9 8HG
CROCK OF GOLD – 23 Bridge Road, Wembley, HA9 9AB
BLACK SHEEP, 2 Olympic Way, Wembley Park, HA9 0GU
Inside Wembley Stadium
Be warned that Wembley Stadium is a cashless stadium, meaning fans need to have a card or contactless method of paying if they want to purchase anything inside the stadium.
