Where to watch a World Cup in Albany

June 18, 2014 6:49 PM

I will be driving through Albany on Sunday around 6 p.m. I want to pull over and watch the U.S.A. vs Portugal soccer game. Where is the best place to watch the game that is accessible to the NY Thruway? Thank you.
posted by Ggardner to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (6 answers total)

So, if you're not discriminating about the quality of food, I think there's still a TGI Friday's (if they even call it that anymore) at Stuyvesant Plaza on Western Avenue, just off the highway. Take exit 24 for I-87N (aka the Northway) and then after you pay the toll look for exit 1S (on the right). You'll end up on the Northway going south, and then will T into Western Avenue. Hang a left and Stuvy is the strip mall on your left.

When I lived there, Albany used to button up on Sunday nights, but there'll probably be places open at Crossgates mall as well. The directions are the same, save you exit the Northway at exit 1D for Crossgates, instead of driving it another quarter mile until the highway ends.
posted by ovenmitt at 8:37 PM on June 18, 2014

Here's a roundup of local places to watch the World Cup. I can't advise on convenience to the Thruway, but maybe someone else can.
posted by fussbudget at 4:27 AM on June 19, 2014

Wolf's 1-11 Restaurant, mentioned in fussbudget's link, is just off the Thruway near ovenmitt's suggestions: take exit 24 for the Northway, then 1N to go north (towards "Albany Airport/Montreal"). Take the next exit, 2E ("Wolf Road/Albany"), go another mile north on Wolf.

However, Albany is one of those cities pretty liberally crossed with expressways (especially for such a small city); even the locations on Broadway, near to Downtown, are barely 15 minutes from exit 24, and less than 10 minutes if you're coming from the south. Per Google Maps, even a detour to Wolff's Biergarten (south-to-west edition), recommended in fussbudget's link, should only add 10-12 minutes (plus, of course, game time) to the time it takes to get past Albany on the Thruway.
posted by FlyingMonkey at 6:26 AM on June 19, 2014

I should add that my spouse says that Wolff's (Biergarten, not Wolf's 1-11) will be absolutely nuts during the United States games - a fun place to watch, but you might wait a while for food.
posted by fussbudget at 8:04 AM on June 19, 2014

My personal recommendation would be either the Olde English Pub or the City Beer Hall. I confess to extreme bias, as those are two of my favorite spots to grab a few drinks in general. In fact, I may well be at one of the two of them that night.
posted by Urban Winter at 5:21 PM on June 20, 2014

Response by poster: I was worried about the crowds at Wolf's so I ended up here at the Olde English Pub. The menu tonight is very limited but I have a good seat and they have a big flat screen so all is good. Thanks everyone. Go USA.
posted by Ggardner at 2:49 PM on June 22, 2014