Every year, the Cheltenham Festival welcomes around 65,000 visitors, making it a very popular event. The festival is across four days, with it being one of the highlights in the racing calendar, it brings in a lot of people and money too. Across the four-day festival, you can find horse racing, along with many places to enjoy a drink or too, along with some great food. You can also bet here at the Cheltenham festival on horse racing, so you may even get lucky and bring home some money. It’s a very popular horse racing event, with lots of money being lost and made over the 4 days through placing bets and spending it on food and drink. But, when it comes to betting here, make sure to look at the odds and to choose the best horse in the race.
So, alongside the main attraction of horse racing and betting here, there’s a whole other experience when it comes to the food and drink, but where are the best places to eat and drink when at Cheltenham festival?
Food and Drink Research
You may not think so, but it’s important to do some research on where to eat and drink at Cheltenham festival before arriving, to be able to plan it out and make sure you’re not missing out on anything. The four-day event is busy enough, so you don’t want to be worrying about where to go, once you’re there. The food and drink options are also incredible, so you want to make sure you are getting the most out of it and not missing out.
So, researching the food and drink options and planning them out is essential when it comes to the Cheltenham festival, and in this article, we’re going to cover the best bars and restaurants to visit whilst you’re there.
The Best Bars and Restaurants at Cheltenham Festival
Firstly, let’s take a look into the drinking options that the four-day festival has to offer. There’s no doubt that the festival doesn’t have a few fancy bars available, with the majority of people drinking there on the day.
Here, you’ll find lots of champagne bars, so if you enjoy some bubbly, it’s perfect for you. When purchasing club tickets, this gives you access to the Golden Miller Bar too, named in honour of the five-time Gold Cup winner back in the 1930’s. In the Tattersalls, you can also find Moet and Chandon bars.
If you have Tattersall tickets or are seated in the Princess Royal Stand on Club, then you have access to Big Buck’s Bar, which is also a champagne bar. However, here you will also find a selection of tapas boards, sandwiches and snacks.
For the true taste of Cheltenham, you should visit the Arkle Bar. Arkle Ale is brewed by Arkell’s Brewery and is served on draught here and you only need Club tickets to access this. There is also Quevega’s, which is a wine bar also serving champagne and cocktails, along with food.
So, there’s plenty of places to be able to enjoy a glass of bubbly or too, but what about the food?
The Mandarin Kitchen serves hot meals including soup and pies, which are produced locally. This is a good place to visit, if you’re wanting more of a proper meal.
If you’re after more street food and not a sit-down meal, then the Centaur in Tattersalls has vendors bringing you flavours from all around the world. There is also similar food in the Vestey Food Court.
However, if bars and eateries aren’t quite for you and you’re looking for something a bit nicer, where you can sit down and enjoy the food, then they do cater for this too. The hospitality packages involve multiple courses and wine in the Gold Cup and Festival restaurant, the Horseshoe Pavilion, National Hunt, Panoramic restaurants and Champions Walk. The cuisine of these restaurants varies from pub favourites, to a la carte menus. With the hospitality packages, you can be sure to experience a full range of different foods, perfect for suiting your style
So, as you can see, there is so much on offer when it comes to food and drink at Cheltenham festival. There are plenty of wine and champagne bars to enjoy, along with your normal draught beers and ales available too. With the food, there is a wide selection of choices, from pub favourites to street food, all the way to fine dining experiences in the hospitality packages.
Of course, for some of these you will need to pre book or ensure you have a ticket to access them, making it so important to do your research before going, to know where exactly you can go and to make sure you can make the most of this incredible experience at the four day festival.
