First Insight into the NEW Sydney Football Stadium x Merivale

Wow what a night Friday was, full house for the first ever event at the new state of the art Sydney Football Stadium (SFS), unbelievable atmosphere and a pleasure to be a part of it.

The best however was the food and beverage offering delivered by Merivale. For those not familiar, Merivale are the biggest and most aspirational high street hospitality provider in Australia, and until a few months ago had never operated inside a stadium environment, with their exclusive contract starting at the Sydney Cricket Ground next door in December 2021 it was now the new stadiums turn.

So what do you get when you mix the very best of the high street with the very best stadia facilities…..here’s the first look.

General Admission – Concourse lvl 1

The thing that grabs you here is the width of the concourse and very easy access to every outlet, deep queuing, long counters & plenty of POS. The mix is great with all the best Merivale high street quality brands being available including, El Loco Mexican, Inlet Fish and Chips from Narooma, Vinnie’s Pizza, Jimmy’s Falafel & Mr’s G Dumplings and Noodles. There is an abundance of bars and a great variety of beers both on tap and in cans, plenty of temporary bars also ready to be used when needed.

Signage is some of the best I’ve seen, it’s clear, well positioned and makes selection easy. The food displays themselves are well thought out and its super easy and quick getting food. We tried the pizza, dumplings and the fish and chips, can’t fault any of it and if these standards and quality are maintained its happy days for the GA fans for sure.

Members - LvL 2

Moving up into the members is a real treat, the place looks fantastic, quality feel right throughout.

You are first greeted by a huge bar called “The Paddington” running half the length of the whole space, and it was packed - however plenty of staff, POS and beer taps, again with a wide choice of beers and wines.

To the left and right of the bar are two food outlets “The Kiosk” serving burgers, chips, Sonoma Pies and hot dogs etc, the second outlet being Dumpling’s and Noodles again the queues were pretty big however it was flowing well, and I’m sure as time goes on they will find a way to get members access to the concourse offers to spread the load.

The two key offers however in the members are two of Merivale most impressive and best high street restaurant offers - Totti’s Pasta Bar and Bert’s Bistro and this is where you really get to feel the difference that Merivale provides.

Totti’s is huge and very casual - simply find a high table, low table or lounge seat and order through the me&u system for both food and drinks. There is a bar that is easily accessed if you want to stand and consume or can’t immediately get a table. Our first order was delivered in under five minutes, pretty impressive for a packed stadium. We had a variety of the best of Totti’s with the highlight being the chilli prawn pasta. I spoke to several people on the adjacent tables and the feedback was in summary that it’s fantastic to be able to come to the footy and get such high-quality food and beverage and all noted that there was no difference in quality between what was served up in the stadium versus what they had experienced in the Totti’s restaurants in town.

The most premium offer at the stadium undoubtedly is Bert’s Bistro an institution on the Northern Beaches for best in class high quality dining and the interpretation of it here does not let down.

Whist we couldn’t get a table as it was totally booked all night we had a quick tour. The restaurant looks fantastic, its everything you would expect from Merivale, with a high quality offering and ambiance, a great menu and massive wine list. Bert’s is sure to be booked out every match so better get in quick if you want to experience it fist hand.

Overall a great culinary experience awaits at the new SFS and we are delighted for Venues NSW and Merivale for how it has come to life and wish them all the very best moving forward.

Control Global is a leading Food, Beverage and Hospitality Consulting firm and was delighted to work with VNSW on the masterplanning, strategy, RFP and selection process of Merivale for the SCG and new SFS.

If you are looking to grow, develop or change your stadia, arena or sports precinct F&B offer please get in touch.