The Food Concourse at Flushing
More food diversity than any other Slam — because it's in New York, and the concourse reflects it
The food at the US Open grounds is better than it has any right to be, and the reason is simple: it's in New York, and the city's food culture has influenced what the tournament serves. The main concourse inside the gates runs dozens of food and drink vendors covering cuisines that no other Grand Slam comes close to matching.
The Honey Deuce
The US Open has a signature cocktail: the Honey Deuce, served since 2007 at every session. It's Grey Goose vodka, lemonade, and raspberry liqueur, topped with three honeydew melon balls carved to look like tennis balls. It costs $22. It is thoroughly overpriced and absolutely worth ordering once for the ritual of it — the yellow melon balls, the pink colour, the fact that the US Open has essentially invented a signature drink that has become inseparable from the event. Around 10,000 are sold on busy days.
What to eat
The concourse vendors vary by year but consistently cover: pizza (New York style, by the slice), dumplings, tacos, Indian dishes, Japanese rice bowls, Korean fried chicken, burgers, and multiple dessert options including soft-serve and cheesecake. Prices are stadium prices — expect $15–25 for a main dish — but the quality is notably higher than equivalent stadium food elsewhere.
The food court areas in the middle of the grounds, between the main stadiums and the outer courts, are the best place to eat if you want to sit down. Tables there fill quickly during session breaks; arrive a few minutes before the natural break between matches.
Alcohol and non-alcoholic options
Beer and wine are served throughout the grounds. The Honey Deuce and other cocktails are available at dedicated bars. Non-alcoholic options include fresh-pressed lemonade (not from concentrate — genuinely good in the heat), iced coffee, and the standard range of soft drinks. Free water filling stations are positioned throughout the grounds; bring a refillable bottle.
Timing
Avoid the concessions in the 20 minutes before and after a session begins or ends. The queues during those windows are long and slow. Mid-match, when the crowd is in their seats, is when the concessions are fastest.
Why it's special
Tournament food is usually an afterthought — overpriced, generic, volume-focused. The US Open is the exception that proves the rule. The diversity of what's available on the concourse reflects where the tournament is: a borough that takes food seriously, serving a crowd from all over the world, during an event that wants to feel like a New York occasion rather than just a tennis tournament.
The Honey Deuce is the specific thing worth doing. It costs too much, it's essentially a tourist item, and doing it anyway with 23,000 other people in Arthur Ashe Stadium is one of those shared rituals that makes a sporting event feel like more than a match. Order it once.
Insider tips
- 1
Avoid the concessions in the 20 minutes before and after a session starts or ends. The queues during those windows are long and slow. Mid-match is when the concourse is fastest.
- 2
The Honey Deuce ($22, Grey Goose and lemonade with honeydew melon balls) is overpriced and worth ordering once — ideally inside Arthur Ashe for the full effect of drinking the US Open's signature cocktail surrounded by 23,000 people.
- 3
Free water filling stations are distributed throughout the grounds. Bring a refillable bottle; skip the $8 bottled water.
- 4
The tables in the central plaza between the main stadiums and the outer courts fill quickly at session breaks. If you're eating a full meal, claim a table a few minutes before the natural break, not after.
- 5
Freshly pressed lemonade (not from concentrate) is one of the better non-alcoholic options in the heat — it appears at multiple vendors and is considerably better than anything equivalent at most sporting venues.
Practical info
What to avoid
Don't try to eat a sit-down meal in the 30 minutes before a session — the timing almost always gets tight, and eating standing up under pressure is not the correct US Open experience. Don't overlook the smaller vendors toward the outer courts, which are less crowded and faster than the central food court area during peak session changeover. If you're drinking, pace it in the August heat — a glass of rosé in the sun at 2pm followed by stadium seating is a faster combination than it seems. And don't pay $8 for a bottle of water when the free filling stations are signed throughout the grounds.
