Stella Artois Racquet Club: Where the court meets culture at the National Bank Open
What went down at the Toronto tennis tournament’s chicest place to unwind, fuel up and embrace tenniscore
For 12 thwack-filled days in peak summer, the National Bank Open gave tennis fans a chance to cheer and toast their favourite top-ranked male players, like German Alexander Zverev and Canadian Gabriel Diallo, as they battled it out on the courts.
The Stella Artois Racquet Club was right in the centre of the action, marrying European charm with courtside polish as revellers raised their chalices and sampled from a menu of elevated small plates.
From Challengers to pleated miniskirts to courtside celebs, tennis is in. The sport is a global phenomenon, but Canada gets its own tenniscore moment in Toronto and Montreal every summer, as the men and women rotate year to year.
The spot
The two-storey Stella Artois Racquet Club at Toronto’s Sobeys Stadium was impossible to miss with its iconic Stella-red umbrellas and bevy of servers dressed in crisp tennis whites. Pop and classic rock remixes floated from the top floor, where a live DJ set a festive vibe as fans stopped to snap photos against a grassy wall emblazoned with a pair of crossed racquets.
When a match ended, fans in baseball caps, polo shirts, sundresses and shades streamed from the stadium to rehash the day’s matches as they sidled up to the club’s white high-top tables or sunk into comfy leather sofas. There they sipped from golden chalices of Stella, as well as a selection of specialty cocktails, as they snacked on such sophisticated starters as soppressata flatbread, sushi-grade tuna poke bowls, crostini flights, lamb chops with tzatziki and sumac pita chips, and kimchi cheddar arancini with spicy mayo and furikake. Whenever a burst of cheers was heard from the stadium, the crowd peered over the edge of the railing to share the energy of the match playing on the courtyard’s big screen.
With its easy sophistication and flavour-enhancing signature pour, Stella Artois brings a golden touch to the courtside experience.
The pour
Downstairs, at the Stella Artois Perfect Serve Station, a bartender expertly trained by the brand’s Belgian pros shared the art of pouring a flawless pint of Stella and even let guests try it themselves. The process involves five steps: cleaning the chalice, then cooling it in multiple sinks of water, sacrificing some of the beer from the draught tower, skimming off excess foam at a 45-degree angle with a golden knife and, finally, dunking the chalice into another cold-water sink to get that perfect temperature and crystal-clear look. By the time it was set on a coaster and served with a “cheers,” the beer practically glowed as guests anticipated that first delicious sip.
Across the room, guests mingled as they waited for a chance to experience the Stella Artois Chalice Engraving Station. Stella’s high-tech laser machine could add up to 10 characters just below the logo, and fans watched as their nickname or favourite tennis motto was perfectly etched into their chalice. When the engraving was complete, the final product was packaged up into a National Bank Open x Stella Artois box to take home as a truly unique souvenir.
Celebrating into the evening as matches wound down, tennis lovers left with a reminder that when sports brings people together, remember to savour every moment and every sip.
