£6–£7 pints set the tone at Burnells Bar
Burnells Bar sits airside at London Stansted Airport (STN), past security and before the main low-cost carrier gates used by Ryanair and Jet2. You’ll see it along the central concourse, a short walk from the main duty-free shop. It runs on typical early-to-late airport hours, generally opening before the first wave of 06:00 departures and trading through the late-evening flights after 21:00.
Pricing lands in the mid-range for a UK airport: expect draught beer in the £6–£7 bracket, house wine by the glass around £7–£8, and mixed drinks nudging into low double digits. Food reads like standard pub fare: burgers, chips, wings, and sandwiches that usually sit around the £10–£16 mark depending on add-ons and size.
The draw here is simple: a straightforward bar when you want something stronger than the Costa flat white next door. Spirits include the usual UK suspects like Gordon’s gin, Smirnoff vodka, and Jack Daniel’s; nothing rare, but enough for a credible G&T or whisky and Coke before a 3-hour hop to Spain. Soft drinks and zero-alcohol options run closer to £3–£4 per bottle or can.
Food timing matters. Allow 25–30 minutes from ordering a hot dish to getting it when the terminal is busy with 06:00–09:00 departures. If your gate is showing “Go to gate” on the Stansted screens, you’re cutting it too fine to sit down for a full plate here; stick to crisps or a bar snack, which usually land in under 5 minutes.
Best move: grab a table facing the concourse so you can keep one eye on the departure screens and the other on your boarding group. Gates at Stansted can mean a 10–15 minute walk plus a downstairs bus, so close your tab when boarding time hits, not when “Final call” flashes up.