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Where to cheer on NFL and college teams over brews and bites
D.C. has a bar to suit just about every flavor of sports fan, from diehards who prefer raucous college hangouts to casual observers looking to kick back over brews, tots, and burgers.
Here are reliable, sports-loving establishments that keep spectators properly fed and satisfied, with a particular emphasis on those whose kitchens bring their A-game.
Read MorePike & Rose complex upped its sports bar game with the arrival a new game day headquarters. The 8,000-square-foot bar with an 18-foot LED display in the middle broadcasts multiple games at once, with on-site entertainment (Skee-ball, foosball, arcade games and Beirut) and a dog-friendly patio. Another location is en route to U Street NW.
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Columbia Heights’s neighborhood sports bar has 20 crisp HD TVs, a brand new sound system, a huge projector, and sports betting machines. Oklahoma State, Maryland, and North Carolina State alumni flock here to catch college games.
The replacement to subterranean Ventnor Sports Cafe has quickly drawn notice for a menu that mixes pub classics with Filipino dishes from its D.C. bar vet owner Jo-Jo Valenzuela. Games aired on its 14 wall-to-wall TVs.
This unpretentious, cash-only bar is a diehard Chicago fan, from its sports teams to the food. Fill up on sausages and beef sandwiches alongside cheap Midwestern beer and well drinks. Stay perky with $5 nitro cold brews (or $11 with Jameson).
This Dupont Circle sports bar, formerly located in Shaw and off H Street NE, maintains a long list of chicken wing varieties and its reputation as a haven for D.C. fans and sports betting. The bar will also add an additional location on Capitol Hill (1901 C Street SE).
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A shift and rebrand toward a live music venue in 2019 doesn’t stop Public Bar from showing sports games. The three-story space keeps its downstairs bar outfitted with TVs and seating for when live concerts aren’t rocking the stage. A 14-foot HD projector screen joins 40 other screens and five bars.
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The upscale sports bar that aligns itself with the University of Alabama maintains locations in Foggy Botton and downtown. Load up on buffalo chicken or truffle tots, local bratwurst, its beloved burger, and pitchers of beer.
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The nationwide chain entered the D.C. market in December, bringing Chinatown an immersive sports-watching experience augmented with Old Bay shrimp, two-pound portions of wings, icy drafts served in huge steins, and a TopGolf-enabled simulator. The new game-day headquarters next to Capital One Arena boasts three central oversized “stadium” screens surrounded by 120 high-definition screens for 360-degree viewing. Tom’s added another locale in National Harbor with plans to debut in Navy Yard soon.
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Flashy celebrity chef Guy Fieri debuted his anticipated full-service restaurant in Capital One Arena’s Caesars Sportsbook last fall. Go to Flavortown on game day with his towering “Trash Can Nachos,” bourbon brown sugar barbecue wings, bacon-wrapped manicotti, and lots of Fieri’s Sousa tequila stocked behind the bar.
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The 86-inch TV screens lining the cavernous basement of Penn Social aren’t the only place to find entertainment here. The bar also boasts Skee-Ball, cornhole, and many other games. Upcoming NCAA football and NFL specials include a new Detroit-style pizza menu and all-day drink specials on Saturday and Sunday: $4 and 16 Narragansett pints and pitchers, $5 or $20 Shock Top, and $2 off pretzels with queso. Tin Shop’s sports bar portfolio also includes Georgetown’s Clubhouse, Franklin Hall, and Astro Beer Hall.
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This Capitol Hill standby goes all out for game days, especially when Chicago teams are playing. Chicago staples like $7 pours of Malort, $6 Goose Island brews, loaded dogs, and chili cheese nachos are all in the mix, plus $4 Union Pub pils pints.
Located close (but not too close) to Capital One Arena, this is a go-to classic before, during, and after big games with a sizable patio out front. Signed sports jerseys displayed on walls join rows of TVs across two wood-framed floors (and there’s even TVs in the bathrooms). Go for the wings, big salads, and burgers.
Barracks Row’s two-part home turf for fans of Iowa State University, Mississippi State, Navy, and Washington State sends out Budweiser and Bud Light towers, nachos, and top-tier barbecue from its big new pitmaster hire Shawn McWhirter. Sports betting machines sit on both floors.
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The Hilton brothers’ British-themed Southwest Waterfront bar is home to the biggest wall projection screen at the Wharf. Stay for the wings, icy drafts, and curries.
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At this ski lodge-themed sports bar, groups of sports fans can order four shots lined up on a wooden ski (a shotski). It’s like celebration and a team-building exercise all in one. Catch NFL games on Sundays alongside $20 Bud Light buckets.
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The cavernous Navy Yard sports bar with the NFL Sunday Ticket offers game day specials on pitchers, buckets of beers and seltzers, and fried pickles, boneless wings, and nachos. The bar sides with Auburn alumni and Las Vegas Raiders fans.
Situated right across from Nationals Park, Navy Yard’s sports bar stalwart is outfitted with 24 self-pour beer stations and massive 4K TV displays. Neighborhood fans flock here on game days for green tea shooters, subs, and seltzers and beers by the bucket.
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The self-pour taphouse directly across from Nationals Park stars 99 types of draft beer, seltzer, cider, wines, and cocktails, all ready to be dispensed around the perimeter of the glossy, red-tiled bar. Patrons grab a glass or Solo cup for a DIY tasting that costs around 75 cents to $1 per ounce. Pub grub includes brick oven pizza and ridiculously thick mozzarella sticks. Happy hour runs from noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Fridays.
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The soaring Navy Yard tap room, which just declared itself as an NFC East and Baltimore Ravens bar, unleashed a sea of specials in honor of NFL season. All-day Sunday and all-night Monday food options include loaded sweet potato chips, wings in five flavors, Buffalo chicken sandwiches, cauliflower bites, and more. Monday Night Football calls for a food item inspired by one of the two teams playing that night alongside drink discounts. Service industry guests get 25-percent off their tab.
Pike & Rose complex upped its sports bar game with the arrival a new game day headquarters. The 8,000-square-foot bar with an 18-foot LED display in the middle broadcasts multiple games at once, with on-site entertainment (Skee-ball, foosball, arcade games and Beirut) and a dog-friendly patio. Another location is en route to U Street NW.
Columbia Heights’s neighborhood sports bar has 20 crisp HD TVs, a brand new sound system, a huge projector, and sports betting machines. Oklahoma State, Maryland, and North Carolina State alumni flock here to catch college games.
The replacement to subterranean Ventnor Sports Cafe has quickly drawn notice for a menu that mixes pub classics with Filipino dishes from its D.C. bar vet owner Jo-Jo Valenzuela. Games aired on its 14 wall-to-wall TVs.
This unpretentious, cash-only bar is a diehard Chicago fan, from its sports teams to the food. Fill up on sausages and beef sandwiches alongside cheap Midwestern beer and well drinks. Stay perky with $5 nitro cold brews (or $11 with Jameson).
This Dupont Circle sports bar, formerly located in Shaw and off H Street NE, maintains a long list of chicken wing varieties and its reputation as a haven for D.C. fans and sports betting. The bar will also add an additional location on Capitol Hill (1901 C Street SE).
A shift and rebrand toward a live music venue in 2019 doesn’t stop Public Bar from showing sports games. The three-story space keeps its downstairs bar outfitted with TVs and seating for when live concerts aren’t rocking the stage. A 14-foot HD projector screen joins 40 other screens and five bars.
The upscale sports bar that aligns itself with the University of Alabama maintains locations in Foggy Botton and downtown. Load up on buffalo chicken or truffle tots, local bratwurst, its beloved burger, and pitchers of beer.
The nationwide chain entered the D.C. market in December, bringing Chinatown an immersive sports-watching experience augmented with Old Bay shrimp, two-pound portions of wings, icy drafts served in huge steins, and a TopGolf-enabled simulator. The new game-day headquarters next to Capital One Arena boasts three central oversized “stadium” screens surrounded by 120 high-definition screens for 360-degree viewing. Tom’s added another locale in National Harbor with plans to debut in Navy Yard soon.
Flashy celebrity chef Guy Fieri debuted his anticipated full-service restaurant in Capital One Arena’s Caesars Sportsbook last fall. Go to Flavortown on game day with his towering “Trash Can Nachos,” bourbon brown sugar barbecue wings, bacon-wrapped manicotti, and lots of Fieri’s Sousa tequila stocked behind the bar.
The 86-inch TV screens lining the cavernous basement of Penn Social aren’t the only place to find entertainment here. The bar also boasts Skee-Ball, cornhole, and many other games. Upcoming NCAA football and NFL specials include a new Detroit-style pizza menu and all-day drink specials on Saturday and Sunday: $4 and 16 Narragansett pints and pitchers, $5 or $20 Shock Top, and $2 off pretzels with queso. Tin Shop’s sports bar portfolio also includes Georgetown’s Clubhouse, Franklin Hall, and Astro Beer Hall.
This Capitol Hill standby goes all out for game days, especially when Chicago teams are playing. Chicago staples like $7 pours of Malort, $6 Goose Island brews, loaded dogs, and chili cheese nachos are all in the mix, plus $4 Union Pub pils pints.
Located close (but not too close) to Capital One Arena, this is a go-to classic before, during, and after big games with a sizable patio out front. Signed sports jerseys displayed on walls join rows of TVs across two wood-framed floors (and there’s even TVs in the bathrooms). Go for the wings, big salads, and burgers.
Barracks Row’s two-part home turf for fans of Iowa State University, Mississippi State, Navy, and Washington State sends out Budweiser and Bud Light towers, nachos, and top-tier barbecue from its big new pitmaster hire Shawn McWhirter. Sports betting machines sit on both floors.
The Hilton brothers’ British-themed Southwest Waterfront bar is home to the biggest wall projection screen at the Wharf. Stay for the wings, icy drafts, and curries.
At this ski lodge-themed sports bar, groups of sports fans can order four shots lined up on a wooden ski (a shotski). It’s like celebration and a team-building exercise all in one. Catch NFL games on Sundays alongside $20 Bud Light buckets.
The cavernous Navy Yard sports bar with the NFL Sunday Ticket offers game day specials on pitchers, buckets of beers and seltzers, and fried pickles, boneless wings, and nachos. The bar sides with Auburn alumni and Las Vegas Raiders fans.
Situated right across from Nationals Park, Navy Yard’s sports bar stalwart is outfitted with 24 self-pour beer stations and massive 4K TV displays. Neighborhood fans flock here on game days for green tea shooters, subs, and seltzers and beers by the bucket.
The self-pour taphouse directly across from Nationals Park stars 99 types of draft beer, seltzer, cider, wines, and cocktails, all ready to be dispensed around the perimeter of the glossy, red-tiled bar. Patrons grab a glass or Solo cup for a DIY tasting that costs around 75 cents to $1 per ounce. Pub grub includes brick oven pizza and ridiculously thick mozzarella sticks. Happy hour runs from noon to 8 p.m. on Thursday and Fridays.
The soaring Navy Yard tap room, which just declared itself as an NFC East and Baltimore Ravens bar, unleashed a sea of specials in honor of NFL season. All-day Sunday and all-night Monday food options include loaded sweet potato chips, wings in five flavors, Buffalo chicken sandwiches, cauliflower bites, and more. Monday Night Football calls for a food item inspired by one of the two teams playing that night alongside drink discounts. Service industry guests get 25-percent off their tab.
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