[Editor’s Note: To see our most recent list of bars to watch your favorite NFL team, click here.]
>>Want to know where to watch your favorite college football team? We’ve got a guide for that right here!
Polish your plasma screens, stock up on Buffalo sauce, and clear your Sunday/Monday calendars. It’s football season again and we’ve got you covered. Of course we Washingtonians are supposed to cheer on the Redskins, but in a city full of transplants, area sports bars host fans from sea to shining sea. With our roundup of NFL hot spots, you won’t miss a single minute of home-team glory. Don’t see your favorite team on the list? If you have more suggestions, share them in the comments section!
Baltimore Ravens: Champion Billiards Sports Café
Frederick may not be the most convenient location if you live in or near DC, but the chance to watch a game on one of Champion’s eight 42-inch flat-screen TVs or six 110-inch projection screens is worth the trip.
Buffalo Bills, New York Jets, New York Giants: 51st State Tavern, McFadden’s, Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern
51st State’s claim to fame is that it’s “DC’s only NY sports team bar.” The bar opens at 12:30 PM during football season, so head over and watch the game on nine TVs, including a 60-inch plasma screen. Sunday games bring specials on hot dogs and $16 buckets of Bud, Bud Light, and New York’s own Brooklyn Ale. If you only support the Bills and don’t want to be surrounded by all the other New York fans, try McFadden’s or Jimmy’s Old Town Tavern in Herndon.
Carolina Panthers: 18th Amendment
Panthers fans have been gathering at the 18th Amendment for years. Enjoy food and drink specials at the bar and show your Panther pride.
Chicago Bears: Third Edition, Madhatter, Union Pub, Penn Quarter Sports Tavern
Between these watering holes, Bears fans have nothing to fret about when it comes to watching the game. Three-dollar Miller Lite and appetizer specials on the menu at MadHatter go great with orange and navy.
Cincinnati Bengals: The Bottom Line
Enjoy game-day specials and watching the Bengals on 11 screens. More than 200 fans gather, but there’s always room for more.
Cleveland Browns: Lucky Bar
It doesn’t beat watching the game from the Dawg Pound, but order a Big Ass Burger and pick a spot in front of the three big screens or 22 TVs to cheer on the Browns. Neighbor’s Restaurant and Sports Pub hosts Browns fans as well. For more info, check out the Washington chapter of the fan club.
Dallas Cowboys: My Brother’s Place, Mezza Luna
If you don’t mind hanging out with a college crowd, head to My Brother’s Place to watch the Cowboys on nine TVs. Miller Lite bottles are $1.95 during every game and the bar offers additional specials when the Cowboys are playing. As for Mezza Luna, this friendly bar, which serves a delicious NFL Sunday brunch, isn’t exclusively pro-Dallas, but it is Washington’s best bet for finding Cowboys comrades. Make sure to greet the manager, rumored to be a Dallas fan himself. And Mezza Luna knows how to have a good time—besides the $2.50 domestic bottles, $2 bottles of Miller Lite and Bud Light, and $3.50 Leinenkugels, bartenders have been known to distribute rounds of tequila after touchdowns.
Denver Broncos: Cleveland Park Bar & Grill, Penn Quarter Sports Tavern
Broncos fans are far from home in Washington but not far from other displaced fans at Cleveland Park Bar & Grill. Head to the roof deck and feel at home, but arrive early because it gets packed. Additionally, a Denver Broncos Meetup group watches the game at Penn Quarter Sports Tavern.
Detroit Lions: Tonic at Mount Pleasant
Lions fans can partake of 75-cent wings and buckets of five beers for $19.66, in honor of the NFL’s inaugural year. Sunday game watchers can enjoy Tonic’s brunch starting at 10 AM.
Green Bay Packers: Stetson’s, Hawk ’n’ Dove
If you don’t mind sharing the bar with other teams’ fans, Stetson’s shows the Packers on some of its nine TVs. Packers backers also come together every game day at the Hawk ’n’ Dove, where at least five TVs play the Green Bay game. Try the special: bratwurst and sauerkraut with a side of German potato salad. It’s no Brat Stop, but it’s close.
Indianapolis Colts: Carpool (Arlington)
A small group of horseshoe enthusiasts heads to Carpool in Arlington for Sunday specials on Miller Lite, Yuengling, and Leinenkugel Sunset Wheat while tuning in to the big game.
Kansas City Chiefs: Grevey’s
You might have to buy a Bills or Skins fan a beer to get him (or her) to give up a booth, but Grevey’s Restaurant & Sports Bar will be your best bet for a Chiefs game.
Miami Dolphins: Glory Days Grill (Frederick)
Just ask a bartender at Glory Days to put the big game on for you on one of the bar’s 28 TVs and two projection screens. The place doesn’t offer any specials, but if the game is on between 4 and 7, fans can enjoy happy hour. There’s also a DC Miami Dolphins Meetup group that organizes bar outings to watch the games.
Minnesota Vikings: Mackey’s Pub (Crystal City)
Viking’s fans are used to the Minnesota cold, but during games Mackey’s Pub in Crystal City heats up with a football menu that includes wings, kielbasa, and soft pretzels, as well as six kinds of beer available by the pitcher.
New England Patriots: Kelly’s Irish Times, Murphy’s Pub
Kelly’s is the weekly hub for New Englanders and the official bar for the Pats Fan Club. During games, fans can enjoy drink specials, a selection of half-price food and 25-cent wings. Murphy’s in Alexandria was the home of the now-defunct Murphy’s Patriots Fan Club, but people still gather at the bar on game days for exclusive Patriots drink specials.
New Orleans Saints: Penn Quarter Sports Tavern
Two floors full of televisions and projection screens give Saints fans room to spread out and watch the game.
Oakland Raiders: The Original Steakhouse and Sports Theatre (Woodbridge)
Members of the DC Metro Raiders Booster Club gather here weekly for the impressive six-by-eight foot big screens and specials, while some other fans fancy Sign of the Whale in Falls Church or Stetson’s on U Street.
Philadelphia Eagles: Rhino Bar & Pumphouse
“E-A-G-L-E-S” chants fill Rhino Bar on game day. It recently added 20 new LCD flat screens so you can view the game from practically anywhere. Fans enjoy $8 domestic pitchers and 25-cent wings every Sunday.
Pittsburgh Steelers: Pour House
Home of DC Steeler Nation, Pour House is the local watering hole for the black-and-gold faithfuls. Fans fill three floors, but most of the action takes place on the main level. Everyone is rowdy but polite—unless you’re sporting another team’s jersey. Sign up to be a VIP Steeler Nation member for goodies like a T-Shirt, Budweiser products, and a discount card for specials at Pour House on non-game days. At Tortoise & Hare, choose from football-friendly eats on the $6 game-day menu or enjoy a Pittsburgh original Iron City Light beer for $2.75.
San Diego Chargers: Bailey’s Pub & Grille (Ballston)
Charger fan groups meet weekly for games at this TV-laden sports bar in Ballston Common Mall. $15 Miller Lite pitchers keep Saturday fans quenched.
San Francisco 49ers: Porter’s Dining Saloon
This downtown saloon gives 49ers fans reason to celebrate with brunch and $3 Miller Lite and Coors Light drafts and bottles for Sunday games. Monday Night Football has its perks too, with $3 Coors Light.
Seattle Seahawks: Ventnor Sports Café
Fans faced with a lack of options for Seahawk bars might try the new football patio at Ventnor Sports Cafe and themed food specials like clam chowder for the Patriots or Philly cheesesteak when the Eagles are on. Monday night games are complete with 35 cent wings.
Tennesse Titans and Houston Texans: Penn Quarter Sports Tavern
They’ll need to cheer loudly to be heard over the crowds Penn Quarter Sports Tavern attracts, but fan groups for both the Tennessee Titans and the Houston Texans are scheduled to meet for game watch parties in coming weeks.
Our apologies to any other teams that don’t have a bar to call home on game days, but luckily, some area bars show all of the games:
Velocity Five
Shows all games on 50 large hi-def TVs.
ESPN Zone
MVP Club members can reserve seating in advance.
Crystal City Sports Pub
Watch your team from any of the three floors, but check out the third-floor club level, which houses one ten-foot and two eight-foot projection screens, 28 42-inch LCDs, and six 37-inch LCDs.
If you know of any bars that show games for the following teams, please pass along the information in the comments:
• Arizona Cardinals
• Atlanta Falcons
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• St. Louis Rams
• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
