The Best Sports Bars In Philly

Chickie’s & Pete’s is a South Philly and Northeast sports bar where the beer comes in towers and the wings are hot and messy. They’ve got a surprisingly good lobster roll, and the signature crab fries are a Philly sports fan birthright. But if you’ve been to a stadium, airport, or the boardwalk, you probably knew that already. There’s no dress code here, but you’re on your own if you roll up wearing a Cowboy’s jersey.

A South Philly staple, this massive sports bar complex has six other sports bars inside. When the Phillies, Eagles, Flyers, or Sixers score, you want to be in this massive space with your crew, drink in hand. The crowd gets rowdy and the cheers get as loud as the ones in nearby Wells Fargo Center and Citizens Bank Park. All the spots have similar pub-grub options like pizza, burgers, wings, and with a Victory Beer Hall inside, there’s plenty of beer to go around. It’s an ideal spot to eat endless baskets of nachos while staring at any of the TVs or the massive movie theater-like screen in the center. 

A lot of sports bars are dark and have about as much space as a shipping container, but Garage, which has locations in both Fishtown and East Passyunk, is none of those things. It’s a large space with garage doors that are thrown up as soon as the temperature hits 60, and it has one of the biggest selections of canned beers in the city. The TV situation is a little more tenuous than other places on this list, and they usually play music instead of the live broadcast audio, but we shouldn’t have to listen to Troy Aikman anyway.

Going to a sports bar usually means seeing excited crowds of people who think the players can hear them through the TV as long as they yell loud enough. Founding Fathers in Grad Hospital, though, is a much quieter, more upscale version of a sports bar that’s good for when you’re watching the game with your in-laws or clients. They also have some solid bar food with things like blackened ahi tuna tacos and Korean fried wings.

If you’re still searching for the thrill you’ve been missing since youth basketball camp, University City’s The Post is for you. In addition to the multiple TVs behind the bar, there are Sixers-themed mini-basketball games, air hockey tables, and a few skeeball machines. And with murals of Jason Kelce, Allen Iverson, and Gritty on the wall, there’s no better place to sip on drinks and watch the scoreboards when any of the teams are in action. There’s a full bar with a few local brews on tap, and they serve pretty good shrimp po’ boys and crispy sweet chili wings, covered in a peppery glaze. 

Thanks to the vaulted, wood-paneled ceilings, you’ll probably feel a little like you’re on a boat when you’re drinking at Misconduct Tavern. But this Rittenhouse sports bar (which has a couple of other locations in the city) is a solid place to watch the game. They have a bunch of TVs and enough tables that you won’t have to hover behind some poor guy sitting at the bar for three hours. There’s a solid selection of beer, with taps that rotate every few weeks, and the burgers and wings are decent, too.

Chinatown doesn’t have too many sports bars, but that's okay because Bar Ly exists, and Bar Ly is awesome. This spot has friendly bartenders, never gets super crowded, and, most importantly, there always seems to be a table available. That makes it kind of a magical third dimension in Philly, where it’s almost impossible to get a seat at any bar during an Eagles game unless you show up four hours early and aggressively guard your table. Plus, it’s near all of our favorite Chinatown restaurants, which is exactly where you’ll want to go after a bunch of anxiety-induced Bud Lights.

If you want to watch the Eagles, Sixers, or even the Philadelphia Wings, you can pretty much walk into any bar with a working TV. But if you’re a soccer fan, your choices are a lot more limited. There are a few places around the city that play the matches, and Fado in Center City is the best of them. Unlike most other soccer bars, Fadó doesn’t have a certain team they always show, and they’re playing a bunch of different games at once. You can expect to eat things like chicken quesadillas, warm and soft Bavarian pretzels, sliders topped with Guinness mayo, and jumbo wings. Bring a crew of Union fans here, and since they open as early as 10am on the weekends, you can even catch the overseas action between sips of beers. 

McGillin’s in Center City isn’t just a sports bar—it’s an institution. It’s been around since before income tax existed (the real good old days) and, despite its age, has a bunch of new TVs with all of the sports packages you refuse to pay for at home. McGillin’s gets pretty rowdy during day games, especially when the Eagles play at 1pm on Sunday, so showing up early is encouraged if you want to take over one of their long tables.

Cavanaugh’s in Rittenhouse is a great spot to watch your favorite team do their thing while surrounded by rowdy fans in Eagles jerseys. Since they have daily beer buckets and deals on shots, it can get packed with twentysomethings drinking IPAs like water. This also means you’ll spend commercial breaks or halftime bumping into strangers if you want to order anything from the bar. If you’re hungry, grab one of the wooden tables, spread out with your friends, and split wings, mozzarella sticks, or a mountain of loaded tater tots.

Some bars are laidback, have a single TV, and a few people talking quietly about SEPTA's latest malfunctions. Then there are the rowdy bars where everything from the Phanatic wallpaper to the volume of the boos makes you feel like you’re at a stadium. Kelliann’s in Fairmount falls into the latter category. It has all the markings of a classic Irish pub: four leaf clovers on the door, a long dark wood bar, and lots of green on the walls. They make some of our favorite wings in town, so whether you’re there to lose your voice after a touchdown or meet friends for a citywide-filled Happy Hour (they have five combinations), prioritize the drums and flats. 

Vous in Center City is where the neighborhood heads to watch a game, order a plate of wings, and ignore them for the third inning of the Phillies game. The menu here is far more elaborate than you might expect at a neighborhood pub, and it's all pretty skippable (except for the drums and flats). Go for a Long Island, but heads up–you may flinch when they have a sip of the sweet-and-sour cocktail. It’s a shock to your palate that reminds you the rest of the world exists, including whatever you ordered. 

When you walk into McMenamin’s Tavern on a game day, you’ll quickly realize that you’ll lose your voice by the time you leave. That’s because the small Mount Airy bar is one of the loudest in the neighborhood. It’s one of those classic Irish bars where you’ll see people run into their childhood neighbors or high school science teachers and buy them a pint. When it comes to food, go for an order of the crispy buffalo wings or fish and chips, and consider doing shots with your English teacher at halftime. 

Philadium is a South Philly relic that happens to be a place where you’ll run into Eagles’ and Phillies' coaches unwinding after practice. It’s the exact place you should spend a couple of hours drinking $5 beers and eating $10 cheesesteaks before and after a game. There’s a long wooden bar, lighting that mirrors the old spectrum, and enough seating in the back that you can always find a spot near a TV. The throwback spot has drink specials to get you through even the most crushing of Flyers disappointments. Stop by during a big game or when you want to talk strategy with Howie Roseman. 

Green Room is one of Fairmount’s most popular bars, and you’ll see why the second you walk in. The space mixes neighbors who have been playing pool here for decades, unhinged sports fans, and tourists who walked a few blocks from the museums and are now Eagles devotees. The menu is full of straightforward dishes like burgers and buffalo chicken fingers (and they’re all average to decent). But that’s not why you come here. You come here to drink $5 beers, $7 margaritas, and drunkenly teach some stranger from San Francisco the E-A-G-L-E-S chant. 

After a blowout at the stadiums, you usually end up in one of two obstacle courses: the traffic on I-95 or the human jungle gym that is the Broad Street Line post-game. Instead, drive the five minutes to McCusker's Tavern. The nostalgic, wood-paneled, cash-only dive bar has plenty of TVs, seats from the old Veterans Stadium, and so much throwback memorabilia you’ll think your car is actually a time machine. It’s the exact place you should spend a couple of hours drinking $4 beers and eating greasy onion rings while avoiding those hundreds of strangers you high-fived an hour ago. 

University City’s New Deck Tavern hits the sweet spot between a destination Irish pub and a place to watch all things sports. There’s an enclosed patio and garden out front where you’ll see families and friends eating crispy fish and chips on a sunny day. Inside the cavernous brick-walled space, there are TVs at every corner, and you’ll always overhear an inning or fourth quarter debrief from some old guy at the end of the bar. It’s a comfortable and casual spot to watch a game when you want some solid wings while knocking back a Guinness or 10.  

Manayunk has a few places for a casual, post-work drink, and other solid sandwich-heavy spots. Only one place in the neighborhood seamlessly pulls off both: Bar Jawn. You can watch people stroll by on Main Street, catch a game on the TVs, and enjoy a menu full of comfort food that’s perfect for carb lovers. Besides grabbing one of the top cheesesteaks and burgers in the neighborhood, try the gooey mozzarella triangles, an order of peppery cacio e pepe wings, and their crispy chicken parm. It’s a great place to share a bunch of dishes with your friends, go Hungry Hungry Hippos on all of them, and wash it all down with $7 beers while screaming at referees.

This throwback Fishtown bar has lots of Eagles green and karaoke nights. But it still feels like the kind of place that you could show up to any time, grab an empty table when there's no game on, and get a $5 Citywide special. It’s also the kind of place that can get loud as the stadiums during kickoffs and tip-offs. While you’re here, you should also order a cheap beer or well drink and a solid slice of pepperoni that's ideal when you need something to line your stomach.

This Manayunk bar feels like someone’s living room thanks to its cozy wood interiors and nice outdoor space where you can share bites and drinks with friends. Located far enough up Main Street that you’re not in the middle of the action, the walls of TVs, large bar space, and polished interiors don’t take away from the t-shirt-heavy atmosphere. Pair your beer with the melt-in-your-mouth cheesesteak and crispy wings before returning to your day after the game is over.