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Everyone has a favorite sports bar. It doesn’t matter if it’s a dirty, corner dive or a sleek, upscale place with wall-to-wall flat screens.
Regardless, the place is filled with great memories with friends, family, drinks, food, glorious wins, and devastating losses. These spots will always hold a special place in your heart.
But there are some that are simply a cut above the rest and have gained nation-wide fame for their total devotion to creating the perfect environment for sports fans to watch the game.
- Chappell’s Restaurant and Sports Museum, Kansas City
There aren’t many people who can say they have had beer and burgers in a museum. But after you visit Chapelle’s restaurant and sports museum, you can.
Jim Chappel, founder of Chapelle’s, was a huge sports enthusiast and collected so much memorabilia that in 1986 he decided to open up a place to show it off. It started off small and grew to become the most popular sports bar in Kansas City, and one of the most popular in the world.
The food includes the famous half-pound burger, great steaks and drinks that bring people back every weekend. Customers are always welcomed to tour everything on display and even talk to Jim if he’s around!
- Burger and Beer Joint, Miami
This rock ‘n’ roll themed sports bar really has it all. It’s got a gourmet ½ pound burger menu (which includes a 10-pounder for $125), a more traditional restaurant downstairs and a bar upstairs that boasts 360 degree views of game-broadcasting flat screens.
The building is built with beautiful Chicago brick walls, copper ceilings, wood booths, and a very big x factor: an old fashioned soda fountain that serves not only soda, but adult beverages as well. Furthermore the bar has 99 beers, chalkboards with scores and plenty of pool tables. It’s a burger and ball game lover’s dream bar.
- Nemo’s Bar and Grill, Detroit
Back when Comerica Park was Tiger’s Stadium, Nemo’s was the place to be. Nowadays the ball park is on the other side of town, but Nemo’s remains a serious Motor City institution whose history matters more than it’s proximity to Comerica.
And don’t worry, they make it easy for fans who like to pre-game at the bar but still see the game in person. They have buses that take fans to and from Tigers, Lions, and Red Wings so that loyal Nemo’s patrons can easily (and safely) get revved up and break down the game in their favorite haunt. The atmosphere is the opposite of pretentious, the burgers are one of a kind, and the memorabilia and memories are the best in Detroit.
- LaGasse’s Stadium, Las Vegas
Emeril LaGasse takes sports bars to another level at this unique dining and sports experience in the Palazzo Resort Casino. The seating area features theatre style seats, a 10 by 20 foot projection wall, and over 100 televisions. For an even more intense experience, book a sky box that overlooks the stadium!
The food includes all of your basic sports bar classics like nachos, wings, and burgers, but, as you’d expect from the king of “Bam!” Emeril adds a little spice to the menu with New Orleans crab cakes and creole shrimp salad sandwiches. This is definitely the ideal choice for foodie sports fans who care as much about good eats as they do about good games.
- Jake’s Dilemma, NYC
The Upper West Side is full of excellent bars and restaurants, so you have to be something pretty special to set yourself apart. And Jake’s Dilemma does just that – it has a huge long bar surrounded by multiple distractions like video games, pool, foosball and of course, a ton of sports games playing on flat screens.
There are 40 bottled beers, and 15 beers on tap so accordingly, many locals head here for drinking games and hooting and hollering for their teams. Plus, if you’re looking for a slightly more comfortable setting, you can head to Jake’s back room with couches and bookshelves, the perfect place to wind down after an exhilarating win or drink your sorrow away after your team goes down.
- Bobby Valentine’s Sports Gallery Café, Stamford Connecticut
Bobby Valentine’s is no regular sports bar. It’s basically a monument to Bobby Valentine, the classic ball player and old manager of the New York Mets. This place is chock full of memorabilia and has the same historic institution vibe that Detroit’s Nemo’s does.
They boast a home-cooked menu, which is separated into nine innings, starting with a warm up and finishing with ninth inning options. A strange fact to note is that Bobbb V. claims to have invented the wrap sandwich. Whether that’s true or not, his cozy sports bar is, perhaps, the next best place to watch the game after your own living room.
- Stadium View, Green Bay
Stadium View stands strong in the shadow of Lambeau Field. Packers fans have come to adore this crazy bar since it’s foundation in 1992. Plus, it’s footsteps away from 4 major hotels, and the Packer Hall of Fame, so it tends to attract hordes of passionate fans.
The actual bar has an atmosphere of honor, loyalty, and craziness. That’s right; craziness. Before, during, and after Packer’s games you will find die-hard fans here cheering on their team with chants, shouts, and shots. MSN, Esquire, Forbes, and Draft Magazine have all named this one of the best bars in America, so you should probably check it out yourself.
To be clear these are 7 of the best, in our opinion. There are plenty of great ones out there and definitely at least twenty that compare to these, but we think that their history and current status make them some of the best and most interesting joints in the country.
The goal of any good sports bar is to make you feel at home, give you a great view of the game, feed you well and keep your pint full. But these over-the-top spots go above and beyond and have become havens for serious sports fans looking for something special.
About the Author: Joshua Reading is a serious sports fan and writer. His passion led him to co-found Bet Confident, a sports handicapping website that offers game and player prop recommendations for the NFL, NCAA football and basketball, NBA, and MLB. Their mathematical calculations have excellent proven results. Learn more at www.betconfident.com and connect on Google+ and Twitter today!
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