Football fans in Arlington and Falls Church can find an official Penn State bar, a back room reserved for Tampa Bay Buccaneers fans and a tavern that calls itself the original West Virginia bar.
With college football already underway and the NFL season kicking off tonight, more than 30 local bars and restaurants told ARLnow what they plan to have on their screens this fall.
The NFL opens with a Super Bowl rematch, as the New England Patriots visit the defending champion Seattle Seahawks at 8:20 p.m. on NBC. It is only the third time in league history that the previous season’s Super Bowl teams have met in Week 1, according to the Associated Press.
At least seven venues said they carry NFL Sunday Ticket, putting out-of-market games in play. Others plan to show whatever airs on broadcast television. Many of the same spots drew crowds for the World Cup in June and Super Bowl LX in February.
Find your team
College
- Alabama — Quincy Hall
- Army — Ireland’s Four Courts
- Auburn — Spider Kelly’s
- Central Florida — First Down Sports Bar & Grill
- Clemson — Astro Beer Hall
- Florida State, Navy and Ohio State — Crystal City Sports Pub
- James Madison — Spider Kelly’s, Hyde Social, Dogwood Tavern, Stratford Garden
- Michigan — Audacious Aleworks
- Notre Dame — Ireland’s Four Courts, Ireland’s Four Provinces
- Penn State — Ireland’s Four Courts
- Virginia — McNamara’s, Dogwood Tavern, Stratford Garden
- Virginia Tech — First Down, Hyde Social, Dogwood Tavern, Stratford Garden
- West Virginia — Ragtime
- Wisconsin — McNamara’s
NFL
- Buccaneers — Courthaus Social
- Commanders — most venues below, with the sound on at First Down, Ragtime and Spider Kelly’s
- Lions — Audacious Aleworks
- Patriots — Ireland’s Four Courts
- Ravens — Taco Rock
- Steelers — Ireland’s Four Provinces, McNamara’s, O’Sullivan’s
- Vikings — Ireland’s Four Courts
Arlington
Arlington Cinema and Drafthouse
Football on a full-size cinema screen is a maybe rather than a plan. Screenings are “all up in the air,” the Drafthouse told ARLnow, though a JMU game could turn up, as one of the owners is an alumna.
2903 Columbia Pike, Arlington Heights
Astro Beer Hall
The Village at Shirlington beer hall plans to show all NFL games and all nationally televised and streamed college games, with a few college matchups unavailable. It hosts Clemson fans on game days.
4001 Campbell Avenue, Shirlington
Ballston Local
Every NFL game will be available across 18 screens, the bar said. It hasn’t committed to a college team yet: “We are open to all teams.”
900 N. Glebe Road, Ballston
Bronson Bierhall
This Ballston bierhall isn’t affiliated with any team but plans to show “every game” across its 16 screens.
4100 Fairfax Drive, Ballston
The Celtic House Irish Pub & Restaurant
The pub on the Pike will show local games that air on television but doesn’t have the NFL package.
2500 Columbia Pike, Columbia Heights
Continental Pool Lounge
NFL games play on several TVs while patrons shoot pool, according to a Rosslyn BID guide. Happy hour runs from 4-7 p.m. daily and the bar is 21-and-over after 5 p.m. College plans are unconfirmed.
1911 N. Fort Myer Drive, Rosslyn
Courthaus Social
The Courthouse beer garden plans to show all college and NFL games this season and currently hosts Buccaneers fans in its private room. It is working on landing a college team for the same space.
2300 Clarendon Blvd, Courthouse
Cowboy Cafe
This Langston Blvd watering hole shows the college and NFL games that air on regular channels. The Commanders are the one team always on.
4792 Langston Blvd, Glebewood
Crystal City Sports Pub
A Restaurant Row mainstay for more than a dozen alumni groups, the pub said it will show every college and NFL game. It is an official bar for Florida State, Navy and Ohio State fans.
529 23rd Street S., Crystal City
Don Tito
TVs run across multiple levels and the rooftop at this Clarendon bar, which bills itself as an NFL headquarters and promotes Thursday, Saturday and Sunday viewing on its website. A Monday Night Football special includes $4 Coronitas and tacos.
3165 Wilson Blvd, Clarendon
Dudley’s Sport and Ale
This Shirlington sports bar is listed as a Commanders watch spot through a partnership with the team. It plans to show every NFL game being broadcast, plus any college game a customer requests, across 40-some TVs and a large projector.
2766 S. Arlington Mill Drive, Shirlington
First Down Sports Bar & Grill
Thirty TVs and NFL Sunday Ticket put every NFL game in play here, with the sound on for the Commanders. The Ballston bar also plans to show every Virginia Tech and Central Florida game, and it is probably best known for its wings, ranked No. 1 in Arlington by ARLnow readers.
4213 Fairfax Drive, Ballston
Hyde Social
Every SEC and Big Ten game will be available at this Clarendon bar, along with Virginia Tech and JMU, and NFL Sunday Ticket brings out-of-market games to its roughly 20 screens. It hosts Commanders watch parties and is in talks to become Clarendon’s UVA bar, with “nothing official yet.”
3100 Clarendon Blvd, Clarendon
Ireland’s Four Courts
The Courthouse pub, named America’s best soccer bar in March, is an official Penn State bar and an official Minnesota Vikings bar. It also plans to show every Notre Dame and Army game and every Patriots and Commanders game.
2051 Wilson Blvd, Courthouse
McNamara’s Pub and Restaurant
Steelers games are the “bread and butter” at this Irish pub, which has the full NFL package along with UVA and Wisconsin games on the college side. It was part of Pittsburgh’s official viewing program but is unsure of its current status, it said.
567 23rd Street S., Crystal City
Nighthawk Brewery & Pizza
Twenty-two TVs, a 130-inch projector and NFL Sunday Ticket mean every NFL game will be on at this Pentagon City brewery, which isn’t tied to a team. Food and drink specials run on NFL game days and college Saturdays.
1201 S. Joyce Street, Pentagon City
Open Road
All Commanders games will be on at this Rosslyn restaurant and bar, which has no particular college team in the rotation.
1201 Wilson Blvd, Rosslyn
O’Sullivan’s Irish Pub
The pub calls itself a global sports headquarters, with multiple viewing rooms and dozens of screens carrying American and European sports at the same time, according to its website. Its Instagram page identifies it as a home for local Steelers fans.
3207 Washington Blvd, Clarendon
Quincy Hall
The Ballston bar is an official watch-party location for the Alabama alumni group’s National Capital Chapter and plans to show every Crimson Tide game and every Commanders game. NFL Sunday Ticket covers the rest of the league.
4001 Fairfax Drive, Ballston
Quinn’s on the Corner
The Rosslyn pub plans to show college and NFL football all season, including every available game across every team.
1776 Wilson Blvd, Rosslyn
Ragtime Restaurant
Ragtime is “considered THE Original WVU Bar,” it said, and West Virginia games always play with the sound on. NFL Sunday Ticket and the Big Ten, ACC and SEC networks cover the rest across more than 20 HD TVs and a covered patio connected to the main bar.
Every local school it can get plus all Top 25 matchups are on the college slate, and Commanders games take priority in the NFL. The Courthouse restaurant’s ownership group also includes William Jeffrey’s Tavern and Dogwood Tavern.
1345 N. Courthouse Road, Courthouse
Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub
The Shirlington gastropub plans to show all local college and NFL games. It has no team affiliations or special packages but “lots of space and plenty of TVs.”
2800 S. Randolph Street, Shirlington
Spider Kelly’s
With more than 35 TVs, this Clarendon bar plans to show every college game — JMU and Auburn especially — and every NFL game, with the sound typically on for the Commanders. It partners with the Auburn and JMU alumni groups in D.C. and will hold watch parties for all of their games.
Football specials run until 5 p.m. on Saturdays and Sundays, including $12 High Life pitchers, $15 pitchers of Miller, Coors and Michelob Ultra, eight wings for $10 and $7 green teas and lemon drops.
3181 Wilson Blvd, Clarendon
Taco Rock
Both college and NFL games will be on at the Rosslyn taqueria, though it doesn’t have NFL Sunday Ticket. Commanders and Ravens games always play.
1501 Wilson Blvd, Rosslyn
William Jeffrey’s Tavern
This Columbia Pike tavern has the full NFL package and plans to show every Commanders game. Sundays bring an all-you-can-eat omelet and waffle bar, $1 mimosa refills and a build-your-own bloody mary bar.
2301 Columbia Pike, Penrose
Wood and Iron
NFL Sunday Ticket and as many college games as possible are on the docket at this Virginia Square sports bar, which isn’t tied to a team. “We root for all teams on gameday,” it said.
3401 Fairfax Drive, Virginia Square
Falls Church
Audacious Aleworks Brewery & Taproom
All Michigan games will be on at this taproom, where three owners are alumni, along with most Commanders and Detroit Lions games. Its hours don’t allow for Monday and Thursday night games.
110 E. Fairfax Street, Falls Church
Clare & Don’s Beach Shack
Games go on by request at this Falls Church restaurant, with the exception of Commanders games, which are always shown.
130 N. Washington Street, Falls Church
Dogwood Tavern
Dogwood has NFL Sunday Ticket plus the Big Ten, ACC and SEC networks, and it features JMU, UVA and Virginia Tech games prominently along with Top 25 matchups. More than 20 HD TVs are spread across two bars and multiple patios, and Commanders games take priority.
132 W. Broad Street, Falls Church
Ireland’s Four Provinces
The Falls Church pub is home to the Virginia Steelers Club and plans to show every Steelers game across 13 TVs and a covered patio. It also plans to focus on Notre Dame games, with details still being worked out.
105 W. Broad Street, Falls Church
Solace Outpost
All NFL games for all teams will be on at this brewpub, which isn’t affiliated with a team this year. Large screens line the walls, and Solace is taking over El Rey taqueria in Ballston.
444 W. Broad Street, Falls Church
Stratford Garden
The restaurant and bar, which opened at a former motel in December, plans to show JMU, UVA and Virginia Tech games followed by top 10 teams. Commanders games are on the NFL slate.
300 W. Broad Street, Falls Church
Taco Rock
The W. Broad Street location will show college and NFL games without NFL Sunday Ticket, and always has Commanders and Ravens games on.
1116 W. Broad Street, Falls Church
Know of another local spot showing games this fall? Tell us about it in the comments.
