Looking for the best places to watch football in Phoenix? Game day doesn’t have to mean spending three hours in a dark sports bar with mediocre nachos.
Maybe you know every player on the roster. Maybe you’re there for the wings and an espresso martini. Maybe your perfect Saturday involves college football from the first kickoff until the last. Or maybe Sunday football is simply an excuse to get the group together.
Whatever brings you out, game day should be fun.
North Central Phoenix, Biltmore and Arcadia have plenty of places to watch college and pro football, but we wanted spots that deliver more than a television over the bar. Think plenty of screens, good food, cocktails worth ordering and an atmosphere where you’ll actually want to spend an afternoon.
So grab your friends, pick your team and settle in. Here are some of our favorite Phoenix bars and restaurants for watching football on Saturday and Sunday.
Title 9 Sports Grill | Melrose
If we’re calling this Game Day Is for the Girls, Title 9 Sports Grill has to lead the list.
Located in Phoenix’s Melrose District, Title 9 was created specifically to put women’s sports and female athletes front and center. Women’s games get priority on the TVs, memorabilia celebrates female athletes and even the drinks help tell the story.
But you don’t have to be there for women’s sports. This is a genuine sports bar with plenty of screens, burgers, wings, cocktails and a crowd that came to watch a game.
For a group looking for a fun and distinctly different Phoenix sports bar, Title 9 is an obvious game-day destination.
Why we like it: There couldn’t be a more fitting place to start a girls’ game-day list.
4221 N. 7th Ave., Phoenix
The Porch | Arcadia
If your idea of game day includes football but doesn’t require sacrificing brunch, The Porch checks a lot of boxes.
This popular Arcadia hangout combines plenty of TVs with the energy of a neighborhood gathering spot. On weekends, brunch brings everything from chicken and waffles and breakfast favorites to cocktails and mimosas. When the game is the main event, there are wings, burgers, shareables and plenty of drinks to keep the table occupied.
This is less “sit silently and stare at the scoreboard” and more “get a group together and make an afternoon of it.”
Why we like it: Football meets brunch meets girls’ day out.
4017 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers | North Central Phoenix
Sometimes you don’t need to reinvent game day. You just need a ridiculous number of TVs, a burger and your game on the screen.
Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers on 7th Street delivers exactly that. The concept is built around watching sports, with TVs throughout the restaurant, burgers, wings, shareables and a deep beer selection. The menu also includes salads and cocktails for anyone who isn’t interested in spending Sunday afternoon working through a tower of cheeseburgers.
During football season, weekend breakfast makes it particularly useful for those early Arizona kickoffs.
If you’re looking specifically for a sports bar to watch football in North Central Phoenix, this is one of the easiest answers on the list.
Why we like it: The straightforward choice when your group actually wants to watch the game.
5625 N. 7th St., Phoenix
The Vig | Arcadia
For the group that wants game day to feel a little more like an Arcadia afternoon, The Vig is an easy choice.
The Vig Arcadia has long been a neighborhood gathering spot, combining TVs for sports with a comfortable indoor-outdoor setup and a great patio. Weekend brunch adds another reason to settle in early, while the menu offers tacos, salads, burgers, wings, fries and plenty of cocktails.
It isn’t a traditional wall-to-wall-TV sports bar, and that’s precisely why it belongs here.
Why we like it: You can watch football without feeling like you’re spending your entire Sunday inside a sports bar.
4041 N. 40th St., Phoenix
McKenzie’s Midtown Tavern | North Central Phoenix
McKenzie’s Midtown Tavern takes football seriously.
The North Central Phoenix neighborhood tavern promotes college football Saturdays, carries multiple sports packages and has plenty of screens. If your team isn’t already on, ask the bartender.
The food is exactly what you want for a game, with wings, cheese curds, burgers and plenty of shareables. But cocktails and adult slushies give the non-beer drinkers something to work with too.
It’s casual, local and far less corporate than some of the Valley’s giant sports-bar concepts.
Why we like it: Serious football without taking itself too seriously.
4531 N. 7th St., Phoenix
Zipps Sports Grill | North Central Phoenix & Arcadia
There are certain places that simply belong on any list of the best sports bars in Phoenix, and Zipps Sports Grill is one of them.
Zipps is a local institution for a reason: lots of TVs, wings, burgers, pizza, a patio and the kind of lively crowd you want when the game gets interesting. Both locations can get especially busy around major sporting events, so arriving before kickoff is a smart move.
And, yes, there’s the Zipparita.
Why we like it: Classic Arizona sports-bar energy, whether you’re in North Central Phoenix or Arcadia.
3647 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
1515 E. Bethany Home Rd., Suite 100, Phoenix
The Bar | Biltmore
Don’t let the understated name fool you. The Bar is very much ready for football season.
On Saturdays and Sundays, The Bar opens early for football and specifically promotes college games. There’s breakfast, wings, beer buckets and a cocktail menu for those who’d rather have something shaken than something on draft.
The result is exactly the kind of place this list is supposed to uncover: enough football for the serious fan, but enough personality that everyone else wants to come along too.
Why we like it: Wings and a cocktail while watching college football? We understand the assignment.
3174 E. Indian School Road, Phoenix
The Original Arcadia Tavern | Arcadia
The Original Arcadia Tavern brings another strong Arcadia game-day option to Indian School Road, with lots of TVs, a large patio and a menu that stretches beyond standard sports-bar snacks.
It’s an easy choice for groups, particularly if some people are glued to the game while others are more interested in catching up over drinks. Weekend brunch is another plus for early Saturday and Sunday kickoffs.
Why we like it: A comfortable Arcadia option when game day is as much about the group as the game.
3950 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
The Attic Ale House | Arcadia
For a slightly different Arcadia football experience, head upstairs to The Attic Ale House.
The Attic combines craft beer, TVs and a patio with views toward Camelback Mountain. The menu leans gastropub, with pizza, burgers and plenty of food substantial enough for settling in for an entire game.
When Phoenix finally gives us patio weather, the outdoor setting gives The Attic an atmosphere few traditional sports bars can match.
Why we like it: Football, craft beer and Camelback Mountain make a pretty solid Phoenix combination.
4247 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
JT’s Bar & Grill | Arcadia
If polished isn’t the priority and great wings are, JT’s Bar & Grill belongs on your list.
JT’s is an old-school Arcadia neighborhood bar: small, casual and decidedly unfussy, with cold beer, TVs and wings that have developed a loyal local following.
This is where you go when nobody in the group cares about getting the perfect Instagram photo and everybody cares whether the wings are good.
Why we like it: Every good game-day list needs a neighborhood dive.
4829 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
Dirtbag’s | Arcadia
Wildcats fans, Dirtbag’s in Arcadia is for you.
The Phoenix outpost of the well-known Tucson bar brings its University of Arizona DNA to Arcadia. U of A memorabilia and a college-oriented game-day atmosphere make this one particularly worth knowing when the Wildcats are playing.
Even if you didn’t spend four years in Tucson, there’s something fun about watching college football somewhere the crowd has a rooting interest.
Why we like it: One of the better choices when you want college football to actually feel like college football.
4801 E. Indian School Rd., Phoenix
Where Are We Watching the Game?
That’s the fun part: there isn’t one right answer.
For a true girls’ game day in Phoenix, we’re starting with Title 9. For brunch and a social scene, The Porch and The Vig are hard to beat. If watching every play is non-negotiable, Cold Beers & Cheeseburgers, Zipps and McKenzie’s have you covered. And if your ideal football Saturday involves a neighborhood bar and a plate of wings, The Bar, JT’s or The Attic might be exactly what you’re looking for.
Whether you’re watching college football on Saturday or pro football on Sunday, North Central Phoenix, Biltmore and Arcadia have plenty of places to turn game day into an afternoon out.
Get the group text going. Pick a place. Wear your colors.
Game day is for the girls, too.
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