Best Bars for Watching NFL Games

The Upper East Side institution for full-Sunday NFL viewing, with a kitchen that actually stays efficient through multiple game windows and enough screens positioned correctly that you don't need to negotiate for a sight line when you arrive. The Sunday Ticket package means every game is available simultaneously. The BBQ food has been refined over twenty years and it shows.

Order: The pulled pork sandwich and a draft lager — both hold up across a full afternoon

The Ainsworth elevated the New York sports bar format by adding proper table service, a food program above the wings-and-nachos standard, and a cocktail menu that takes the bar side seriously. For groups that want to watch NFL without sitting in a room that smells like a college bar, it's the obvious answer. Reservations are available and worth taking for Sunday afternoon windows.

Order: Their elevated nachos or the burger, alongside a proper whisky cocktail

Bounce runs every NFL game simultaneously across one hundred screens, which sounds like overkill until you're trying to follow your fantasy lineup across six games at once and realise the setup is exactly right. The sound management is the best in the city — each section is zoned for a different game at an audible but non-competing volume level. Arrive before the 1pm window to secure a good section.

Order: Draft beer pitcher for the table and the shareable appetizer platter

The Wicker Park bar that the neighbourhood's Bears supporters treat as their de facto home for game days. Unpretentious, properly priced, and with enough screens that the standing-room crowd doesn't block the sight lines. The Bears energy here on a game day is the kind of thing you can't manufacture — this is a bar where people are genuinely invested in the result.

Order: Old Style on draft — the Chicago standard, and the right call here

Lincoln Park's most purposeful NFL viewing venue, with a setup built around showing the full Sunday slate across all three windows. The kitchen runs continuously from 11am through Monday Night Football, the draught selection has expanded significantly in recent years, and the table reservation system means you can secure a spot in your preferred section rather than arriving early and hoping.

Order: The buffalo chicken sandwich and a craft lager from their rotating Illinois guest tap

The Map Room prioritises beer selection over sports bar spectacle, which means the screens are fewer but the pints are considerably better than most NFL viewing venues. For the football fan who also cares about what's in the glass, the Bucktown institution makes the compromise work — you'll watch a properly good game on a proper screen while drinking something worth remembering. Coverage includes all Sunday games via the NFL package.

Order: Ask for whatever arrived on the guest tap this week — the selection rotates constantly and is always worth trying

The New England Patriots bar in New York that has been operating since before it was fashionable. Professor Thom's runs every game of the NFL season — including preseason — with a kitchen open late and a crowd that shows up regardless of kickoff time. For Thursday and Monday night games in New York, it's one of the most reliably good viewing experiences in the city.

Order: Whatever draft they're featuring that week; the bar has a rotating selection that improves year on year

One of Chicago's most reliable year-round sports bars, Emmit's handles Thursday and Monday night NFL with the same setup as Sunday — every game on, kitchen running, and a crowd that treats the midweek games as seriously as the weekend ones. The River North location means it draws from the downtown office crowd, which makes the atmosphere on a Thursday night game distinctly more invested than most equivalent venues.

Order: Guinness on draught and the fish and chips — both are consistently good here