The Best Sports Bars in Boston

Named without irony and lived in with complete conviction. The Green Monster is the Fenway pre-game destination for regulars who have been making the same walk from Kenmore Square since before Theo Epstein arrived, and the atmosphere on a Sox home game afternoon is the best in the city. The draft list runs to sixteen taps with Samuel Adams occupying several of them (this is Boston; that is correct), and the bar food covers the standards with the kind of competence that comes from doing the same things for twenty years. Get here ninety minutes before first pitch.

Order: Samuel Adams Boston Lager on draft — do not complicate this

Sullivan's Tap has been operating in the West End since 1933, and nothing about it suggests any of the intervening decades have changed the essential proposition. This is a bar where people watch sports and drink beer, and it does both of those things without pretension or performance. The draft selection is short and honest, the prices are what Boston bar prices should be but rarely are, and the crowd on a Bruins or Celtics night has been coming long enough to know which seat has the best view of the main screen. One of the city's most important institutions.

Order: Whatever domestic draft is coldest — this is not the place for a craft conversation

The most famous sports bar in Boston, occupying a prime position on Brookline Avenue with a view of Fenway Park from the upper floor. Cask 'n Flagon has been the pre- and post-game destination for Red Sox fans since 1969, and the institutional knowledge accumulated over those decades shows in how they handle game day capacity — the bar expands seamlessly, the service holds up, and the kitchen stays open through extra innings without complaint. The craft beer selection has improved considerably in recent years without losing the working-bar soul of the place.

Order: The rotating New England craft IPA and the lobster roll — it is Boston, after all

The Playwright is Southie's version of the sports bar institution — a place where people watching a Patriots game sit next to people who have been watching Patriots games in this room since the Drew Bledsoe era, and nobody treats this as unusual. The bar food is the real thing: chowder made correctly, sandwiches built generously, bar wings that justify the hype. The draft list covers twenty-plus taps with a strong emphasis on New England craft breweries. Reserve a table for any playoff game; walk-in capacity disappears fast.

Order: The New England clam chowder and a pint of whatever Trillium collaboration they have on tap

A South Boston Irish pub that runs a serious sports viewing program without letting it overwhelm what is, at its core, a neighbourhood pub. The Bruins get particular attention here — the staff have been covering the TD Garden crowd since it was still the Garden on the other side, and playoff nights have an atmosphere that is earned rather than manufactured. The Guinness is poured correctly, the Irish breakfast runs on Saturday and Sunday mornings, and the back room accommodates private viewing groups.

Order: A perfectly poured Guinness and the full Irish breakfast on a Saturday morning before the early game

Cambridge's best sports bar, managing the Harvard and MIT adjacency with more grace than you would expect. The Brickhouse draws a mixed crowd — students, faculty, and locals who have been coming since before the university crowd found it — and the sports coverage is comprehensive in a way that reflects the international nature of the neighbourhood: Premier League, Champions League, and international cricket alongside the US major sports. The craft beer program is the strongest in Cambridge.

Order: A flight of New England craft drafts and the fish and chips — reliably good, every time

Trillium's Fort Point tap room is not a conventional sports bar, but it has become one of the best places in Boston to watch a game on a Tuesday or Thursday night when the draft lines are shorter and the viewing space is comfortable. The beer is among the best being made in New England, the food menu covers wood-fired options that outperform anything else in the sports bar category, and the screens cover major sporting events without dominating the room. For the game plus great beer without the game-day chaos, this is the correct choice.

Order: Whatever hazy IPA is in season — they make the best in New England, and the current release is always worth your attention

Night Shift's Everett location is a twenty-minute drive from Fenway but worth it for the combination of some of the best craft beer in Greater Boston and a serious sports viewing setup in a large, comfortable space that holds capacity well on game nights. The tap list runs to forty options, the food covers the full menu from the on-site kitchen, and the outdoor area opens from April through October for the kind of game-watching experience that works well in the New England summer. Celtics and Bruins playoff seasons here are among the best sports bar experiences in the city.

Order: The Night Shift Whirlpool Pale Ale on draft and whatever seasonal release they are currently pouring