If you’re in Los Angeles with your buddies to enjoy some alcoholic binge and watch the World Series or basketball Finals match, you should go for the best sports (and beer) bar in the city. You must know that the best ones have a number of flat-screen TVs, an excellent variety of draft beers, and a crowd that can match your own as far as cheering its favorite team is concerned. Here are 8 of Los Angeles’s top sports bars, in no particular order.
1. Barney’s Beanery
One of the most decorated bars in the city, Barney’s Beanery is the choice of many Los Angeles sports-goers, and even those from other cities as well. What makes its different from other bars is its installation of numerous TVs in the place. This can be an attraction for those who like to have a view of the game wherever they set their eyes on. Seriously, Barney’s Beanery is a favorite of everyone, from students from Westwood to yuppies holding office in Old Town Pasadena. It is a sports bar to head to for some nice cold beer and sports-watching. Promenade, Santa Monica, (310) 656-5777.
2. ESPN Zone
The place is a crowd-pleaser because it is just a few steps from the Staples Center, perhaps the closest representation of world-class sports there is. Who would not be excited to watch any game if you are literally a stone’s throw away from the center and able to hear the cheers of its large crowds? Overall, it’s a place where the whole crowd loves to erupt to loud, boisterous shouts and everyone gives each other high fives every time the local team wins. Figueroa Street, downtown LA, (213) 765-7070.
3. BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse
You are sure to experience one great night of enjoying a match playing your favorite sports while having some rounds of cold beer and burgers with your friends – at BJ’s Restaurant and Brewhouse. Portions are large so be prepared to carry home a doggy bag or two (Do so! There’s no shame in doing it). Menu includes deep-dish pizzas, fish, delicious burgers and sandwiches, pastas, and stuffed potatoes. Those with special dietary needs can request for gluten-free pizzas, which are delicious nonetheless. Its dessert of signature deep-dish cookies with ice cream on top is a favorite. Beer is a delight in BJ’s, which boasts of a number of manually-crafted house brews.
4. The Oinkster
While not officially a sports bar, many call it as such, nonetheless. People go to The Oinkster for a good number of reasons, such as its delicious cold beer; crispy, salty French fries and pulled pork sandwich specialty and some game-watching on its large flat screen. What makes the bar the best to go on an important game is the great deal of excitement and thrill that pervade through the air. The Oinkster is the bar for the best sports event such as the World Cup or World Series, where you can expect everyone to jump, roar, or even wail, depending on the game’s progress. Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock, (323) 255-6465.
5. Coffee Table Lounge
This bar is more of the hybrid sports-coffee bar instead of the traditional type. The menu is a list of a variety of café and sandwich items that match its many micro and macro beers. Coffee Table boasts of having young, urban lads and ladies for its loyal clientele. But there is no denying that it possesses strong touches of a classic sports bar, with its large projection Television, a number of flat screen TVs, overflowing tasty nachos, and numerous beer pitchers and mugs found on most tables. Overall, a good mix of quiet and boisterous fans can be found at the bar on any particular game. Colorado Boulevard, Eagle Rock, (323) 255-2200.
6. Good Microbrew
A block from the Sunset Junction at Silver Lake is Good, which is a sought-after destination for sports and beer fanatics from Los Angeles and even beyond. If only for its wide variety of selection of beer, it is enough to make the place a favorite hangout, especially during days when a deciding game is played. Any other day, it’s still the perfect bar to be because of the great ambience and above-average food. Most importantly, TVs are high quality and just about everywhere. Hence, no one misses any important portion of the game. Sunset Boulevard, Silver Lake, (323) 660-3645.
7. T. Boyle’s Tavern
Pasadena has a gem in T. Boyle’s Tavern as it serves as a major attraction around Catalina Avenue. If you’re a first timer, you will wonder how the place gets filled up in spite of its massive size. Apart from great-tasting beer and generous number of TV installed all over, guests are amused with its decorative moose heads. Best seats are at the balcony, where you can throw peanuts down to losing guests on the floor below; that is, in case your team does win. Catalina Avenue, Pasadena, (626) 578-0957.
8. Blue Dog
Blue Dog is a unique sports bar not only because it has some of the tastiest cold beer and most sumptuous bar food (like its garlic fries), but also because it seems to enjoy the patronage of the “nicest” guests in town. It’s the bar where jeering has no place, and that patrons know one another. No group will surely feel threatened even if it is routing for the unpopular team. Blue Dog is one of the best bars to go to for a quiet and decent night of game watching. Saugus Avenue, Sherman Oaks, (818) 990-2583.
