Toronto’s best sports bars

Toronto’s best sports bars

Our favourite places to watch the big game

 

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The Alpine

This craft beer bar in the Junction pours from 26 taps (and one cask) alongside a menu of hearty meals, like pork schnitzel, short ribs, fried chicken and gut-busting boards for two loaded with things like sausages, potato salad and soft pretzels. It’s game day food at its finest. 2872 Dundas St. W., 647-352-5585, thealpine.ca

 

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The Aviary

The Aviary, from the people behind The Dock Ellis and Longslice Brewing, is equal parts sports bar and brewery—but you can still get brunch on weekends. During the week, the menu is made up of everything you’d expect from a beer-brewing sports bar: burgers, wings, chili, tater tots, fried chicken sandwiches, house-made sausages—a bunch of salty, cheesy, greasy grub (but made with local ingredients). Six big screens play whatever important games are on. Between innings (or periods or halves or whatever), sports fans can busy themselves by playing foosball, pool or a vintage Maximum Hangtime arcade game. 484 Front St. E., 647-352-7837, aviarybrewpub.com

 

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The Ballroom

In 2010, 10-pin arrived in the downtown core, along with ping-pong, foosball and video games. The multiple opportunities to engage in sport make this clubland fixture less a bar and more a boozy athletic amusement park. Speaking of sports, you can watch them on TVs here—or, to be more specific, on 60-plus flatscreens and mega projectors. Yes. Mega projectors. 145 John St., 416-597-2695, theballroom.ca

Bottom Line

This sports bar, just a slap shot from Union Station and Scotiabank Arena, is owned and operated by former NHL hockey player (he played in one game–still counts) Wayne Cowley. Go for a few non-stadium-priced drinks and snacks before catching a game (when tickets to games are a thing again, that is) or stay to watch whatever’s playing on the many screens. Bonus: there’s a burger counter tucked away at the back of the bar. 22 Front St. W., 416-362-7585, bottomlineto.com

 

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The Brazen Head

This Liberty Village local is part of a well-known pub chain, but the atmosphere doesn’t feel in any way cookie-cutter. That’s partly down to the TFC supporters who fill the place on match days to drain pints before marching over to BMO Field, or during an away-match viewing party. But no matter the sport, it’s a comfortable place to follow the action while feasting on pub grub, wings, nachos and tacos—and after certain games, they’re known to “burn the bill” for one lucky table, whose food and drink tab will quite literally go up in flames. 165 E. Liberty St., 416-535-8787, fabrestaurants.ca/restaurant/brazen-head

 

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The Dock Ellis

The Dock Ellis is a modern, hip interpretation of the classic sports bar: the walls are lined with obscure retro memorabilia, and the draft list is a constantly revolving selection from the best local breweries. Best of all, the menu contains many well-executed snacks. The deep fryer is used to particularly great effect for the fried chicken sandwich. The juicy, thick-crusted thigh, topped with house-made Russian dressing and stuffed in a buttery milk bun, is the crown jewel. 1280 Dundas St. W., 416-792-8472, thedockellis.com

 

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King Taps

Of all the new-ish beer halls in town, this 450-seat behemoth at the epicentre of the Financial District is where both sports fans and craft beer ­aficionados will feel most at home. The bar pours potables from 72 lines (most hyper-local beers, some hard-to-find inter­national ones), and more than 53 screens play a combination of sports and music videos. An expansive food menu covers just about every fathomable craving, including all of the usual bar-food suspects (pizza, tacos, rib-eye steaks, burgers) and does it well. 100 King St. W., 647-361-2025, kingtaps.com

 

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The Loose Moose

This Front Street mainstay actually opened the same year as what was then called the SkyDome, but it’s evolved quite a bit since 1989. The most notable update: the 30-plus Ontario craft beers available on tap–most of which didn’t exist five years ago, let alone 29—to go along with another 30 or so domestic and international macros. There’s even a design-your-own old fashioned menu, with a choice of bitters and aromatics. 146 Front St. W., 416-977-8840, theloosemoose.ca

 

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The Pint Public House

Stadium proximity makes this bar a can’t-miss pre- and post-game spot, but the 770-seat memorabilia-strewn man cave is an appealing place to hunker down even if you don’t have tickets, thanks to a selection of 40 draft beers and 40 flavours of chicken wings. Ninety big screens play sports, sports and more sports. 277 Front St. W., 647-340-6395, toronto.thepint.ca

The Queen’s Head Pub

With locations in Leslieville and Scarborough, the Queen’s Head is a favourite of eastenders looking for a place to catch the [insert sport here] game on one of the bar’s many TVs (nine in Leslieville, 13 in Scarborough) over a pound of wings and bottles of beer so cheap they’re practically giving them away. 1214 Queen St. E.; 2555 Victoria Park Ave., queensheadpub.ca

 

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RS

A sports bar on steroids, the recently rebranded Real Sports is a 25,000-square-foot amphitheatre of game-watching excess, with 199 high-definition flat-screens, including one that’s two and a half storeys tall. The beer menu is super-sized, too. There are 126 taps, so everyone from dry-hopped sour devotees to IPA enthusiasts will leave happy and tipsy. 15 York St., 416-815-7325, rs.ca

 

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Rec Room

This 40,000-square-foot play place in Roundhouse Park is an amusement park, and arcade, a VR experience and a sports bar, all in one. Right across the street from the Rogers Centre, it’s a convenient place for pints before a Jays game—or you can just watch the game on the Rec Room’s seriously big-screen TVs (and avoid paying stadium prices for tallboys of mediocre beer). 255 Bremner Blvd., 416-815-0086, therecroom.com

 

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Round the Horn

This four-year-old sports bar on Roncey has a sprawling back patio and a hot dog–based menu with non–hot dog specials on weekends. We recommend the Mac Daddy dog, a mess of shredded lettuce, cheese, onions, pickles and secret sauce. Not into sports? There’s usually a pinball machine or gaming console of some kind at the back. 331 Roncesvalles Ave., 416-785-2123, @roundthehorn

 

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Score on King

This Vancouver-based bar is perfect for people who are sports fan–adjacent: sure, they’ll watch the game but really they’re in it for the mile-high burgers, nacho platters and pitchers of beer. A sprawling street-side patio is a great place for pints in the summer, and caesars here come topped with way more than just a stick of celery. 107 King St. E., 416-519-4654, scoreonking.com

Tallboys

The civic pride is palpable at this Bloorcourt pub, with subway-station wall decals, a Blue Jays championship flag and a corkboard featuring local events. But the real draw is the beer. With more than 60 Ontario craft brews on the lineup—dozens available in the bar’s namesake size—anyone can find the right pairing for the kitchen’s smashed and seared burgers. 838 Bloor St. W., 416-535-7486, tallboyscraft.com

 

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Tipsy Moose Pub

This newish sports bar on the Danforth has basically spent two-thirds of its young life in lockdown. A widescreen projector makes it feel like you’re in the stands and the private party room can fit you and 35 of your closest sports fan friends. There’s a decent selection of beers on tap, with some local options mixed in, and a food menu made up of pub favourites (wings, nachos) alongside Indian and Thai dishes. 1864 Danforth Ave., 416-422-0733, tipsymoose.ca