Columbus is well-stocked with sports bars of all shapes and sizes, every neighborhood in the city home to unique combinations of great food, cold beer and ample TV screens. The options below represent just a small portion of the sports bars found throughout the city, each curated bar paired with its most notable attributes to make picking a perfect destination as easy as possible.
Attribute Guide
The emojis on this list represent the key attributes found at each bar found below.
📺 Ample Televisions
💸 Budget Friendly
🍻 Deep Beer Selection
☀️ Early Opening Hours
🍔 Great Food Available
🏟️ Pre-Game Destination
👏 Team-Specific Backer Bar
Multiple Locations | Arena District | Brewery District | Downtown | Dublin | Easton | Fifth by Northwest | Franklinton
Gahanna | Grandview | Harrison West | Hilliard | Merion Village | Northwest | University District | Worthington
Map of All Locations
Multi-Location Local Chains
Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar 📺🍻🍔🏟️
Locations in Marysville & Columbus
Boston’s operates two locations in the Columbus area, one in Marysville and one directly across the street from Nationwide Arena in the Arena District. The national chain’s Arena District location is a heavily-trafficked pre-event destination for all sporting and entertainment events throughout the area, particularly during Crew, Clippers and Blue Jackets games. The Boston’s menu expands well beyond its signature pizza offering into wings, sandwiches, salads and other usual suspects. Worth seeking out is the small sliver of outdoor seating available at the restaurant’s Arena District location, a prime people-watching perch before and after nearby games.
Pastimes Pub & Grill 📺💸🍻🍔
Multiple Locations
Family owned and locally operated since 2010, Pastimes Pub & Grill expanded to a fourth location in Grandview in 2024 after previously opening New Albany, Worthington and Crossroads-area locations. Each location leans into Ohio-based and locally-sourced craft beers on tap, ranging from 16 draft options in Worthington to an impressive 32 at the chain’s Crosswoods outpost. Few sports bars can match the sheer scale of Pastimes’ slate of food & drink specials, including an 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. happy hour active on weekdays AND weekends as well.
Roosters 📺💸 🍻 🍔
Multiple Locations
Roosters is one of the jewels in Columbus’ sports bar crown, multiple locations throughout the city offering a largely unmatched combination of great food, affordable prices and sports-friendly surroundings. Few wing joints can match the size and quality of Roosters wings, an experience amplified by the rare ability to combine sauces to create unique, personalized mixes (try the combination of hot & garlic). Roosters locations do get popular during major sporting events and during football weekends, so arriving early is advised to secure a prime seat for a day’s worth of life’s great trifecta: beer, chicken wings and sports.
Yogi’s Bar & Grill 📺🍻🍔
Multiple Locations
After opening the original Yogi's Bar & Grill on Frantz Road in Dublin in 2009, the sports bar generated a strong reputation for mixing a sports-forward atmosphere with great food and a deep beer list. A second location opened on Hard Road in 2012 and the growing chain has since expanded yet again to Upper Arlington and Grandview locations. A robust menu of pizza, wings, sandwiches and more is paired with a generous happy hour that runs 11 AM to 7 PM at most Yogi’s locations. Kitchen hours run later than many other Columbus-area options, taking orders until one hour before closing.
Arena District
Betty’s Bar 💸🏟️
435 W Nationwide Blvd, Columbus
While not a traditional sports bar in the televisions-mounted-everywhere sense, Betty’s Bar is an absolute must-visit destination before any sporting event in the Arena District. Crew games in particular draw swelling crowds that spill out onto the street. Betty’s Bar keeps notoriously erratic hours but is always open on Thursdays and before any Crew, Clippers or Blue Jackets game. Save time by bringing cash to head straight to the faster and shorter cash-only line just inside the front door.
R Bar 📺💸🍻🍔🏟️👏
415 N Front St, Columbus
Maybe the most conveniently located sports bar on the list, hockey-themed R Bar sits just steps away from the home of the Columbus Blue Jackets. A stadium-style scoreboard can be found above the bar’s centrally-located service area, offering prime television viewing and set of rolling digital tickers displaying live scores. R Bar is also a popular pre-game destination for Columbus Crew games and is located inside one of Columbus’ Designated Outdoor Refreshment Area (DORA) districts, meaning to-go drinks can be carried from R Bar to any Arena District sports venue.
Brewery District
Gresso’s Restaurant & Bar 📺🍻🍔👏
961 S High St, Columbus
The charm of the Brewery District is well reflected in Gresso’s, a converted house that serves as hub to a number of out-of-state fan bases including Pittsburgh Steeler and West Virginia football backers. The slim Fall overlap of college football and warm Ohio weather represents one of the best times to visit Gresso’s thanks to an inflatable screen that anchors the bar’s large patio, showing volume-on college football (and of course every West Virginia game). Gresso’s also offers a sneaky-good pierogi that can be sampled as an appetizer or atop the fittingly-named Mountaineer Burger.
Downtown
Mainline Bar & Courtyard 📺🍻
216 E Main St, Columbus
Mainline Bar, opened on the site of a former pawn shop in 2025, walks the line between upscale cocktail destination and sports bar, combining two worlds not always intertwined to create a downtown-area option for sports fans who enjoy a deftly-made beverage. A long bar counter is always a welcome sight in a goods sports bar and Mainline manages to pack an epicly long counter into what looks like a snug urban location. First-time visitors are encouraged to seek out the semi-hidden patio in the rear of the space and a fresh shuffleboard table just inside the front door.
The Walrus 📺🍻🍔
143 E Main St, Columbus
The Walrus packs a tremendous array of attractive amenities into a slender downtown location including perhaps the best happy hour in the city thanks to half-price drafts pulled from The Walrus' 30-tap beer selection. The bar’s deep food menu is available as late as 1 a.m. on weekends and 20-plus screens line the walls, creating a potent sports-viewing environment. In addition to a main bar area, The Walrus is home to a secondary and more leisurely game room space outfitted with ping pong tables, a pool table and darts.
Dublin
Andon’s Pub 📺🍻🍔👏
5815 Karric Square Dr, Dublin
Located just steps from a Yogi’s Bar & Grill location, Andon’s Pub offers a potent one-two sports bar punch in Dublin thanks to a strong reputation for great burgers and one of the most diverse sports bar alcohol offerings in Columbus. Opened by former Columbus-area bartenders in 2023, Andon’s Pub also hosts the Columbus Ohio Bears Backers for sympathetic Chicago expats. The vibe inside Andon’s Pub feels a bit like a modern British pub, a feeling backed up by the availability of fish & chips among the sports bar’s extensive food menu.
Spoonz Pub & Patio 📺💸🍻👏
7426 Sawmill Rd, Columbus
Spoonz can be a bit deceptive thanks to its location at the corner of an L-shaped strip mall on Sawmill Road that both obscures the fact that it exists and undersells the sheer size of the space. The bar’s affinity for the Buffalo Bills is apparent from a first step inside what turns out to be a cavernous space, a row of seats reclaimed from a renovation of the Buffalo Bills stadium positioned just inside the front door. Countless televisions can be found throughout Spoonz, particularly in a ring around a centrally-located bar and surrounding a large pool room in back.
Easton
Fado Irish Pub 📺🍻☀️🍔👏
4022 Townsfair Way, Columbus
Finding a place to duck out of Easton-area pedestrian madness can be crucially beneficial on a busy weekend and Fado Irish Pub is one such great option. Just off of the main Easton straightaway, Fado Irish Pub caters to sports fans of all varieties but specializes in European soccer. Early morning opening times adjust to accommodate major matches, particularly relevant for fans of the English Premier League. Matches can start as early as 7 a.m. and when an important match happens to fall into that early morning window, arriving early is strongly suggested to snag a seat.
Fifth by Northwest
Meister’s Bar 💸🍻🍔👏
1168 Chambers Rd, Columbus
Cousins Matt and Todd Meister opened Meister’s Bar at the top of its Chambers Road hill in 2010, creating a quickly compelling mix of affordable drink prices, deep dish pizza and an affinity for the Cleveland Browns. Home to the Grandview Browns Backers, Meister’s Bar is a dive bar in the best possible sense, going so far as to offer a special $1 can special every Thursday. Though screens are limited here, Cleveland Browns games are unmissable and the deep dish pizza served out of the kitchen in back is one of the best such options in the city (and don’t sleep on the Buffalo bread sticks).
Franklinton
Land Grant Brewing Company 🍻🍔🏟️
424 W Town St, Columbus
Once confined to the relatively small building on what is now a sprawling beer-friendly campus, Land Grant Brewing Company has transformed an adjacent lot into a communal, biergarten-style sports viewing destination anchored by a massive screen and projected game audio activated during major sporting events such as Ohio State football games. During particularly busy times, be sure to seek out the small secondary bar just behind the main Land Grant Brewing Company building where semi-secluded seating and a dedicated bar are surrounded by a ring of televisions.
Gahanna
The Mug 📺💸🍻🍔👏
333 Agler Rd, Columbus
Opened in 1964, The Mug feels a bit like a cross between a ski lodge and a sports bar, the comforting and welcoming combination no doubt responsible in part for the bar’s longevity. Almost hidden along a stretch of Agler Road that includes the equally alluring Dolphin Lounge, The Mug is particularly friendly to Cleveland Browns fans but offers all highly-regarded pizza among other menu offerings out of the kitchen in back. Among numerous weekly drink and food specials, free pool is also offered every Sunday.
Grandview
Bobcat Sports Bar 📺🍻🍔
1099 W 1st Ave, Grandview Heights
Nestled into a small strip of businesses deep in the heart of Grandview, Bobcat Sports Bar packs an impressive sports bar punch into a relatively snug space. The most memorable amenity at Bobcat Sports Bar is the stadium seating-style collection of beer ledge-facing stools atop elevated tiers facing the bar’s main bank of televisions. Named after the mascot of nearby Grandview Heights High School, Bobcat Sports Bar crams 17 screens into its two-room footprint and an outdoor patio is available when Ohio weather cooperates.
Grandview Cafe 📺🍻🍔
1455 W 3rd Ave, Columbus
The obvious heart of the Grandview Heights neighborhood is the appropriately named Grandview Avenue, home to a dense line of trendy bars, restaurants and boutiques. Grandview Cafe has been one of the area’s iconic attractions since first opening in 1925. After changing hands a few times over the decades, Grandview Cafe closed for 18 months in 2016 under fresh ownership to usher in a set of changes that have resulted in a fresh look that endures today. A deep food menu and ample screens across two interior levels and a sprawling patio create a comfortable game-watching environment in the heart of Grandview.
JT’s Pizza Grandview 📺🍻🍔
845 Goodale Blvd, Grandview Heights
When the Grandview Yard development expanded across Goodale Avenue, JT’s Pizza saw an opportunity to branch out from its original Linworth-area location, bringing some of the best pizza in the city to a new part of town. Continuously voted one of the best Columbus-style pizza shops in the city, JT’s has complemented its food reputation with a screen-packed environment perfect for sports. Be sure to explore the flavored crust options (cajun, garlic butter, garlic parmesan and others) that add a new dimension to a standard pizza order.
Harrison West
Zeno’s 📺💸🍻🍔
384 W 3rd Ave, Columbus
Once home to a commercial bakery, Zeno’s Tavern is one Columbus’ quintessential corner neighborhood pubs, an anchor to the Harrison West neighborhood and ideal spot to watch a game. Founded in 1984 by Dick Allen, Zeno’s is still owned and operated by the Allen family and special tribute is paid to Dick by the subterranean dive bar found below Zeno’s, Dick’s Dive. Though expansive, multi-level seating makes Zeno’s a great sports watching option throughout the year, football-filled weekends are particularly attractive thanks to volume-on viewing of NFL and NCAA games depicted on a large projection screen that descends from the ceiling.
Hilliard
Nasty’s Sports Bar & Restaurant 📺💸🍻🍔
4561 Scioto Darby Rd, Hilliard
Opened in 2012 and named after the nickname given to owner Frank Profeta’s son thanks to a relentless football playing style, Nasty’s almost regally presides over a small Hilliard strip mall that includes the equally-compelling Lil Donut Factory. Nasty’s is known for a deep tap list and great wings, two very sports bar-friendly attributes. Daily food specials include a Thursday all-you-can-eat wing night and the bar’s limited 4 to 6 p.m. happy hour offers $2 domestic bottles. Larger than it may appear at first glance, Nasty’s is not only well-stocked with televisions but spacious enough to accommodate large groups during major events.
Merion Village
The Red Brick Tap & Grill 🍻🍔
292 E Gates St, Columbus
A unique establishment in an already unique part of Columbus, The Red Brick Tap & Grill has been open since 2013 and can be easy to miss given its location tucked away into a residential stretch of Merion Village. The structure itself dates back to the 1930s, adding some historical flavor to what is admittedly a food-first, sports-second bar. But of course screens can be found throughout The Red Brick Tap & Grill and the unique, cozy corner vibe is a nice alternative option to the more sports-frenzied options found throughout Columbus.
Northwest
Gallo’s Tap Room 📺💸🍻🍔
5019 Olentangy River Rd, Columbus
Gallo’s Tap Room is one of the longtime stalwarts of the Columbus sports bar scene, the bar’s original Olentangy River Road location long known for serving food beyond the usual sports bar fare. Equally impressive is the ability for Gallo’s Tap Room to constantly reinvent itself, adding a bit of menu variety (most recently including the debut of stuffed pizzas on Mondays) to live up to the absolute flurry of televisions found throughout the bar. Numerous Gallo’s-associated bars & restaurants have since popped up throughout Columbus, the original is always worth seeking out.
University District
The Little Bar 💸☀️🏟️👏
2195 N High St, Columbus
Located in an iconic, wood-lined A-frame building that was once an IHOP, The Little Bar has served the Ohio State campus community since 2006. Thanks to its campus area location, The Little Bar commands an absolute swarm of activity during Ohio State football home games, offering the aptly-named TinyGate, an outdoor tailgate hosted in the bar’s snug, High Street-adjacent parking lot. Thanks to a raft of mounted screens inside and affordable pricing thanks to a student-heavy clientele, The Little Bar makes for a solid sports viewing option even during non-football pandemonium.
Varsity Club 💸☀️🍔🏟️👏
278 W Lane Ave, Columbus
Opened in 1959, Varsity Club is a true Columbus institution, the small corner bar an anchor of the Ohio State community bringing together local residents, visitors, current students and alumni. Home college football games draw huge crowds thanks to the bar’s proximity to campus, of course, but non-home game visits can be equally rewarding thanks to a simple but delicious menu that includes great pizza and an excellent Italian sub. For those not enamored with battling game day crowds, one alternative is visiting Varsity Club for an away game, particularly during favorable weather conditions that allow for seating in the bar’s expansive back patio.
Worthington
Shakers Public House 📺🍻🍔👏
480 E Wilson Bridge Rd, Worthington
Browns backer bars are well represented in Columbus and Shakers Public House is the Worthington-area destination of choice for Cleveland fans. After a fire claimed the original Georgesville Road Shakers Public House location, a relocation to Worthington in 2024 brought with it the chance to breathe fresh life into an already well-loved sports bar. Shakers Public House benefits from looking different than the usual sports bar, helped by a massive Simpsons mural and televisions strategically located in the rafters of the space, adding a new dimension to the usual long banks of televisions found in most sports-forward pubs.
