CHICAGO — Are you a football fan who lives in Chicago, but is also from outside the city and roots for a different NFL team besides the Bears? The good news is Chicago has quite a diverse bar scene. With the NFL season officially underway, there are dozens of options for fans of different franchises scattered throughout the city.
Here’s a list of NFL bars in Chicago, listed by team in alphabetical order, and where to find them:
Arizona Cardinals
Cubby Bear (Lake View) – 1059 West Addison Street
Previously recognized as best rock club by the Chicago Music Awards, the No. 1 neighborhood bar by Maxim Magazine, and the seventh-best sports bar in the country by Sports Illustrated, The Cubby Bear is an iconic Chicago sports bar that has been known to host watch parties for Arizona Cardinals fans who have come to call Chicago home.
Baltimore Ravens
George Street Pub (Lake View) – 2858 North Halsted Street
Voted one of Chicago’s best bars for mussels, jambalaya and beer gardens, the George Street Pub is home to the Chicago chapter of the Baltimore Ravens fan club and the preferred spot to take in Ravens football in the Windy City.
Buffalo Bills
Delilah’s (Sheffield and DePaul) – 2771 North Lincoln Avenue
A 31-year-old staple of Lincoln Park, Delilah’s offer Thursday and Sunday specials of $3 Old Style and Hamm’s pints, and is known for their DJ’s spinning rock and roll tunes across a variety of events, including when Chicago-based Bills fans want to watch some Buffalo football.
Carolina Panthers
Flagship Tavern & Grill (Lake View) – 1622 West Belmont Avenue
Found in the city’s Lakeview neighborhood, Flagship Tavern & Grill has served as Chicago’s resident Carolina Panthers bar, but also doubles as a Michigan State sports bar for those who may be more inclined toward college athletics.
Chicago Bears
You could walk around blindfolded and find a Chicago bar packed with Bears fans on gameday.
But here are a couple that stand out from the crowd:
Fat Pour Tap Works – 2005 West Division Street (Wicker Park), 2206 South Indiana Avenue (McCormick Place)
Nisei Lounge (Lake View) – 3439 North Sheffield Avenue
Theory (River North) – 9 West Hubbard Street
Timothy O’Toole’s (Streeterville) – 622 North Fairbanks Court
Cincinnati Bengals
Kincade’s Bar and Grill (Lincoln Park) – 950 West Armitage Avenue
Nestled along West Armitage Avenue in Lincoln Park on the city’s North Side, Kincade’s is the place any Bengals fan can float on by to enjoy rooting on their favorite NFL team in the Windy City.
On top of being the spot for Bengals games on any given Sunday, Monday or Thursday, the pub also features free-to-play trivia on Thursdays from 8-9 p.m.
Cleveland Browns
Old Crow Smokehouse (Wrigleyville) – 3506 North Clark Street
Situated a hop, skip and a jump from Wrigley Field, the Old Crow is a spacious, two-story bar with a second story patio that makes Dawg Pound gamedays all the more enjoyable when the sun is out, and shining down on Chicago.
Dallas Cowboys
Commonwealth Tavern (North Center) – 2000 West Roscoe Street
The purported Dallas Cowboys bar of Chicago, Commonwealth Tavern can be found on the North Side of the city in the North Center neighborhood near Roscoe Village, where they also host watch parties for the Chicago Cubs, Marquette Golden Eagles and Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
When it comes to specialties, Saturdays and Sundays at Commonwealth feature build-your-own Bloody Mary bars and mimosa kits.
Denver Broncos
Almost Home Tavern & Grill (Wrigleyville) – 3801 North Clark Street
Almost Home Tavern & Grill is the best spot to sit down for a Denver Broncos game in Chicago.
Nestled in the Wrigleyville neighborhood, Almost Home is centered around Chicago-centric food and flavors. According to their menu online, recipes include scratch-made, elevated homestyle and Chicago Culinary classics, along with locally crafted brews from one of 20 taps.
Detroit Lions
The Tin Lizzie (Lincoln Park) – 2483 North Clark Street
Found in the city’s North Side neighborhood of Lincoln Park, The Tin Lizzie is also the city’s resident Detroit and Michigan State sports bar, featuring Friday and Saturday specials centered around turtle racing where patrons can pre-purchase tickets for all-you-can eat and drinks.
Green Bay Packers
Will’s Northwoods Inn (Lake View) – 3030 North Racine Avenue
There was active discussion around whether or not to include a Green Bay Packers bar on this list (for obvious, Bears-related reasons), but we ultimately decided to be nice to the cheese heads who have drifted south to Chicago, and jokes aside, Will’s is a great place to catch a football game.
Not only is this place a Packers bar, but it also features an outdoor patio where fans can take games in, and if the Packers play on Monday night, the bar has a wing special where you can purchase a pound of tossed wings with your choice of sauce for $11.
If you want to return on a non-Packers gameday, Will’s has “Fish Fryday” every Friday, featuring fresh cod fillets dipped in a special Leinenkugel’s beer batter.
Houston Texans
Daily Bar & Grill (Lincoln Square) – 4560 North Lincoln Avenue
Found in the North Side neighborhood of Lincoln Square, the Daily Bar & Grill is a newspaper-centric bar that has played host to watching the Houston Texans during the NFL season in Chicago.
Indianapolis Colts
*Four Shadows (Lincoln Park) – 2758 North Ashland Avenue
Officially rebranded as another Chicago Bears bar earlier this year, Four Shadows still has NFL Sunday Ticket so, if you’re an Indianapolis Colts fan with friends in town, they’ll gladly help get you situated to watch a Colts game here in the Windy City.
Kansas City Chiefs
Toon’s Bar & Grill (Wrigleyville) – 3857 North Southport Avenue
Claiming to be Chicago’s friendliest neighborhood bar, Kansas City Chiefs fans can take a stroll to the Southport corridor in Wrigleyville where they can take in the action from the likes of Patrick Mahomes and Chris Jones for the Chiefs on NFL gamedays.
Ranked as one of the ten best places to get chicken wings in Chicago by the Chicago Tribune and a Top 10 Kansas City Chiefs bar outside of Kansas and Missouri by the Accidental Tourist, Toon’s menu includes Black Angus burgers, smoked BBQ and New Orleans-style Po’Boys to go with their renowned wings.
Las Vegas Raiders
Dante’s Tavern (Ukrainian Village) – 1936 West Chicago Avenue
Found in the Ukrainian Village/West Town area of Chicago, Dante’s Tavern plays host to Las Vegas Raiders inspired events and welcomes Raiders fans on gameday.
Known for their New York-style pizza, Dante’s Tavern comes with gothic vibes that feature pool, a private party room (if you would like to make a gameday reservation) and an ever-present punk and metal soundtrack playing over the bar’s speakers.
Minnesota Vikings
The Graystone Tavern (Lake View) – 3441 North Sheffield Avenue
Another Wrigleyville staple, The Graystone Tavern is a Minnesota Vikings bar that also plays host to games for the Cubs, Chelsea FC, Columbus Crew, University of Washington and Kansas State.
Roadhouse 66 Gas N’ Grill (Wrigleyville) – 3478 North Clark Street
The other Vikings bar inclusion on this list, Roadhouse is the official home of the Cook County Vikings Club, and also is a bar where Iowa Hawkeye fans are welcome when they take on their Big Ten opponents.
New England Patriots
Tripoli Tap (Lincoln Park) – 1147 West Armitage Avenue
Found in Lincoln Park near Goose Island, one trip to Tripoli Tap’s website, and you’ll know its a passionate Boston sports bar. Described as a place for displaced Bostonians, New Englanders and Massholes alike, Patriots fans can also take in Red Sox and Celtics games at the bar during each sport’s respective season.
New Orleans Saints
Frontier (Wicker Park) – 1072 North Milwaukee Avenue
Found in the Wicker Park area, Frontier is Chicago’s go-to New Orleans Saints bar, and has an aesthetic and menu items to match (you can literally order alligator here. How “down on the Bayou” is that?).
With each passing week the Saints play, Frontier hosts a watch party that comes with its own food and drink specials as well.
New York Giants
Racine Plumbing Bar & Grill (Sheffield and DePaul) – 2642 North Lincoln Avenue
Another Lincoln Park bar highlighted on this list, Racine Plumbing purports itself as the best New York sports bar in the City of Chicago, and a fan favorite of New York Giants fans on gameday.
On top of playing host to Giants, Rangers, Yankees, Mets and Knicks games, Racine Plumbing is also a Notre Dame sports bar.
New York Jets
Country Club (Wrigleyville) – 3462 North Clark Street
Home of the Chicago New York Jets Fan Club, every Jets game is shown at the establishment with game sound blasting through the speakers, and specials planned on gameday.
Philadelphia Eagles
The Reveler (North Center) – 3403 North Damen Avenue
One trip to their website and you’ll understand why The Reveler, found in the city’s North Center neighborhood, is Chicago’s premier Philadelphia Eagles bar.
Adorned in Kelly green and white with Eagles paraphernalia all around, the bar holds weekly raffles that come alongside Eagles gamedays.
Pittsburgh Steelers
Lincoln Tap Room (Lake View) – 3010 North Lincoln Avenue
The self-proclaimed No. 1 Pittsburgh Steelers bar in all of Chicago, The Lincoln Tap Room offers Pittsburgh-themed drink specials on Steeler gamedays (on top of normal daily drink specials) and puts each game up on a 100-inch projection screen for fans who are there to cheer on the Black and Gold.
They also offer free games of darts, as an added cherry on top.
San Francisco 49ers
Cheesie’s Pub & Grub – 1635 North Milwaukee Avenue (Wicker Park), 958 West Belmont Avenue (Lake View)
The founder of Cheesie’s started the pub on the idea that there’s a million pizza places that people love, why not create a place like that, but with grilled cheeses?
The rest is history, and as time has gone on, the cheesy pub has become home for San Francisco 49ers games in the City of Chicago.
Seattle Seahawks
Brownstone Tavern (North Center) – 3937 North Lincoln Avenue
Coined “The Hawks Nest,” the Brownstone is known as the lone Seattle Seahawks bar in Chicago, where fans of the birds can expect a full kitchen staff waiting for them every Sunday with the Seahawks game put on every screen in the house.
Of added interest, the tavern also runs a special where every purchase of a Seattle Cider gives you one entry toward their end-of-season ticket giveaway.
Don’t see a bar for your favorite team?
At the publish date of this article, Sept. 6, WGN News was able to verify NFL bars for 24 of 32 teams around the City of Chicago. We were unable to track down a bar or pub that at least partially claims the Atlanta Falcons, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Chargers and Rams, Miami Dolphins, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Tennessee Titans and Washington Commanders.
If you know of a bar that serves as the home for one of these franchises (or know of a bar that also serves as a haven for fans of a team that already has a bar listed above) feel free to shoot us a correction email through the hyperlink at the bottom of this article.
We’d love to update this list with more places for NFL fans to find a place to enjoy watching their favorite teams!