Our definitive list of the best places in Toronto to congregate with your fellow sports fanatics and watch the big game.
MIDTOWN
Main Event Sports Bar & Grill
This second-floor Yonge and Eglinton walk-up is easy to miss from the street, but step inside and you’ll be dazzled by the overwhelming number of screens jammed onto the walls. Main Event is one of the homes of the Manchester United Supporters Club of Canada, who spill out onto Yonge Street every Saturday morning after watching their beloved Red Devils.
Beer: 13 draught, 18 bottles.
Wings: $9.99/lb
Good to know: The menu consists largely of standard pub fare, but those in the know order the spicy Cajun chicken sandwich.
Number of screens: 29
How loud does it get? (out of 5): 4
2368 Yonge St., #MID 416-544-8070.
Scallywags (ABOVE)
As the home to no less than four supporters groups of English Premier League teams (Liverpool, Chelsea, Tottenham and Everton), this Yonge and St. Clair institution is most famous as a soccer hotspot, but it’s serious about North American sports as well. Since Scallywags main floor routinely attracts standing room–only crowds, take the long walk up to the bar’s third-floor covered patio, a year-round gem.
Beer: 20 draught, 25 bottles.
Wings: $9.99/lb
Good to know: Far superior to standard pub fare, the dinner menu features a beef shawarma wrap, six kinds of pizza and a delicious pad thai.
Number of screens: 30
How loud does it get? (out of 5): 5
11 St. Clair Ave. W., #MID 416-922-3737, scallywags.net.
Sports Centre Cafe
This midtown man-cave boasts a stylish interior that’s akin to the decor at Real Sports, albeit on a more intimate scale. As if the name wasn’t a clear indication, they’re serious about sports, broadcasting every game you can name on an impressive number of flat-screens. And the bar’s downstairs lounge area is every sports nut’s fantasy rec room. With couches, billiards, foosball and an arcade-style hoops game, you’ll never want to leave.
Beer: 15 draught, 20 bottles.
Wings: $11/lb
Good to know: Even the menu is sports-obsessed. The front cover is emblazoned with an equipment-heavy version of the Sistine Chapel ceiling, which adds shoulder pads and hockey sticks to Michelangelo’s famous paintings.
Number of screens: 40
How loud does it get? (out of 5): 4
49 St. Clair Ave. W., #MID 416-928-9525.
HEADING EAST
Rally Sports
The newest kid on the big-box-sports-bar block, Rally’s is East York’s answer to Real Sports, with one major difference—it’s the passion project of five lifelong friends (as opposed to being owned by a mega–sports corporation) and it shows in the service. East-enders gather at the 7,000-square-foot watering hole for big NFL games, UFC fights and European soccer matches, devouring top-notch barbecue in the presence of life-sized photos depicting great Canadian sports moments.
Beer: 13 draught, 14 bottles. A Canadian-focused list with special attention to Rickard’s and Mill Street brands.
Wings: $12/lb
Good to know: Top-notch photo collection includes a shot of the famous 1965 Floyd Patterson-George Chuvalo fight at Madison Square Garden, signed by Canuck boxing legend Chuvalo.
Number of screens: 40+
How loud does it get? (out of 5): 2
1660 O’Connor Dr., #EYK 416-551-7356, rallysportsbar.com.
Next page: the best sports bars in Toronto’s west end, and two destination bars north of Steeles
