Belfast bars to watch sport

A local and traditional pub and restaurant located on the Falls Road in West Belfast, The Felons Restaurant is one of the best places in the city to watch live sports. Serving up delicious food and drinks, this spot offers HD screens that allow guests to watch the latest rugby and GAA fixtures.

Lively and offering a traditional local feel, you’ll often find The Felons full of sports fans of all ages gathering together to catch the game. When it comes to food, you can expect a delicious range of traditional Irish dishes, including a hearty roast dinner with chicken or beef, potatoes, root vegetables, and gravy, a 10 oz sirloin steak served with shallots, button mushrooms, home-cut chips, and pepper sauce, and pan-seared salmon with fennel cream with roast potatoes and seasonal vegetables.

Lavery’s, located at the epicentre of student activity just off Shaftsbury Square, has always been recognised as one of the top spots in the city for live sports. With over 20 large screens across the huge multi-storey venue, visitors can guarantee to get a good view of the game all whilst enjoying the lively atmosphere. With live screenings of the rugby, football and GAA matches, there is always something on offer at Lavery’s. However, if this isn’t enough, this major sports venue has an open invitation for visitors to suggest potential games they would like to see. Although Lavery’s is a venue primarily to watch sports, it also runs regular pregame events and buses to local matches allowing fans to have a drink and enjoy a bite to eat before jumping in with other supporters to the game. Offering brilliant drinks promotions, LCD screens and a tempting food menu filled with comforting classics, Lavery’s is the ultimate spot in the city to sit back and cheer on your favourite sports team.

Located on the Cavehill Road in North Belfast, Ben Madigan’s Bar and Kitchen is a beloved restaurant and entertainment venue among people of all ages and from all walks of life. Offering a friendly atmosphere, traditional surroundings, and award-winning food and drinks, this place will keep you coming back time and time again. Much more than your average restaurant, Ben Madigan’s hosts frequent family-friendly events, such as themed evenings, seasonal parties, and live sport viewings. So, if you’re looking for the perfect place to catch the match with friends over a few pints and some great local food, Ben Madigan’s needs to be on your list.

Their menu is traditional yet creative with options to suit all tastes and dietary requirements. Locally sourcing the very best ingredients from across Northern Ireland, hungry diners will be spoilt for choice with the vast array of quality dishes on offer here, including a slow cooked lamb shank with a shallot and lamb jus served with creamy mash and seasonal veg, beer battered fish and chips with homemade chunky tartar sauce and mushy peas, and a tasty vegan nut roast with seasonal vegetables, baby potatoes, and vegan gravy.

Located in the heart of the city, The Northern Whig is another great place to enjoy delicious food and drinks while watching the game. Established all the way back in 1819, this bar and restaurant located on the outskirts of the Cathedral Quarter boasts a historic and traditional feel that will transport you to a different time.

A social and cultural centre that brings people together from all across the city, you’ll often find huge crowds of sports fans gathering together here to enjoy a few pints and some craic on match day. Where food is concerned, you can expect a traditional yet creative menu with everything from a fresh and delicious chicken caesar salad featuring crisp lettuce, caesar dressing, croutons, and parmesan shavings to a hearty and traditional beer battered fish and chips with tartar sauce and pea purée.

A local spot steeped in history, The Errigle Inn was one of the first bars in the city to receive its entertainment licence and is now one of the go-to venues for sports. A huge bar, spanning across five separate rooms, visitors have the choice to catch up with their favourite sports team on one of The Errigle’s 26 high definition screens with specialist 4k Ultra HD screens in the Pinewood Bar. Although regularly showing GAA, horse racing, football and boxing, this Ormeau Road staple is described as the home of rugby, perfectly positioned near Ulster’s home ground and the proud official sponsor of Ulster Women’s team. Whether seated in the summery rooftop garden or cosied up in the bars downstairs, sports fans can always catch a good view of the game whilst enjoying delightful pints and even more delicious food.

Another one of our favourite spots to catch a game in the city, Horatio Todd’s is located east of the city on the Upper Newtownards Road. A local favourite, this spot is friendly and traditional, serving up cold pints, great food, and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere. They offer up a seasonal all-day menu that showcases the very best local produce sourced from all across the island.

From Horatio’s Club Sandwich, featuring toasted sourdough with roast chicken, bacon, cheddar cheese, and salad with your choice of mayo or tikka mayo, to an oven-roasted fillet of salmon with colcannon potatoes, sauté garlic tiger prawns, and tender stem broccoli to a wok-fried vegetable tofu katsu curry with basmati rice, crispy noodles, and pickled red onion, the flavours available here are as diverse as they come. With large-screen HD TVs, this is also a great place to catch live sporting events, welcoming sports fans from all across East Belfast on match day.

Located just south of the city, Robert Stewart’s is a friendly local pub and restaurant with a welcoming vibe and relaxing atmosphere. The indoor dining area is cosy and inviting while the outdoor garden offers the perfect place to relax and enjoy a bite to eat while the sun shines.

This 400-year-old Irish pub is rich in history and serves a delicious menu of classic Irish dishes with everything from a traditional seafood chowder to Bob’s Burger, a 6 oz bone marrow beef burger with BBQ pulled pork, Applewood smoked cheese, a beef tomato, and lettuce served with skin on fries. They even offer a great range of tasty vegan options, so those following a plant-based diet don’t have to worry about missing out. If you’re looking for the perfect location to catch the game, then Bob’s your uncle as Robert Stewart’s offers widescreen TVs showing all the latest sporting fixtures.

Located on the Antrim Road just north of the city, the Bellevue gets its name from the fact that its elevated position offers a beautiful view over Belfast Harbour and across to the hills behind. Offering great food and drinks and a friendly atmosphere, this is the perfect place to dine on a sunny day with friends and family as you can sit in the spacious dining room by the floor-to-ceiling windows that allow the light to flood in and allow you to fully soak up the stunning view from outside.

The food here is classic and traditional with favourites such as bangers and mash, burgers, and traditional fish and chips. If you want to catch the match, this is the perfect place to go. They have TVs playing the match, welcoming locals from all across north Belfast who want to watch the game while enjoying a few pints with pals.

Set on the busy and bustling Ormeau Road, The Errigle Inn always comes alive on match day. Established in 1935, this spot offers a long and varied history in the city having firmly ingrained itself as a piece of the Belfast pub scene. Live sporting events are available to watch in the Pinewood Bar, the Arbele Lounge, and in the Roof Garden. They even offer a full rundown of upcoming fixtures on their website, so you can perfectly plan your visit in advance.

Showing everything from horseracing to darts to Premier League matches to the Six Nations, this is the perfect spot for all kinds of sports fans. When you get hungry, you can enjoy some delicious food from their classic pub menu, which features tasty dishes such as a pulled pork sandwich, a wild mushroom rigatoni, and a beef and Guinness pie with mashed potato.

Last but not least, The Devenish Complex in Finaghy, south Belfast, is the ideal place to go to watch the game. With frequent family events, comedy shows, and live music, this place has a real community vibe that makes it welcoming to all who pass through its doors. The food is simple yet creative with classic flavours and local ingredients coming together to create an unforgettable experience for your tastebuds.

You can expect everything from freshly-baked pizzas to beef, chicken, and veggie burgers, homemade lasagne to beer battered cod with chunky chips. This place comes alive on match days, with people from all across south and west Belfast gathering here to watch the game while enjoying some delicious food and drinks. Showing both football and Gaelic matches, you can keep an eye on their website to stay up-to-date with upcoming fixtures.