Restaurant News & Reviews

Want to watch the World Cup with fellow fans? Here’s your Sacramento soccer bar guide

Moroccan fans cheer as they march through in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Fans poured into Qatar on Friday ahead of the Middle East’s first World Cup as Doha ordered beers not to be poured out at stadiums during the tournament — a last-minute surprise largely welcomed by the country’s conservative Muslims and shrugged off by giddy fans. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell)
Moroccan fans cheer as they march through in Doha, Qatar, Friday, Nov. 18, 2022. Fans poured into Qatar on Friday ahead of the Middle East’s first World Cup as Doha ordered beers not to be poured out at stadiums during the tournament — a last-minute surprise largely welcomed by the country’s conservative Muslims and shrugged off by giddy fans. (AP Photo/Jon Gambrell) AP

The 2022 FIFA World Cup kicks off at 8 a.m. Sunday, when host nation Qatar takes on Ecuador. Closer to Sacramento, fans will jam into local restaurants and bars to watch not only Team U.S.A., but stars from around the world on soccer’s biggest stage.

De Vere’s Irish Pub was a great host for a Sacramento’s de facto 2014 watch party, garnering lines out the door an hour before U.S. matches began, but it closed last fall. Stateside enthusiasm for the 2018 World Cup lagged after the Americans failed to qualify.

Now, though, the competition to become Sacramento’s next great soccer bar is as open as the tournament being broadcast (watch from home on Fox Networks and Telemundo). These restaurants and bars are all offering specials in hopes of attracting long-term fans.

Drink and cheer here

Golden Road Brewing (1830 L St., Sacramento): $2 pints for folks that RSVP online, $2 off micheladas and $10 Golden State Cerveza buckets at this Los Angeles-based brewery’s Sacramento taproom.

Old Tavern Bar & Grill (1510 20th St., Sacramento): Free food, drink specials and prizes based on brackets at this long-tenured midtown dive bar.

Goose Port Public House (316 Vernon St., Roseville): Doors open at 10 a.m. with themed specials based on the U.S. opponents, such as Welsh cheese-leek concoctions called Glamorgan sausages on Nov. 21 and a full English breakfast on Nov. 25.

Streets Pub & Grub (1804 J St., Sacramento): Opening in time for 8 a.m. matches every day but Thanksgiving, with undisclosed daily drink specials.

Zócalo (1801 Capitol Ave., Sacramento): Locations in Arden Arcade, Folsom and Roseville will broadcast games during normal business hours, but Zocalo’s midtown location will open in time for Mexico’s 8 a.m. match on Nov. 22 and roll out a breakfast menu. It will have face painting, drummers and a photo booth when Mexico takes on Argentina at 11 a.m. on Nov. 26.

This story was originally published November 19, 2022 at 5:00 AM.

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