For many Bay Area fans, this weekend’s big game might be considered not-so-super. But what better way to move forward on Super Bowl Sunday than with the East Bay’s most comforting food and drink? Join friends to toast or drown sorrows at the following venues, known for craft beers, sours, shandies and ciders, and some of the Bay’s best margaritas and cocktails. And since Super Bowl Sunday is almost as much about food as football (foodball?), pile those plates high with barbecue, Mexican, stacked sandwiches and the four most sacred of game-day foods: chips, dip, pizza and wings.
However you choose to commemorate Sunday’s Super Bowl LVII, the East Bay will provide. If you choose to step out, here are some winning suggestions on where to watch the game and join the party in Berkeley, Oakland and beyond.
Classic sports bars
Beer, fans and big screens — rowdy bars built for sports viewing are the classic choice. In Berkeley near Cal, that can mean Raleigh’s, Cornerstone and the 10 screens at Kip’s. Meanwhile, Berkeley’s popular neighborhood haunts 4 Bells Public House, Triple Rock and Yeti Sports Bar, with Himalayan cuisine, feature upped menus to go with their multiple screens. In Oakland, follow the crowds to wildly popular sports bars The Athletic Club and Mad Oak as well as Fort Green, or choose the cozy, three-TV 19th Street Station Bar, a tiny sports-themed dive with friendly service and a crowd of die-hard regulars.
Alameda boasts a ton of fun options, including Swell Bar, Lucky 13, McGee’s and Club House, where a dedicated menu from nearby Spinning Bones is available to patrons. In Emeryville, fans gather at Hometown Heroes, spilling onto the front patio, while up in Point Richmond, the unique Up & Under might be a rugby pub, but the channels turn firmly to football on Super Bowl Sunday. Heading to Walnut Creek? Grab a seat (and a margarita) at the famous Stadium Pub, the city’s welcoming and oldest sports bar.
Big fun at craft breweries
For those who like a little more personal space with their screened sporting events, head to a local brewery, where roomy indoor and outdoor spaces offer high ceilings and plenty of seating, even for groups.
Point Richmond’s East Brother Beer Co. corrals fans and revelers in wide-open comfort with large screen views and award-winning brews. Faction and Almanac welcome folks to hangar-sized buildings with patios in Alameda, and Drake’s Dealership tap room and beer garden, Ale Industries, Ghost Town, Federation and Line 51 Brewing are some of many options in Oakland. (Also Drake’s Barrel House in at the original brewery in San Leandro.) Also, Fieldwork’s multiple, large gathering spaces around the East Bay, including its newest location in San Leandro, are great places to get comfortable on game day.
Take it outside…
Speaking of patios, enjoy a lively, living-room game-day scene safely outdoors at spots like The Backyard in Richmond, which offers fresh-air dining and viewing in a fun outdoor space. Two Pitchers Brewing in Oakland, The Factory Bar in Richmond (featuring Pickles N’ Smoke BBQ on game day), and Headlands Brewing in Lafayette all boast especially convivial and appealing outdoor patios.
McBears Social Club on San Pablo Ave. in El Cerrito has a covered outdoor space with screens, great for watching the game. Or check the list of East Bay bars and breweries above, many of which (see: Mad Oak, Club House) feature fresh-air seating, sipping, noshing and/or game-day viewing set-ups.
Game-friendly watering holes
Many local venues known to set the, um, bar for great drinks and vibes also happen to be showing the game. In Oakland, head over to standouts Low Bar, Sandbar, or the Rockridge Improvement Club. Try the innovative, fruit-forward beers at Berkeley’s new Great Notion tap room on Fourth St., or a dusky craft cider at lush, plant-filled Albany cider bar Flora & Ferment.
The Little Hill Lounge, always a party, offers a place to party while you view the game. The folks at the Kensington Circus Pub know how to pour a pint and settle in for kickoff. And over in Point Richmond, Baltic Kiss is hitting pause on its usual live music entertainment and feeding folks barbecue along with their regular Louisiana soul food menu to go with the game.
Pizza, meet wings, meet tacos
Smart, crowd-pleasing restaurants across the East Bay often double as beer- and sports-friendly gathering spots. For pizza and other bar bites try Sliver (multiple locations), downtown Berkeley’s Bobby G.’s, and Little Star Pizza in Albany and Alameda. Oakland’s new Todos Cantina is a comfortable bet for Mexican to pair with the game.
Up near Cal, Henry’s is known for its quintessential collegiate atmosphere, providing food, drinks and sports-related fun in Berkeley. Revelers can also join the party at Alamar in Oakland, where Afro-Latino dishes spice up game day, or at Magnolia Street Wine Lounge’s viewing event.
Lastly, for those with littler football fans in tow, bring the whole family to Public Market Emeryville for a range of tasty food court options, a central bar and giant screens, or head to Bay Street and watch the game on their new outdoor terrace. For the young at heart, the new mini-golf-themed bar Tipsy Putt on Bay Street will also show the game. Go sports!