Photo: Nomad_Soul /Shutterstock

The 8 Best Bars in Houston to Watch The 2026 FIFA World Cup

Houston Sporting Events Restaurants + Bars
by Hannah D. Cooper Jun 5, 2025


Explore Matador Network’s full
FIFA World Cup 2026 Travel Guide

Space City is getting rebranded as Soccer City during the 2026 FIFA World Cup, with Houston’s NRG Stadium hosting five group-stage games and two knockout-round fixtures. Regardless of whether you’re planning on catching a live match, sports-centric Houston is set to be a prime destination for cheering on the national team next summer.

The Texas city is home to the Major League Soccer club Houston Dynamo and the National Women’s Soccer League club Houston Dash. The Rockets (basketball), Astros (baseball), Texans (American football), and Gamblers (UFL) also contribute to the city’s sporting prowess. As you’d expect, Houston’s central neighborhoods are overrun with soccer bars and sports bars, many of which will broadcast all the matches of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, from kick-off in Mexico City to the final whistle in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

Home of Shell Energy Stadium, East Downtown (EaDo) will form the epicenter of the soccer action come June 2026. Although the city’s matches aren’t held at the stadium, it’s slated to host Houston’s official FIFA Fan Festival, with official watch parties and other soccer-themed happenings.

If you’re heading to Space City — excuse us, Soccer City — these are the best bars in Houston, TX, to watch the 2026 World Cup.

The best sports and soccer bars in Houston, Texas


Houston is a sprawling city, so the list below barely scratches the surface. But since Houston’s official FIFA Fan Festival is centered around East Downtown (EaDo), it’s likely that bars in that area will be the most crowded and most lively. However, some neighborhoods of Houston with strong international populations, like East End and Spring Branch, are bound to have packed bars when fan-favorite teams are playing.

True Anomaly Brewing Company

The award-winning True Anomaly Brewing Company is home to Houston’s largest barrel room and an epic lineup of beers. The menu spans seasonal and year-round brews, inclusive of pale ales, Mexican-inspired lagers, and golden sours. There’s heaps of space indoors and outdoors with several screens dotted throughout, but the Brew Garden is where the watch party is bound to happen during the summer months when the World Cup takes place. The outdoor space has a huge television that screens everything from Premier League games to NFL matches.

True Anomaly gets experimental with its brews and it wouldn’t be a surprise if it’s working on a limited release in time for the World Cup. There’s no food served on site so you’re welcome to bring your own or have something delivered while you’re there — in fact, the staff will share personal recommendations for where to order. Leashed dogs and children of all ages are welcome at this family-friendly brewpub.

Pitch 25

Standing across the street from Shell Energy Stadium, Pitch 25 is one of the most iconic sports bars in Houston. Owned by former MLS player Brian Ching, the pub was conceived as a community spot for avid soccer fans. This whopping warehouse complex has seating inside and outside plus its own indoor soccer fields, games aplenty, and even an axe-throwing arena. You’re never out of eyeshot of a screen, which means you can drift around the venue without missing a thing.

The food menu is a happy hat trick of loaded fries, burgers, and tacos, plus an assortment of sharable sliders. The beer menu is equally robust, ranging from light lagers and pilsners to stouts. Children are welcome, and the bar recently announced a location in San Antonio opening in 2027, if you happen to be visiting multiple cities in Texas.

Little Woodrow’s EaDo

East Downtown claims one of the 10 Little Woodrow’s outposts in Houston. This chain of Texas-based neighborhood backyard bars was established in 1995 and has gone on to become a go-to destination for laid-back vibes, great beer, and cheering on the local team. Little Woodrow’s EaDo has a massive turf patio with big screens and picnic benches, with a selection of shaded and sunny patches. Step inside to find yet more televisions, sports merchandise, and arcade games, for when there’s a lull between matches.

Woody’s Ranch Water, a tequila-based cocktail rimmed with tajin, is the bar’s most famous drink and one you should definitely try if you’re a first-time visitor. But if the temperatures are sizzling outside — it is southern Texas, after all — cool down with one of the best frozen drinks in Houston: the Frozen Woody. The kitchen keeps things simple with burgers and pizzas, most loaded with premium meats and jalapeños. It opens early on all Astro game days, so you can probably count on it opening early for World Cup 2026 matches, too.

Biggio’s

Located on the first floor of the Marriott Marquis Hotel in downtown Houston, Biggio’s isn’t your typical sports pub. This swanky bar feels more akin to a brasserie with its upscale nibbles, posh mac and cheese, and mouthwatering tuna poke nachos — which you’ll struggle to share. Themed cocktails are crafted from premium spirits, and it has some of the best mocktails in Houston, too.

The bar is lined with state-of-the-art LED TVs of differing sizes and there’s one supersized screen with surrounding leather seating. Despite being in the hotel, Biggio’s retains a community feel and is a hit with Houstonian soccer, baseball, and basketball devotees. It’s one of the few sports bars where reservations are permitted. And who knows — Craig Biggio himself might just stop in, if you’re lucky.

Tom’s Watch Bar

The city’s largest sports bar is an obvious contender for a World Cup watch party in Houston. This colossal Houston soccer bar has more than 65 screens, nearly 50 beers, and non-stop sports coverage. TV screens spill out onto the terrace, where you’ll find smaller screens and a worthy supply of open-air seating. And if you take one look at the website, you’ll see that it has special events around almost every game for every major league and college sport. It’s a bar that attracts die-hard fans.

The food at Tom’s Watch Bar is overwhelmingly good, with fan favorites including crispy chicken pancakes, beer-battered fish and chips, and prime rib. A platter of jumbo wings will see you through the first half while you make the tough decisions on which of the many beers to try during your visit. Besides the beers, the bar carries an impressive selection of spirits and cocktails to match all tastes. It’s conveniently in the city’s Central Business District, so it’s well placed if you’re staying at downtown hotels or taking public transportation.

Social Beer Garden

An excellent sports bar in the area between downtown and NRG Stadium, the Social Beer Garden is one of the largest venues for watching the 2026 World Cup in Houston. In fact, it claims to have the biggest outdoor LED screen in the city. Straddling two floors, the pub has a whopper of a beer garden and a rooftop patio. The parking lot tends to be used for overflow crowds — something likely to happen when the matches kick off in June 2026.

This neighborhood spot supports local businesses by stocking beers, ciders, and kombuchas brewed in the Houston area, and the bartenders also excel at craft cocktails. When it’s not screening major games and matches, Social Beer Garden hosts a menagerie of events including comedy acts, burlesque shows, and even silent discos.

On The Kirb Midtown

On The Kirb is an organic eatery and sports bar with four locations in Houston. But if you want clean eating with maximum convenience to hotels and public transportation, the Midtown outpost is the most convenient option. The menu orbits around fresh local produce, organic meats, free-range dairy and poultry, and seasonal cocktails. But it’s most known for crafting highly-rated Neapolitan-style pizza in authentic oversized brick ovens. Other dishes usually revolve around caught salmon, grass-fed steaks, and artisanal cheese boards. Needless to say, it’s not your usual soccer bar grub.

The bistro has a roomy interior that spills out onto the terrace, with screens across both spaces. The clientele is a good mix of passionate locals and visitors who go for the food, the vibes, and game-day action.

The Dogwood

Not very far from On The Kirb is the Dogwood, offering “high-end food in a casual setting.” The sports bar vibe is ideal for posting up to watch all-day match marathons, especially as it has 30 TVs scattered between the inside and the rooftop deck. It usually has pretty good specials, currently offering $14 buckets of domestic beers and $20 import buckets on NFL Mondays. It’s quite roomy inside, though it can be standing room-only on busy evenings when it occasionally takes on more of a nightclub vibe.

It normally only opens before noon on Sundays, but call ahead to check the hours during the World Cup. Given how well-known the Dogwood is for showing sports, it’s likely it’ll open early to accommodate World Cup matches with earlier start times.

Discover Matador

Save Bookmark

We use cookies for analytics tracking and advertising from our partners.

For more information read our privacy policy.