The Harp is the bar you drink at before a Bruins or Celtics game, full stop. It sits across the street from TD Garden, the screens are everywhere, and the pre-game crush is the whole point. Get there early.
The Harp stands at 85 Causeway Street, directly across from TD Garden and North Station. That address is the entire pitch. When the Bruins or Celtics play, this is the obvious staging ground, close enough that you can finish a beer and still make the anthem.
This is a sports bar that knows its job. Yelp lists it under sports bars, the screens cover every wall, and the menu sticks to what a pre-game crowd wants: burgers, flatbreads, soft pretzels, wings, and a fried chicken sandwich, washed down with beer towers and seltzers. There is a patio for the warm months and an upstairs that opens for the big nights.
For the wider picture, see our Boston sports bars guide and the full Boston bar guide. The Harp also lands in our roundups of the best sports bars in Boston and the best bars for watching the game in Boston.
What to order
- 01
Draft Beer
This is a beer-and-a-game bar. A cold draft is the correct opening move, not a cocktail.
$8 - 02
Soft Pretzels
A house staple that reviewers flag again and again. The right thing to share before tip-off.
$11 - 03
Chicken Wings
Standard game-day fuel done properly. Order them when you arrive, not when the line forms.
$14 - 04
Burger
The kitchen leans on burgers and the fried chicken sandwich. Solid, fast, and built for the rush.
$16 - 05
Beer Tower
For the group that arrived together. Cheaper than a round of individual pints and keeps everyone seated.
$32
The room and the crowd
The Harp is a two-level pub with screens on every sightline and a patio that opens onto Causeway Street. On a non-game night it runs like a steady neighbourhood sports bar; on a game night it is shoulder to shoulder.
The crowd is jerseys and pre-game energy, locals mixed with anyone holding a ticket. The Harp confirms it opens for every TD Garden event, so the rhythm of the place follows the schedule. Reviewers warn that the wait after doors open is real, which is the case for the early arrival.
The Harp has been a North Station fixture for years and now runs a second location in Foxborough near Gillette Stadium, so the formula clearly travels. On the Causeway Street original, the upstairs bar opens for the biggest nights and gives the overflow somewhere to land. NBC Boston covered its reopening after a closure, a sign the demand never really went away.
What regulars say
- 01
Get there before the gates
Maps and Yelp reviews repeat the same advice: arrive well ahead of the game or expect to stand.
- 02
The patio is the prize in summer
Regulars rate the outdoor seating as the better spot when the weather allows.
- 03
Closed Sundays
A practical note: the Harp is closed on Sundays outside event days, so check the Garden calendar first.
Who it is for
- 01
The pre-game pint
The default warm-up for Bruins and Celtics nights, by location alone.
- 02
A group watching the away game
Screens everywhere and beer towers make it easy for a crowd.
- 03
Avoid if you want a quiet drink
On game nights this is loud and packed. That is the feature, not the bug.
Pair this bar with
Build a Garden-night circuit with the long-running Cask 'n Flagon in Boston, the arcade-and-screens Game On in Boston, and the inside-the-park Bleacher Bar in Boston.
Sources: The Harp's official site (theharp.com, 2026); NBC Boston; Yelp reviews (n=333); OpenTable; Google Maps reviews.