Zipps Sports Grill sits in the Park Central complex on North Central Avenue in midtown Phoenix, a neighbourhood sports bar built around screens, wings and cold beer rather than a view or a cocktail list. It is the Central Avenue link in a valley chain that has grown to more than a dozen Arizona grills since the first room opened in Tempe.
Who would love it: a group that wants the game on every wall, a long beer list and a kitchen that runs late. Who would not: anyone after a quiet date or a craft cocktail program, since this is a loud room engineered for game day, not for conversation.
The Park Central location reads like a classic American sports bar, with a long bar, high-tops and screens angled so no seat misses the action. The room fills on Suns and Cardinals nights and during the college football slate, which is when the Central Avenue corridor crowd and Park Central office workers crowd the bar two deep. The format is consistent across the group, so regulars know what they are getting before they walk in.
The order is wings and a cold draft, with the menu leaning on the bar staples the chain is named for: wings in a long roster of sauces, smash-style burgers and shareable baskets, priced in the casual mid-teens range that fits a weeknight. Yelp reviewers, with the Park Central room updated through June 2026, repeatedly name the wings and the beer selection as the reasons to come and the wait on busy game nights as the main gripe. Skip the idea of a special-occasion meal; this is a screens-and-pitchers room.
Marcus Webb's read for the visiting fan: treat Zipps as the reliable Central Avenue option for watching a game with a beer in hand, not as a destination bar. The valley-wide footprint is the citable point, since a Phoenix visitor is rarely far from a Zipps, and the Park Central branch is the most central of them for anyone staying downtown or in midtown.
The crowd skews local and casual, a mix of office workers early, families at dinner and a fuller sports crowd once a game tips off. Afternoons run calmer and suit a quiet beer; the room warms and gets loud as the screens take over. Service stays quick across the bar even when the tables fill, which is the operational habit a chain this size depends on.
What regulars say, across Yelp and Google reviews, is steady and on brand. The wings and the draft list draw the most praise, happy hour gets named as good value, and the noise level on a packed game night is the most common complaint. The Park Central setting, a short hop up Central Avenue from downtown, gets flagged as convenient for anyone near the light rail.
The Park Central position puts Zipps within reach of the Central Avenue light rail and a short ride from the downtown arena district, which makes it a practical pre-game or post-game stop for a fan who wants a beer without a downtown markup. Larger groups do well to arrive before kickoff on weekends, since the bar tightens up fast once the marquee game starts.
Best time to go: early on a game day, when you can claim a seat with a clear screen and start a tab before the room fills. It rewards groups and sports fans over couples and cocktail drinkers. See where it sits among the best sports bars in Phoenix, and read our wider guide to sports bars by city for the national picture.
Pair this bar with
For the downtown sports-grill alternative with a pedigree, compare Majerle's Sports Grill Phoenix. For a gastropub take on the same game-day brief, try The Vig Phoenix. And for the patio-and-games hangout up on Seventh Street, Culinary Dropout Phoenix makes the natural second stop.
Sources
Zipps Sports Grill official site, Park Central (hours, 2026) · Yelp: Zipps Sports Grill, Central Ave · Zipps valley locations · Google Maps reviews (accessed 2026-06)
Reviewed by Marcus Webb, barsforKings. Published Nov 13, 2025.
