Best Bars to Watch the Game in Birmingham

BOX is a ten thousand square foot sports bar on the canal with around thirty six HD screens carrying Sky, TNT and Box Office events, and the commentary stays on for the key fixtures. The format runs football by day into DJs late, so it covers the full Premier League and Champions League slate and then some.

Game day tip: Arrive before a Saturday lunchtime kickoff to claim a screen, since it fills fast.

At the Bullring, TOCA Social pairs interactive football games with live coverage on more than twenty giant screens across three bars, showing the televised Premier League, Champions League and European fixtures. It suits a mixed group that wants to play and watch in the same visit rather than only sit and stare.

Game day tip: Book a playing box before the match, then move to the big screens for kickoff.

O'Neill's on Broad Street carries full Sky Sports including the red button plus TNT Sports, so every Premier League match, Champions League and Europa League tie is on somewhere in the room. The Irish pub feel and the central spot make it a dependable big match default.

Game day tip: Use the red button coverage for a Saturday 3pm fixture that other bars cannot show.

The Broad Street Walkabout is an Australian bar set up for volume, with fourteen screens, two projector screens and a loud, mixed crowd. It carries the football and the southern hemisphere rugby, and the projectors make it a strong room for a marquee fixture with a big audience.

Game day tip: Good for a World Cup or Six Nations match when you want a loud, packed room.

The Bierkeller on Broad Street, home to its Shooters sports bar, shows every major game and tournament on huge HD screens with a stadium style atmosphere and affordable drinks. The bench seating and the scale of the screens make it feel closer to a terrace than a pub.

Game day tip: Book a bench for a tournament night, when the stadium style room sells out.

Hennessey's in Digbeth runs across three levels with a heated rooftop garden, more than twenty HD screens and a large outdoor screen that turns a big fixture into a terrace event. It is the pick when you want the match outdoors and the weather is on your side.

Game day tip: Head for the rooftop on a warm evening kickoff, since the outdoor screen seats go first.

The Distillery in the city centre is known for gin, but in the warmer months it puts the projector screens up and pours the beer for the football, which makes it one of the better city centre rooms for a summer tournament. The setting is smarter than the Broad Street halls.

Game day tip: Best for a summer tournament fixture, when the projector screens come out.

Pennyblacks sits in the Mailbox over the Gas Street canal, a gastro pub with a relaxed crowd that runs the football on a Sunday alongside a proper menu and resident DJs at the weekend. It is the calmer canalside choice for a fixture without the Broad Street crush.

Game day tip: A good Sunday afternoon football room when you want a meal with the match.

Smokey Barrels on the Coventry Road is a sports bar and grill that shows football, cricket and boxing on big screens with an Indian kitchen behind it, which sets it apart from the city centre rooms. It sits out toward Small Heath rather than the center, so it draws a local crowd.

Game day tip: Worth the trip out of the center for a boxing night with the grill menu.

The Malt House is a canalside Greene King pub near the arena that runs live football on its screens with a traditional pub feel and a riverside terrace. It is a steadier, more local option than the Broad Street halls, useful before an arena event or for a quiet Sunday fixture.

Game day tip: Handy before a gig at the nearby arena, with the football on first.