Best Sports Bars in Istanbul

The most reliable venue in Istanbul for any Premier League fixture, Six Nations match, or international rugby fixture that would otherwise require a hotel room and a VPN. The Dubliner runs 18 screens across two floors, subscribes to every available sports broadcast package, and has been the default address for Istanbul's English-speaking expat community for over a decade. Food is honest pub fare. The Guinness is poured correctly. The atmosphere during Champions League knockout stages is genuine. Find it two streets from Taksim Square.

The officially designated Galatasaray supporter bar in Beyoglu is what happens when football culture is taken with genuine seriousness. Operating only on match days, the 200-capacity venue runs every Galatasaray fixture on screens lining all four walls, with the match audio at full volume, ultras in the front rows, and an atmosphere that international visitors routinely describe as among the most intense sporting bar experiences available anywhere in Europe. Entry is free. Drinks are cheap by Istanbul standards. Bring yellow and red and be prepared to stand for the full 90 minutes.

Karga occupies an unusual position in Istanbul's bar landscape: primarily a live music venue, it pivots to sports bar for major Fenerbahce fixtures and Champions League knockout matches with equal conviction. The two large screens behind the bar handle sport on nights when the music calendar is clear. The Asian-side location means the crowd is heavily Fenerbahce-leaning. The craft beer selection is excellent and priced significantly below Beyoglu rates. For international visitors staying on the Asian side, this is the address for any match you need to watch.

Besiktas supporters concentrate in the district that shares the club's name, and the Derby Bar is the neighbourhood's primary match-day venue. Black and white scarves hang from every surface. The 15 screens show Super Lig matches and Champions League fixtures with Besiktas in them; for European competition not involving Turkish teams, the programming depends on the owner's inclinations. The atmosphere on a Besiktas vs Galatasaray Derby day is worth experiencing once regardless of which team you support. Prices are the lowest of any sports bar on this guide.

The most international-facing sports bar in the city, O'Neill's runs NFL, NBA, MLB, and AFL alongside the more expected football and rugby programming. For North American visitors in particular, this is the bar that makes getting out of the hotel worthwhile when a major playoff game is running. The 3am closing time means that even late kickoffs on the US East Coast are covered. The bar occupies two floors near Taksim Square and the staff speak enough English to navigate the fixture request process without difficulty.

The Fenerbahce equivalent of the Galatasaray fan bar: 300 capacity, operating only on match days, located in a converted ground-floor space in Kadikoy that smells of deep football obsession at all times. The noise level during a Fenerbahce match is genuinely extraordinary. The drinks are Efes lager and nothing more complicated. The yellow and blue flags from every Fenerbahce championship season since 1907 cover every wall. This is not a bar for people who want a relaxed drink during a football match. It is a bar for people who want to understand what football means in Istanbul.

The most visitor-accessible sports bar in the old city, Cheers Istanbul operates three streets from the Blue Mosque and runs a fixture calendar that reliably covers Premier League and Champions League alongside Super Lig. The food menu is extensive and honest. Prices reflect the tourist location — somewhat higher than the Taksim equivalents — but the convenience for visitors staying in Sultanahmet justifies the difference. The staff are accustomed to international visitors and will help navigate the screen allocation for a specific match.

Arkaoda is primarily a live music venue and cocktail bar but earns its place on this list for Champions League knockout stage matches, which it projects on a large outdoor screen in the back courtyard during the spring campaign. The combination — craft cocktails, courtyard seating, European football at the highest level, Asian-side prices — produces an atmosphere that several Istanbul regulars have described as their preferred way to watch European competition in the city. Not a sports bar by design but a great one by accident during specific windows of the football calendar.