Where to watch the World Cup

Chances are that come match times, nearly every television in town (including some rigged up especially for the purpose) will be showing the 2010 FIFA World Cup men’s football matches. Many Internet outlets, including Youku, Sina and CNTV will also have matches available to view online. But to be immersed in the special spirit of football fever (with drink specials) try these venues.

All-Star Sports Bar & Grill
Boasting 65 plasma screens and tons of sound equipment, All-Star supplies sports fanatics with burgers, tacos, pastas and steaks. This night-owl haven has an upscale take on the sports bar formula: plasma screens galore, but the decor has a cool Motown sheen and the cuisine runs from hamburgers to haute. Smooth bar service.
Mon-Fri 5pm-2am, Sat-Sun 11am-2am. Bldg 5, 1/F, Solana Shopping Mall, 6 Chaoyang Gongyuan Lu, Chaoyang District. (5905 6999) 朝阳区朝阳公园路6号蓝色港湾国际商区5-1

Frank's Place
Many screens, large party yard. Happy hour every day from 3-8pm.
Daily 9am-2am. Jiangtai Xilu, west of Rosedale Hotel, Chaoyang District. (6437 8399) 朝阳区丽都将台西路

Ganluyuan Football Field
Rooting for Serbia? Stretch out on the football pitch here or the roof deck and watch Serbia triumph (or even non-Serbia games) projected live on a six-meter screen with RMB 10 draft Carlsburg. Also offers fantastic prices for pitch rental.
Daily 24hrs. Ganluyuan Nanli, Chaoyang District. (8575 7236) www.gfootballclub.com 甘露园足球场，朝阳区甘露园南里

Goose ‘n’ Duck Pub
World Cup specials include buy one get one free house made beer all day long. Countless flat screens adorn the walls and the crooning of the cover band compensates for any unlikely lull in noise. Across the hall the games room offers a plethora of interactive delights including batting cage, basketball hoop, video games and space for a number of other activities you wouldn’t expect to find in your average pub.
Daily 24hrs. S1, Green Lake International Tower (east side of Chaoyang Park), Chaoyang District. (5928 3045) 鹅和鸭, 朝阳区朝阳公园桥东侧路北观湖国际大厦1号写字楼首层

Hooters
Get half price Budweiser (original prices: RMB 38, 50, 120) during the World Cup, as well as prizes for picking the winning team. America never fails to export the best of its culture, and there’s no better proof than Hooters. Waitresses in short shorts and tank tops squeal with mandatory enthusiasm while delivering beer and American diner fare. The Beijing branch features less cleavage than do the American counterparts.
Daily 11am-1am. Rm 201, Bldg 1, China View, intersection of Gongti Bei and Donglu, Chaoyang District. (6585 8787) 朝阳区工人体育场东路和工人体育场北路交接口， 中国红街1号201

Hopfenstube
Cavernous recently opened German-style restaurant and microbrewery will offer two for one happy our specials on all house beers during all matches throughout the World Cup
3 Sanfeng Beilu (opposite Cashbox KTV), Chaoyang District. (5909 6666/5909 6622) 慕尼黑啤酒屋, 朝阳区三丰北里3号（钱柜KTV对面）

The Irish Volunteer
Great spot for Lido-area sport viewing. This Irish bar stays true to the Irish culture, Guinness included (RMB 60). This two-room saloon also offers food.
Daily 9am-2am. Jiangtai Lu (opposite the east gate of the Lido Hotel), Chaoyang District. (150 1112 4113) 朝阳区高家园小区平房311号(丽都饭店东门对面)

Luga’s Villa
Plans to show World Cup games live on a large screen on the terrace. Daily happy hour: 4pm-9pm. If that gets too crowded, hot or rainy, inside the Basement five mid-sized flat-screens set for live game broadcasts towards every corner of the bar. Pool, darts and foosball invite active participation, adding to the student union feel. Australian and American beers and bar snacks including fried chicken and hot dogs.
Daily 6pm-late. 7 Sanlitun Houjie (behind 3.3 Shopping Center), Chaoyang District. (6416 2575) 朝阳区三里屯后街7号1-2层(3.3购物中心后)

O’le Football
Alternate between playing five-a-side and watching the World Cup on Ole’s three big screens. Food and drinks to go around.
Free. 6pm-6am. 5 Dongshimencun Lu, Baiziwan Qiao, Dongsihuan Zhonglu, Chaoyang District. (6776 0608) 朝阳区东四环中路百子湾桥东石门村路5号

Paddy O'Shea's
Sweepstakes for every match – choose the minute a goal is scored to win a prize. Also offering ABF (“anyone but France”) special – 12 free beers to the bar every time France surrenders a goal, awarded by hat-draw. Afternoon-long happy hour (3-7pm, 30 percent off everything) ought to lube up the crowd for evening matches.
Daily 10am-late. 28 Dongzhimenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District. (6415 6389) 朝阳区东直门外大街28号

Pavillion
Located inside the gates of the Workers’ Gymnasium, opposite the west gate of the Workers’ Stadium and set in its own tranquil gardens. The Pavillion is the 19th hole for the Beijing Golfers Club, offers great networking opportunities and superb viewing for sports events on seven screens, over 40 whiskies, 90 wines, Guinness and Kilkenny on draft.
Daily 10am-2am. Gongti Xilu (opposite west gate of Workers’ Stadium), Chaoyang District. (6507 2617) www.pavillionbeijing.com 万龙腾飞, 朝阳区工体西路（工人体育场西门对面）

The Pomegranate
While the name conjures up images of a delicatessen health bar, this nook in the woods is all about carbo-loading with draft beer and the sports channel. One of the oldest courtyards in this Shunyi hutong, the bar boasts an actual pomegranate tree. 80’s grooves and sharp service accompany an extensive drinks list, including Carlsberg drafts (RMB 20) and classic cocktails (RMB 30). The menu is refreshingly brief – highlights include the quesadillas (RMB 45), the steak and mushroom baguette (RMB 55) and their fabulous French fries.
Mon-Thu 10am-midnight, Fri 10am-2am, Sat-Sun 8am-2am. 19 Kaifa Lu, Xibaixinzhuang, Houshayu, Shunyi District. (8046 2558) 石榴园, 顺义区后沙峪西白辛庄开发路19号

The Saddle Cantina
The Saddle Cantina’s small ground-floor bar calls to mind this popular Sanlitun watering hole and restaurant’s roots, while the upstairs is a spread-out dining and drinking area. The 50ft retractable roof and the 200sqm outdoor balcony make it prime summer-time bar-estate. The interior resembles a hacienda with timber frames poking out from the roof, and there is a pool table and an onsite microbrewery that produces dark and light beers. The menu features a range of Tex-Mex favorites, DIY chips and guacamole, huevos rancheros, burritos, enchiladas, tacos and even barbecued chuan’r (kebabs). Weekly specials and Friday happy hours keep the regulars coming back for more. Voted “Best Mexican” in the Beijinger’s 2010 Reader Restaurant Awards.
Daily 11am-late. West wing, Nali Patio, 81 Sanlitun Beilu (south of 3.3 Shopping Center), Chaoyang District. (5208 6005) 朝阳区三里屯北路81号北京那里花园内西侧二层小楼

Tun
Live sporting events are digitally displayed on two big screens. Beers start at RMB 20, with mixed drinks from RMB 25 and upwards. This Huxley-brand effort – from the man behind a mini-empire of easy-on-the-wallet drinking spots like Nanjie and Huxley’s – carries on with the tradition of cheap drinks, but ups the decorative ante with fancier fittings in this two floor spot just around the corner from Nanjie within the ever-amusing Courtyard Four compound off of Gongti Beilu. DJs spin tunes from a Great Wall-ish booth on the spacious lower level, while there is more seating on the mezzanine above.
Daily 6pm-late. Courtyard 4 (20m south of Salsa Caribe), Gongti Beilu, Chaoyang District. (6585 5866) 屯, 朝阳区工体北路4号院

Union Bar & Grille
Sit around the bar and watch sport on the multiple flat-screen TVs. Get the cheapest pint of Guinness in town during the 4-8pm daily happy hour.
Mon-Fri 11am-11pm,Sat-Sun 11am-midnight. S6-31, 3/F, Bldg 6, Sanlitun Village South, 19 Sanlitun Lu, Chaoyang District. (6415 9117) 优年美式餐厅, 朝阳区三里屯路19号三里屯Village南区6号楼3层S6-31

Xiu
Watch it with the beautiful people.
Bar and Dinner: Sun-Wed 5pm-2am, Thu-Sat 5pm-3am. 6/F, Park Hyatt (entrance across from the hotel lobby), 2 Jianguomenwai Dajie, Chaoyang District. (8567 1108) 朝阳区朝阳区建国门外大街2号