⚽ Where to Watch the World Cup. Ordered by How Far You Have to Drive.
The World Cup kicks off June 11 in Mexico City. Seattle's first match is June 15, and the city is hosting six total at Lumen Field (or temporarily known as ‘Seattle Field’). For the games where you didn't manage to snag tickets (or just want to watch with a cold beer and nowhere to be), I put together a list of the places that actually know what they're doing. Ordered from closest to NE Seattle to furthest, so you can make a reasonable decision about whether to drag everyone to Pioneer Square on a Tuesday morning.
Atlantic Crossing | 7200 Woodlawn Ave NE (Green Lake, 98115) https://www.theatlanticcrossing.com/
This one is basically at our door. Atlantic Crossing is an official Sounders FC supporters bar and home base for the Cascadia Gooners (Seattle's Arsenal club), so on any given match day there's an actual crowd with actual opinions. And they’ve been proudly featured during previous World Cup games as part of the pre-game/half time show. They open at 8:30am on weekends for early kickoffs, which is going to matter a lot for this tournament. The happy hour runs all day Mondays and 3–6pm Tuesday through Friday. Wild boar sloppy joes on the menu if you want something more interesting than wings.
St. Andrews Pub | 7406 Aurora Ave N (Green Lake) https://www.instagram.com/standrewspubseattle/
A Liverpool supporters bar, so if Liverpool is in it, this is the place with real stakes energy. 13 TVs plus two projectors, and they allow table reservations for big games (worth doing). The Scottish meat pie is good, the fish and chips gets mentioned constantly by people who've eaten a lot of fish and chips in this city. Opens 1pm Sundays.
Fuel Sports Grill | 8037 15th Ave NW (Ballard) https://www.fuelseattle.com/
Home of the Emerald City Supporters (the Sounders' primary fan group), so this bar understands assignment on a match day. 25 flat screens and a giant projector. Opens for brunch on weekends for early games, with a menu that covers everyone in your group including the vegetarians and the people who claim they're not hungry but will eat your nachos.
Rough and Tumble Pub | 5309 22nd Ave NW, top floor (Ballard) https://www.roughandtumblepub.com/
Worth mentioning that Rough and Tumble is Seattle's only sports bar that prioritizes women's professional sports; owner Jen Barnes is also part owner of Salmon Bay FC. That said, they show all Sounders and World Cup games, 18 screens, and the boozy weekend brunch menu was clearly designed with early international kickoffs in mind. Second location in Columbia City if Ballard's a stretch.
The George & Dragon Pub | 206 N 36th St (Fremont) https://theegeorge.com/
The George has been around for 30+ years and is one of the few places in Seattle that is genuinely about soccer rather than a bar that happens to have soccer on. Most definitely the first ‘soccer bar’ I had heard about over 20 years ago. Opens at 4am for Premier League. British pub menu: fish and chips, scotch eggs, baked beans, cottage pie. Two outdoor patios with big screens.
🔍 Here's the thing though: as of May 1, they stopped serving alcohol. Eek. Owner Daniel Pagard missed a state notification to renew his reseller's permit (the kind of email that gets buried), and because his liquor license was tied to it, the Washington State Liquor and Cannabis Board pulled it. He's been running on mocktails and private party rentals since, while a few regulars still gather around the telly for matches out of what I can only describe as loyalty or stubbornness.
Pagard told KNKX he's "confident" it will be resolved before the World Cup, and says he's already planning for extra speakers and extra staff to make it special. He said he's starting to see "the light at the end of the tunnel." Worth checking their Facebook before you go. If they're back up, this is one of the best atmospheres in the city for big matches.
Shawn O'Donnell's | 3601 Fremont Ave N (Fremont) https://www.shawnodonnells.com/
Irish pub, official Sounders bar, opens early for EPL. The Pioneer Square location (508 2nd Ave, inside Smith Tower) is walking distance from Lumen Field, good if you're heading to a match and want a pint first or a debrief after.
Rhein Haus | 912 12th Ave (Capitol Hill) https://www.rheinhausseattle.com/
German beer hall energy, bocce courts, Sounders and Reign crowd. The draw for a full day of World Cup watching is that you can play bocce between games and come back in. House-made pretzels, sausage sampler, full match sound. Opens 9am Sundays.
Golden Roosters | 115 Occidental Ave S (Pioneer Square) https://www.goldenroostersbar.com/
The largest screen of any soccer bar I know of in Seattle: a 180-inch projector. Has MLS Season Pass so every match is available. In Pioneer Square, steps from Lumen Field. Good fried chicken if you're making a day of it.
Tom's Watch Bar | 105 Lenny Wilkens Way (Seattle Center) https://tomswatchbar.com/seattle-climate-pledge/world-soccer-championship/
Built for exactly this kind of moment. Massive multi-screen setup, full match audio, right at Seattle Center, which is also the city's main official fan zone. If you want maximum energy and don't mind a crowd, this is the move.
Free fan zones, if you want to skip bars entirely:
The city set up several free public viewing options that run through July 6, all worth knowing about - especially if the bar scene is not your thing or you want to do something more family friendly:
Seattle Soccer Celebration at Pier 62: A floating stadium on Elliott Bay with a massive LED screen, food trucks, beer tents, and Sounders merch. Free on the pier; ticketed events on the barge. Runs June 11–July 6. https://www.soundersfc.com/seattle-soccer-celebration/pier
Let's Play SEA '26 at Seattle Center: The city's primary fan hub, with large screens, live entertainment, and family-friendly programming. Accessible via the Monorail from Westlake.
Seattle Soccer House at Pacific Place: A four-story LED screen downtown, interactive activations, open through July 6.
Victory Hall (SODO): Hosted by the Mariners, steps from Lumen Field. 23-foot indoor video wall, stadium audio, food trucks, live DJs. https://www.seattlefwc26.org/events/seattle-fan-celebrations
Seattle Public Library: Free screenings at the Central, Lake City, and Southwest branches. 15 different matches. No cover, no beer, but genuinely a good option for a morning game with kids.
Know a spot I missed? Email me and I'll add it.