Cheer on Team Canada at the Country’s Coolest Sports Bars

RendezViews | Toronto

At RendezViews, the city’s ambient stress dissolves on arrival. The sprawling patio feels like a jazzy urban picnic, with multicoloured tables, glowing string lights, close-up views of the CN Tower and a rotation of food vendors. During the World Cup, the venue will take on a distinctly footballish flavour. A mini soccer pitch will replace the pickleball court, DJs and drumlines will set the mood, and country-specific programming will orbit massive patio screens—all while expats, office workers and diehard fans erupt at each goal.

Score on Davie | Vancouver

Set in the heart of Davie Village, Vancouver’s unofficial gay district, Score has built its reputation on wall-to-wall screens, high-octane crowds and an all-day menu that treats excess as a design principle: the Caesar cocktails come loaded with onion rings, hot wings and mini cheeseburgers. On game days, regulars arrive early to secure sightlines; when the room fills, staff open the front windows to spillover crowds on Davie Street. It’s loud, tightly packed and the beating heart of the Village’s soccer scene.

Pub Burgundy Lion | Montreal

At the Burgundy Lion, a World Cup match is appointment viewing rather than background noise. Opened in 2008 by a group of friends aiming to recreate an English public house in Montreal, the pub has long leaned into football as its organizing principle, making it a staple for the England, Scotland and Canada fanbases of Montreal. They will up the ante this year with match-day DJs and outdoor festivals. It’s less a party than a collective focus, with the added bonus of good beer.

Hidden Spot | Calgary

For sports fans who want to play and party between games, this Calgary emporium blends the best parts of a sports bar, nightclub and retro arcade. It’s stocked with billiard tables and a rotating slate of pinball machines and games like Halo, Pac-Man, Jet Pong and Space Invaders, while DJs take over the space on weekends. World Cup matches will play on a 50-foot projector wall—it’s billed as the biggest screen in Calgary—as well as countless other screens scattered around the bar.

The Play Book Commons | Toronto

Flanking Lake Ontario on the ground floor of Toronto’s Hotel X, a short walk from Toronto Stadium, the Play Book Commons blends steakhouse polish with sports-bar revelry. The room is dim and the decor plush, but walls are lined with large screens showing every big game. Match days bring a steady flow of fans, drawn as much by the classy location and fancy menu as the soccer. The kitchen is paced to the game: steaks, pasta and sharing plates arrive between halves without disrupting the rhythm.