Soccer fans in San Diego are eagerly anticipating the World Cup. The action starts June 11 in South Africa, but you can catch all the excitement at restaurants and pubs throughout San Diego. Below is a list of places showing World Cup matches – most will be live so you might be waking up early to get a good spot. Rooting for a specific country? Check the list below and find your comrades, or you can always go to the competition for a little friendly bantering. I’ll be rooting for Australia. Who will you root for?
World Cup Offerings:
- The Linkery located in North Park will be opening at 6:55 a.m. on Friday when South Africa takes on Mexico. The Linkery, which makes its own sausages, will also be hosting the World Cup of Sausages. They will be pitting sausage dishes from participating countries against each other in a battle for world sausage domination. First match: South Africa (boererwors) v. Mexico (longaniza) may the best sausage win.
- Dublin Square Irish Pub and Grille in Gaslamp Quarter will be opening at 7:00 a.m. and showing all games live on their four large HD screen TV’s.
- Shakespeare’s Pub & Grille in Mission Hills offers a traditional British pub atmosphere right in San Diego. All games will be shown live. Some will also include a $10 admission charge for select games which will be credited to your food and beverage tab that day.
- Stout Public House, a great Irish Pub in Gaslamp Quarter, will be offering breakfast specials for early games and drink specials during all games.
- Blind Lady Alehouse, which offers great craft pizza and beer, will be opening at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and will show matches on their giant projector screen.
- Bluefoot Bar and Lounge is a great laid back neighborhood bar located in North Park. They will be opening up at 7:00 a.m. Bluefoot has four plasma screens and will be showing the action live throughout the Cup.
- O’Brien’s Pub in San Diego will be taping all games and will open early for all US games.
Other spots to catch the matches:
- Brazil By the Bay Restaurant and Sports Bar in Point Loma will be showing all Brazilian games live as well as other games.
- Costa Brava Tapas Bar and Restaurante brings the culture and cuisine of Spain to Pacific Beach. They will be showing all matches. Contact them for schedule.
- East Village Tavern and Bowl located downtown will be opening early for all World Cup action with breakfast and bar specials throughout the tournament. They feature 30-50” flat screens throughout.
- Puerto La Boca, an Argentinean restaurant in Little Italy, will be showing all games starting at 11:30 a.m.
- Pampas located in Kearny Mesa is a great place to meet up with other soccer fans and enjoy the matches.
- Princess Pub, San Diego’s oldest British Pub in Little Italy, is opening at 6:00 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased in advance. They will be showing the matches on all of its six big screen plasma televisions.
- Rei Do Gado, a Brazilian steakhouse in the Gaslamp Quarter, has four screens all dedicated to the Cup.