Best places to watch the game in Munich, capital of football, beer and Bavaria
Beer and football are synonymous with Munich, where Bayern’s are contractually obliged to be seen glugging lagoons of Paulaner during Oktoberfest and other major occasions. Every title win is greeted with a drenching of team and staff in lager – and, of course, there have been lots of title wins.
Bavaria’s capital will be welcoming a few thirsty Scots fans for the opening match of Euro 2024 in June, not to mention Arsenal supporters here for the Champions League quarter-final on April 17.
Many will head to the city’s historic beer houses alongside Marienplatz in the city centre, the Hofbräuhaus and the Augustiner, typical of the historic taverns now geared to the tourist market.
Their beers steeped in medieval tradition and still made according to the Purity Laws of half a millennium ago – although not sold these days at ‘no more than one Munich pfennig a litre’, as dictated in 1516, more like €10 – these hulking great institutions are dedicated to feasting and not to football. If there is a TV screen somewhere in the warren of halls and rooms of the Hofbräuhaus, good luck in finding it.
Fortunately, there are any number of pubs and bars in the vicinity, either faux Irish or authentically if alternative Münchner, where games are screened. These are not only found in the tourist quarter but also around Schwabing, a groovy student hangout in the Beckenbauer era, now gentrified but still with pockets of authentic local culture.
Shortly before Munich-born Beckenbauer strode out at Wembley in 1966 for the first of four World Cup finals he would be involved in, his local club TSV won the Bundesliga for the first and only time. Still based at Grünwalder Stadion, close to where Der Kaiser grew up in Giesing, 1860 are the city team and wear the Bavarian colours of white and sky blue.
Back in ’66, of course, both Bayern and TSV played at the Grünwalder. While the nearby bars from that time have long gone, there’s still a serious drinking and football culture around south Giesing on match days.
For the lowdown on the best football bars in all ten cities in Germany this summer, see our comprehensive Guide to Euro 2024.
70'Er
For all the pub action around Marienplatz, Giesing is the football heart of Munich, birthplace of Franz Beckenbauer and home of TSV. And there’s nothing a local fan loves more than ’70s’ retro, when the city’s locally born heroes ruled Europe and, for four years, the world.
But here, at this bar deep in TSV territory south of town, the number is pure coincidence. Owner Çetin Basel moved his previous bar from another part of Giesing to this address on the main road to the Grünwalder Stadion and just kept the original name taken from its street number.
There’s more room here in any case, enough for three flat-screen TVs tuned to match action, two dartboards and a random display of football pennants and Bavarian personalities, including crazy King Ludwig II who spunked the family fortune on Disneyesque castles. Football takes centre stage, though, not least on Bundesliga afternoons and TSV match days. Affordable Paulaner is the beer of choice.
70’er Tegernseer Landstraße 34, 81541 Munich. Trams 18/25 to Ostfriedhof. Open Mon-Thur & Sun noon-11pm. Fri-Sat noon-1am.
blue adria
This bar/restaurant slap opposite the Grünwalder Stadion touches on two key local influences. The first, of course, is Sechzig, aka TSV, aka Die Löwen, the city’s second but most revered team, whose original sports club was formed in a Munich pub in 1848. (Banned almost immediately by the newly crowned King of Bavaria, Maximilian II, it was reformed in 1860, hence ‘Sechzig’.)
Blue Adria is therefore done out in the club colours of sky blue and white, and packs out before every home game. (Club membership: 25,700; capacity of Grünwalder Stadion 15,000.)
The other influence is not Bavarian but Yugo. . While the Croatian owners of Blue Adria would justifiably baulk at this affiliation, their compatriots having fought a war for independence from Belgrade 30 years ago, the influx of foreign workers from former Yugoslavia in the 1960s led to the opening of Yugo-friendly bars and restaurants across Germany.
And no Yugo enjoyed a bigger success in Munich than Petar ‘Radi’ Radenković, goalkeeper of the great TSV side that won the German title in 1966. Son of wandering musicians stranded in America during World War II, Radi was raised by his grandparents in Belgrade, made the grade between the sticks at OFK and won silver for Yugoslavia at the 1956 Olympics. His opposite number, Lev Yashin, made a point of congratulating him afterwards and giving Radi his gloves.
From then on, he always wore them, especially after coming to Germany to seek his fortune in the 1960s. A folk hero at TSV, Radi sang on hit records and opened restaurants in town. After his Yugoslav wife died in 2009, he moved back to Belgrade half a century after he had left it. Always with a rogueish twinkle in his eye, Radi remarried in 2014.
As for the Blue Adria bar, it’s lively whether it’s pre-match or not – actually, you probably won’t get in pre-match – with grilled Balkan favourites on the menu, a screen for matches and Bavarian brews.
Blue Adria, Grünwalder Straße 9, 81547 Munich. U1 Wettersteinplatz. Open daily 11.30am-10pm.
dubliner irish pub
Football is a major draw at this busy pub-cum-sports bar in the tourist bubble around Marienplatz. Its location means you’re right by the same dark-blue U6 line as the Allianz-Arena – and you’re alongside the city’s famed historic taverns if you’re on a lazy bar crawl.
There’s nothing Irish about the place, of course, other than its provision of Guinness, Kilkenny and three dozen types of whiskey, but wherever you sit, you won’t be far from a screen, and if the bland, bare-brick surroundings become a little too stifling, there are seats outside in a pleasant courtyard, overlooking the Hofbräuhaus. Open later than almost any other bar in town.
Dubliner Irish Pub, Platzl 2, 80331 Munich. U3/U6 Marienplatz. Open daily 11am-4am.
fan arena
How many Bayern scarves, photos and pennants can you fit inside a small bar? Fan Arena, tucked down a narrow passageway at Munich’s main station (exit Ausgänge Nord) answers that question very simply: probably a few more, as they’re constantly adding to the FCB souvenirs crammed around this Bayern-red drinking den.
Look a little closer, and you’ll see a few classic newspaper cuttings and a display dedicated to the Busby Babes who lost their lives outside Munich in 1958.
No surprises among the beer selection, although you may have to drink up earlier than expected – the alleyways around the station can be pretty seedy, persuading the owners to curtail the once generous opening hours.
Fan Arena, Passage, Arnulfstraße 16-18, 80335 Munich. U1, U2, U4, U5, U7, U8 Hauptbahnhof. Open daily 10am-10pm.
kennedy's
Sport on a large HD screen, regular live music and karaoke, plus a location by an U-Bahn station directly connected with the station, the city centre and the Allianz-Arena – Kennedy’s is unsurprisingly popular every night of the week, and there’s a beer garden, too.
For big-match nights, you could do worse than order up a pitcher of Augustiner and find a spot close to the televised action. There’s Guinness, too, of course, plus Kilkenny, Pilsner Urquell and König Ludwig Weißbier. Food-wise, the menu is extensive, but look no further than the house specialities of the all-day Irish breakfast or Irish stew. That’s Irish beef in the burgers and, more bizarrely, Jameson whiskey in the BBQ version.
Kennedy’s, Sendlinger-Tor-Platz 11, 80336 Munich. U1-U3, U6-U8 Sendlinger Tor. Open daily 11.30am-1am.
Kilians irish pub
Sharing the same building as its Aussie housemate, Ned Kelly’s (see below), Kilians opened in 2000 to now showcase live music five nights a week and broadcast sports action across several HD screens. This action moves outside in summer to the beer garden.
Murphy’s and O’Hara’s make a welcome appearance among the many draught options, while the menu of Irish pub favourites is augmented by weekly specials, recently including grilled salmon and chipotle burgers. Popular quiz nights on Mondays are presented in English and German – Kilians attracts plenty of regulars alongside the tourists.
Kilians Irish Pub, Frauenplatz 11, 80333 Munich. U3/U6 Marienplatz. Open daily 11am-1am.
ned kelly's australian bar
Head down under through the same doorway as Kilians Irish Pub (see above) for a similar establishment, only with Foster’s, Vegemite and beware of the shark signs instead. Sport is a major focus here, shown on a full-wall screen and four TVs, and opening hours occasionally stretched to accommodate a major event – the place is popular with followers of NFL.
The amber nectar’s also available on draught, of course, including by the 1.5-litre pitcher. NK’s shares the same kitchen, therefore the same menu, as Kilians, weekly specials as well, so don’t expect kangaroo to be served. A terrace under tree shade buzzes in summer, though it’s late afternoon opening four days a week.
Ned Kelly’s Australian Bar, Frauenplatz 11, 80333 Munich. U3/U6 Marienplatz. Open Mon-Thur 4pm-1am, Fri-Sat 11.30am-2am, Sun noon-1am.
shamrock irish pub
Munich’s oldest and friendliest Irish pub opened back in 1989 sits near the university quarter, from where it draws much of its custom for karaoke, stand-up and quiz nights, the week rounded out by live music on Saturdays.
There’s football too, of course, but this place is evening-only, so no Bundesliga afternoons here. Its street terrace catches the early-evening sun, while the inside bar still looks remarkably unpublike after all these years, just proving that it’s people who make pubs, not furniture. The many regulars and expats lend a homely feel.
Shamrock Irish Pub, Trautenwolfstraße 6, 80802 Munich. U3/U6 Giselastraße. Open Tue-Wed, Fri-Sat 6pm-1am, Thur 6pm-midnight.
stadion an der schleissheimer strasse
For a solid-gold spot to watch the game, Stadion an der Schleißheimer Straße on the street of the same name won Germany’s Football Bar of the Year shortly before the pandemic. It remains dedicated to TV football, with an extensive schedule every week, open evenings only midweek, daytimes too at weekends. Thursdays may see it closed, unless there’s the Europa League on – given Bayern’s recent form, this schedule seems pretty astute.
It prides itself on getting some serious guests in: note the group photo with Sepp Maier and Esther Sedlaczek, looking as glamorous as she does on TV. This is a place conceived by and for football fans of whatever persuasion, so it doesn’t fall into the trap of being too niche or too cult, and the décor is boy’s bedroom stuff, all pennants, scarves and wish-I-had-that rarities. It’s actually quite nice being here when there’s not a game on, just to browse the treasure.
It’s affordable, too, draught Spaten and Franziskaner currently under €5 a half-litre, the food upscale stadium fare, burgers, schnitzel and currywurst, even langos to please any passing Hungarian. You’ll need to reserve for the monthly quiz night, otherwise come as you are.
Stadion an der Schleißheimer Straße, Schleißheimer Straße 82, 80797 Munich. U2/U8 Theresienstraße/Josephstraße. Open Tue-Thur 7pm-midnight, Fri 6pm-midnight, Sat 12.30pm-midnight, Sun 1pm-10pm.
vereinsheim
Not a football bar as such but one that should be congratulated for its room-length display of West Germany’s 1974 World-Cup winning team as a paradigm of free-thinking creativity here in liberal Schwabing.
Opened in the World Cup year of 2006, ‘Clubhouse’ tries to capture the spirit of post-war Schwabing Gisela, a chanteuse who entertained the likes of Orson Welles, Kirk Douglas and Leonard Bernstein within these very walls. And almost certainly that classic Bayern team, too.
This may or may not to be your taste – think cabaret, slam poetry and niche music, some of which is shown on Bavarian TV – but at least you’re in Munich, a half-litre of Löwenbräu is currently under €4 and the currywurst is excellent.
Vereinsheim, Occamstraße 8, 80802 Munich. U3/U6 Münchner Freiheit. Open Mon-Thur, Sun 6pm-1am, Fri-Sat 6pm-2am.
