Best Sports Bars in Charlottesville
Charlottesville, Virginia — updated August 21, 2026
Where to watch a game in Charlottesville without ending up at a chain, including which kitchens stay open after the final whistle.
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Charlottesville is a college sports town, which means the useful question is not which bar has televisions — they all do — but which one you can get into on a Saturday in autumn, and which kitchen is still running when the game ends. The list below is ordered with that in mind, and it does not include the wing chain out on the highway.
Citizen Burger Bar
The largest and most reliable of the group at 4.3 across 2,671 reviews, which is more feedback than any other bar in this city has accumulated. It is a burger restaurant that happens to be a good place to watch a game rather than a sports bar that also serves food, and the difference shows up in what arrives at the table.
Open 11am to midnight every day. The kitchen closes at 10:30 Sunday to Thursday and 11:30 Friday and Saturday, so a late finish is still catered for.
Timberwood Grill
4.4 across 1,476 reviews and the highest-rated on this list. It sits north of town rather than downtown, which is precisely why it is worth knowing: on a home game day it is reachable, and the bars near Grounds are not.
Open 11am to 10pm daily.
Boylan Heights
On the Corner at 102 14th Street NW, and the default for anyone walking from Grounds. 4.1 across 567 reviews. Open until 2am every night, from 11:30am Tuesday through Sunday and from 5pm on Mondays, with happy hour Tuesday to Thursday, 3 to 6.
Expect it to be full and loud when UVA are playing. That is either the appeal or the reason to pick Timberwood.
Lazy Parrot Backyard BBQ
3.7 across 553 reviews. Outdoor, casual, and the pick when the weather is good and you would rather watch a game outside than in a dark room. The rating is middling and the volume of reviews behind it means that is a real signal rather than a couple of bad nights, so go for the setting rather than expecting the food to be the highlight.
Trinity On The Corner
The student option, 3.8 across 252 reviews. Packed on game days and quiet the rest of the week. Included because on a Saturday in October it is genuinely one of the better atmospheres in town, and excluded from consideration on almost any other day.
What we left off
Buffalo Wild Wings was the first entry in the previous version of this guide. It is a national chain with a 3.6 rating, and recommending it in a local guide is an admission that no one looked.
Shebeen Pub & Braai and McGrady's Irish Pub were also listed. Both have closed permanently, confirmed against Google's business status.