There are lots of reasons you may not watch live Moscow World Cup. It is also true, however, that watching soccer in pubs with your friends can be just as good. Moscow has undergone a revolution of pub culture and offers a great variety of them scattered all over the city. Comfy or bustling, fancy or plain, compact or epic, you name it. We cherry-picked the best Moscow bars and pubs to enjoy FIFA World Cup 2018.
Liga Pap
This Moscow boozer is one of the best places to watch footy. The main reason for this is its design that resembles a real stadium with rows and sits constructed like a tribune strategically positioned just in front of a large screen so that you never miss any of the action. Quite often, the pub invites Russian professional commentators for live commentary.
The menu is well-stocked with a nice selection of English, Russian and German beer, as well as BBQ wings, finger sandwiches and fried shrimps to accompany the drink.
Whereabouts
- Adress:
- Bolshaya Lubyanka Street, 24/15, metro Chistye Prudy / Turgenevskaya (LINE 1, 6)
- Krasnoproletarskaya Street, 16с2, metro Novoslobodskaya / Mendeleyevskaya (LINE 5, 9)
- Hours: 24/7
- Reservation: https://www.ligapap.com/
- $$
Paulaner Bräuhaus
Styled as a traditional German beer hall, it’s a good spot to enjoy Bavarian classics while taking in all the soccer action. The venue features its own brewery with gigantic beer tanks on the first floor. Unlike in many other Moscow bars, the booze here is outstandingly fresh and brewed under a strict German control. In fact, Paulaner is one the most renowned beer brands and one of the six breweries invited to pour at the Munich Oktoberfest
Going further, though, massive wooden tables and ceiling beams triggers you to muse on an authentic Bavarian tavern. The menu is complete with all kinds of sausages, sauerkraut and bretzels, and, off-course, home-brewed beer.
The main room is equipped with 2 big screens in the center and smaller ones on the side walls to ensure no detail is missed. There is also a split-level outside space on the rooftop with a soothing view on the Moscow river to cool down after a hot game.
Whereabouts
- Adress: Shlyuzovaya embankment 2/1, Metro Paveletskaia (LINE 5)
- Hours: Mon-Th and Sun: 12am – 12pm, Fr-Sat – 12p.m – 2 a.m.
- Reservation: http://paulaner-brauhaus.ru/en/
- Price: $$
Hooters
The good-an-old American classic is never a loser. Stocked up with legendary BBQ wings and ribs, burgers, steaks, fries, and a good choice of beer served by gorgeous Hooters girls, it is just the right spot to be with your buddies to enjoy the action.
Besides soccer, Hooters broadcasts all kinds of other sports you on wall-to-wall big screen TVs.
Whereabouts
- Adress: Bolshoi Zlotoustinski Pereulok 9, Metro Lubianka (LINE 1)
- Hours: Thur-Sat 12p.m. – 12 a.m, Sun-Wed 12 p.m. – 11p.m.
- Reservation: http://hooters.com.ru/en/
- Price: $$
Cosmic Bar
Cosmic features a huge entertaining zone with restaurants, bars and cafes, bowling and even a laser-tag. So, you know how to shake off the children to concentrate on the game.
The bar has is packed with big screens, so no matter how crowded it is, you won’t miss anything. As for the menu, it is complete with a good choice of beer, as well as a variety of Russian and European dishes.
TIP: Cosmic is in the Afimall shopping center, which houses a nice observation point with views on Moscow.
Whereabouts
- Adress: Presnenskaia Embankment 2, “Afimall” Shopping Mall, Metro Vystavachnaia (LINE 4)
- Hours: Mon-Fr: 12p.m – 5a.m, Sun-Sat: 11a.m-5a.m
- Reservation: https://www.cosmik.ru/page/
- Price: $$
Arena Olymp
Watching games on a 9m х 6m screen is quite an experience. Arena Olymp is ready to welcome for up to 350 guests and it has VIP rooms too, if you desire some intimacy. As for the menu, it is complete with all kinds of beverages, burgers, pizza, tapas, you name it. Karaoke also comes on its own after a few shots.
Whereabouts
- Adress: Location Avtozavodskaia 23, metro Avtozavodskaia (LINE 2)
- Hours: 12p.m – until the last punter
- Reservation: http://arenaolimp.club/
- Price: $$
Bunker-42
Being a former USSR fortification facility at a depth of 65 meters under the city’s downtown, it is, indeed, the quirkiest Moscow bars on the list.
In the mid-20th century, the members of the government elite ordered to construct the bunker to protect themselves from potential consequences of the US nuclear weapon.
Today, however, the Bunker is a huge entertaining zone with a museum, cafes, and restaurants. You will find offerings of Russian and European cuisine, marked as favorites of prominent Soviet politicians like Gorbachev, Khrushchev, and Brezhnev.
Apart from watching football and indulging in a brew, you can book excursions around the 600-meter-long network of tunnels.
Whereabouts
- Adress: 5th Kotelnicheski Lane 11, metro Taganskaia (LINE 7)
- Hours: 24/7
- Reservation: http://bunker42.com/eng/
- Price: $$$
John Donn
Designed in collaboration with Irish pub connoisseurs, Jonn Donn could probably undermine a British pub on its own turf. The wood-paneled Moscow bar is complete with well-selected beers, as well as British specialties, like full-English and Shepherds pie.
This is one of those unique Moscow bars with a nice tucked-away area that comes on its own in case you want to debrief the game with your buddies.
Whereabouts
- Adress:
- Nikitsky Boulevard 12, metro Arbatskaia (LINE 3)
- Verkhniaia Radishevskia St 15, metro Taganskaia (LINE 7)
- Lev Tolstoi St 18, metro Park Kultury (LINE 5)
- Leninski Prospekt 4, metro Oktiabrskaia (LINE 5)
- Maroseika St 15, metro Kitai Gorod (LINE 6, 7)
- Hours: 11a.m. – 6 a.m.
- Reservation: https://johndonne.ru/
- Price: $$
Bars, however, are not always about watching a game. Check out other Moscow bars with classic, speakeasy and even provocative atmosphere.
