Three Sports Bars in Rome Every Football Fan Should Know About

Finding somewhere to watch football in Rome is easy. Finding the best places, the ones that stand our from the crowd, that’s a little bit harder.

Across the city, Irish pubs and sports bars fill up whenever Roma, Lazio, the Premier League or the Champions League are on, but only a handful really manage to combine atmosphere, good beer and a lively crowd within a proper Roman setting.

Whether you have spent the day at the Colosseum, wandered through Trastevere or are heading back from the Stadio Olimpico, three bars are among the top places in Rome to settle in for a match. 

A few minutes’ walk from Piazza Navona, down the narrow Via di Tor Millina, sits La Botticella of Poggi Giovanni. At first glance it looks more like a tiny neighbourhood bar than a sports pub, and in a way, that’s exactly what it is.

Football, though, is everywhere. Shirts and scarves hang from the walls, stickers cover every available surface and conversations about calcio drift between tables late into the night.

It’s in a particularly handy spot for anyone staying in the historic centre. Campo de’ Fiori, the Pantheon and Castel Sant’Angelo are all just around the corner.

Despite being in one of the busiest parts of the city, La Botticella still feels surprisingly local once you step inside. The beer list leans towards Italian and European craft brews, and the mood is more relaxed than rowdy.

Owner Giovanni seems to know half the room on a first-name basis – a mix of locals, expats and travelling fans squeezed into a fairly tight space.

On busy nights, the distinction between inside and outside disappears as people spill onto the street, drinks in hand, and the whole corner turns into part of the bar. It stays open until around 2am most days.

It does fill up quickly when there’s a big match on, but that’s part of the experience – you end up standing wherever there’s a bit of space, usually next to someone you didn’t know five minutes earlier. 

For something larger and louder, Scholars Lounge Irish Pub has become one of Rome’s go-to destinations for live sport.

It’s close to Piazza Venezia and about a 10-minute walk from the Pantheon, sitting right in the middle of the tourist centre.

Inside, though, it doesn’t really feel like a normal pub at all. It’s more like an international supporters’ club that has taken over a building in central Rome. Multiple rooms, huge projector screens and walls of televisions mean there’s always something being streamed.

On big football nights, every table is taken early by a mix of travelling fans, students, expats and locals who have decided this is the place to be.

The drinks menu is broad with Guinness, international lagers, cocktails and rotating craft beers depending on what’s on tap, while the food sticks to classic pub staples such as burgers and wings.

Scholars also stays open until 3:30am and for bigger matches, especially derbies and Champions League nights, it’s worth getting there early or booking ahead if you can. 

Meanwhile, tucked down a small alley near Piazza di Spagna and the Trevi Fountain, The Highlander Pub Rome exists somewhere in between the other two.

It’s smaller and more intimate than Scholars, but much more sport-focused than La Botticella, and has built up a loyal following among football fans passing through the city.

The underground-style space, with its low ceilings and tightly packed rooms, gives it a slightly hidden feel, like you’ve dropped into a bunker that just happens to be showing every match imaginable. From Serie A and the Champions League to rugby, NFL and Formula 1, it’s all on somewhere across the screens.

The whisky list is long, the beer selection broad, and staff are usually happy to switch channels depending on what the crowd wants.

It stays open until 2am every day, and more often than not, what starts as a quick drink turns into the full evening. Seats go fast on big match nights, especially downstairs, so arriving early isn’t a bad idea. And if you’re early enough at the weekend, the Scottish breakfast does include haggis.