Win or go home.
Sixty-eight college basketball programs across the country were invited to the “Big Dance.” And over three action-packed weeks, they’ve fallen one by one until we’re left with one National Champion whose name will be forever etched into NCAA lore.
Here are some solid bars and restaurants to catch the finals.
Backyard
505 N. Good Latimer Expressway A combined 67 games are played during March Madness. That’s a lot of games. So, the more TVs, the better. And Backyard has 45 of them. The place is dog-friendly, too, so you can bring Spike along to watch those wild buzzer-beaters. While scoreboard-watching, try Backyard’s Cowboy Caviar, a medley of corn, onions, bell peppers, black olives, pineapple, cucumber, black beans, feta and tortilla chips.Barrel & Bones
12300 Inwood Road Craft barbecue restaurant Barrel & Bones will celebrate March Madness with specials throughout the tournament. Enjoy $3 wells, $15 domestic buckets, $20 import buckets and half-price apps while you witness your office pool bracket get busted in real time. Bryan Street Tavern
4315 Bryan St. Bryan Street Tavern is one of the city's best spots to catch a game in any sport. It's all here: outstanding made-from-scratch pizzas, one of Dallas’ top patios and 22 craft beers on tap. You can root for your favorite Texas team (Texas, Texas Tech, TCU, Baylor and Houston are all projected to make the 68-team tournament field) on any of the numerous high-def flat screens. Oh, yeah, and there's a giant projector screen, too. Christie’s
2817 Greenville Ave. With 69 HD TVs and two 120-inch projector screens, Christie's may very well be Dallas' preeminent sports viewing mecca. Grab yourself “The Board” (a chef’s selection of seasonal meats, cheeses, pickled veggies and crackers served with drizzled honey and grained mustard) and a cold one. Now, all you have to do is kick back and watch on-the-court chaos commence (which is inevitable). Frankie's Downtown
1303 Main St. A Dallas Observer Reader’s Choice Award winner for Best Sports Bar in 2021 and 2022, Frankie’s is always an elite choice for catching a game. Frankie’s boasts 20 Texas craft brews on tap, and the kitchen doles out made-from-scratch comfort bar fare like Hoodoo fries, which come topped with queso, poblano cream, seared pork belly, Sriracha, green onions and jalapeños.
Happiest Hour
2616 Olive St. A large downstairs bar with another on the rooftop that offers a stunning vista of Big D’s ever-expanding skyline, Happiest Hour is the place to be. There are also lawn areas, a restaurant and 40-plus TVs. Bring your hoops friends and order a nacho tower of beef picadillo, black beans, queso, cojita, pico, guac, pickled jalapeños and sour cream.Hooters
2201 N. Lamar St. We can’t do a March Madness list and not mention Hooters, which always goes big during the NCAA tournament. This year, they’re hosting a 40th-anniversary bracket challenge where you can win a trip for two to one of four destinations: Dublin, Cancun, Florida or Vegas. And the top four bracket winners nationwide who pick 60 or more games correctly (good luck with that) will win a cool $40K. Top bracket-pickers at each respective Hooters location will receive $40 gift cards. Food and drink specials will be offered throughout the tourney.Harwood Arms
2823 McKinnon St., No. 100 Harwood Arms is a British gastropub known for lively game-day soccer crowds. But the place does all sports well. We’ve been a few times for college football Saturdays and had a blast. The food here is top shelf, too. Try the Scotch eggs or Reuben fries (shoestring fries, corned beef, Swiss cheese sauce, sauerkraut, Thousand Islands and caraway) while you’re rooting for your favorite team. Hero by HG
3090 Nowitzki Way Next door to the AAC in Victory Park, Hero by HG has 24,000 square feet of space and a half-dozen full-service bars (sheesh), all gazed upon by a behemoth 24-foot HD screen. Hero can get busy, so make reservations if you want to be assured a table. PHD – Pour House Dallas
1300 W. Davis St.The Pour House is a neighborhood pub and sports bar with a carefully curated beer selection of both local favorites and national microbrews. It's collaborating with Lakewood’s My Family’s Pizza (formerly known as Pizza by Marco) to bring you killer pies while you’re there. TVs? There are 26 of them. Combine all this and you have the ingredients of a perfect place to watch the NCAA tournament.Sidecar Social
6770 Winning Dr. (Frisco) and 5100 Belt Line Road (Addison)Sidecar Social is great for staying busy while at the same time watching the sports ball. They have plenty of parking, free games, good food and TVs everywhere. The Frisco space is new and huge: 23,000 square feet inside and 7,000 square feet outside. Calm down, right? Stan's Blue Note
2908 Greenville Ave. The reigning 2023 Dallas Observer best sports bar, Lower Greenville’s Stan’s Blue Note is a longtime Dallas icon. Stan’s is decked out with TVs and has an updated food menu and recently renovated back patio. College team banners hang from the ceiling and team logos adorn the front of Stan’s, giving it an already built-in perfect college sports atmosphere for March Madness. Texas Live!
1650 E. Randoll Mill Road, Arlington The “living room” of Texas Live, which is a 35,000-square-foot, multilevel palace, has a crown jewel 100-foot LED HD screen. Yes, 100 feet. And on March 21 (tournament opening day), Rangers Republic will hold a “March Hoops Ditch Day” at Texas Live with food and drink specials (like $2 tacos, $4 margs and $25 Miller and Coors buckets), photo-ops, crowd games and prizes (presented by Wendy’s). March Madness Dates
• First round: March 21–22• Second round: March 23–24
• Sweet 16: March 28–29
• Elite Eight: March 30–31
• Final Four: Saturday, April 6
• Championship game: Monday, April 8
