Pittsburgh travels better than almost any fanbase in American sport, which is why New York supports two Steelers bars rather than one, roughly ten blocks apart. The question people search is where to watch the Steelers in NYC. The question worth answering is which of the two, because they solve different problems and the wrong choice on a big Sunday means an hour standing in a doorway.
Two bars can host the same fanbase and give you completely different Sundays — one holds sixty people, the other holds three hundred and stays open until four. Ask Karpo which of your team's rooms has space at the hour you want to arrive, and how long each one keeps serving afterwards.
Hibernia: the small, loud, correct one
Hibernia Bar has been at 401 West 50th Street since 2008 and is an Irish pub first and a Steelers bar second, which is the order that produces a good room. It is built around a U-shaped bar with six screens and an enclosed sidewalk seating structure out front. It has been voted the city's number one Steelers bar, and the count of people who will tell you that within ten minutes of you sitting down is part of the experience.
The thing to understand about Hibernia is scale. It is a neighbourhood pub, not a hall. Six screens and a U-shaped bar is a room where you can hear the person next to you and where the collective noise on a turnover genuinely lands. It is also a room that reaches capacity early. On a marquee Sunday, arriving at kickoff means standing near the door with a partial sightline, and there is no overflow floor to be moved to. The food is pub food done properly — fish and chips, shepherd's pie, wings — and the Guinness is poured with the patience that implies.
Printers Alley: the one with room to spare
Printers Alley sits at 215 West 40th Street, a short walk from Times Square, and it is the roomier option by a wide margin. It is a multi-screen bar built for groups, it takes reservations, and it actively hosts large parties. If you are eight people who have decided at noon that you want to watch the four o'clock game together, this is the room that can absorb you.
It is also not exclusively a Steelers room, and that is worth knowing before you walk in expecting a sea of black and gold. The bar is the New York home of the Tennessee Vols alumni club and of Wrexham supporters, and it runs Arsenal, Yankees and Mets crowds as well. On a Saturday in the autumn you may find yourself sharing the floor with a college crowd. On an NFL Sunday the Steelers contingent has the run of it, but the room is a shared house rather than a clubhouse.
Closing time is the real tiebreaker
This is the detail that decides most nights and almost never appears in a listing. Printers Alley runs 10:30am to 3am Monday through Wednesday and 10:30am to 4am Thursday through Sunday. A 4am close on a Sunday is unusual for a Midtown bar and it changes what the day can become — a late-afternoon kickoff that runs long, then the Sunday night game, then whatever happens afterwards, all in one room without anyone being asked to leave. Hibernia keeps pub hours, which is to say the night ends at a civilised time.
So the split is fairly clean. If the point of the afternoon is the game itself and the noise around it, Hibernia is the better room and you should get there an hour early. If the point is that eleven of you are going to be out for the whole day and need somewhere that will still have you at one in the morning, Printers Alley is the one that can do it. For a Thursday night game, Printers Alley also has the advantage of being open late enough that the fourth quarter is not a problem.
Getting between them
They are about a ten-minute walk apart, which is the under-appreciated advantage of having two bars for one team in the same part of town. If you arrive at Hibernia at 12:45 for a 1pm start and cannot get through the door, the fallback is a walk down Ninth Avenue and across 40th rather than a lost afternoon. Do it in that order rather than the reverse — Printers Alley will almost always take you, so it is the safety net rather than the first attempt.
Practical notes
Hibernia Bar, 401 West 50th Street, Hell's Kitchen, open since 2008; U-shaped bar, six screens, enclosed sidewalk seating; nearest subway is 50th Street on the C and E, or 50th Street on the 1. Printers Alley, 215 West 40th Street, phone (212) 419-2770; open 10:30am to 3am Monday to Wednesday and 10:30am to 4am Thursday to Sunday; takes reservations and books large parties through its events contact; also home to Tennessee Vols alumni and Wrexham supporters; nearest subway is Times Square-42nd Street on the 1, 2, 3, 7, N, Q, R, W and S, or 42nd Street-Port Authority on the A, C and E. For a big divisional Sunday, arrive at Hibernia an hour before kickoff or book a table at Printers Alley in the week. Hours change, so confirm before making the trip.
Please drink responsibly. Must be of legal drinking age.
Tags: #nflbarnearme #steelersbarnyc #hiberniabar #printersalley #hellskitchennyc #nycsportsbars #pittsburghsteelers #timessquare #gameday #nflsunday #watchparty #nycbars #midtownmanhattan #steelersnation
All trademarks are the property of their respective owners.
Ask Karpo first
The right answer changes with the fixture. A 1pm game against a division rival needs a room that can hold a crowd; a Thursday night game needs a kitchen that is still open at eleven. Ask Karpo which of your team's New York bars fits the specific game you are going to, and what is nearby if the first choice is already three deep at the rail.
