Pigskin-Friendly Pubs: A Guide to Football Season in Cabo San Lucas
Visitors to Los Cabos this fall and winter will certainly want to take advantage of the area’s gorgeous beaches, pampering spas, and championship-level golf courses. But if they’re from the United States, and they’re like most Americans, they’ll also want to carve out some time on Sundays to watch their favorite teams play football, or at least see how their fantasy line-ups are faring.
With that in mind, here are a few of the best spots in Cabo San Lucas for watching football.
Rockstone’s deals for football fans include $1 draft beers and half-price appetizers all day Sunday, and $1 drafts and half-price on the entire menu for Monday Night Football (6 p.m.–10 p.m.).
It may be a relative newcomer to the Los Cabos nightlife scene, but Rockstone Tavern & Eatery (www.rocktonetavern.com) has carved out a couple of nice niches: 1) It’s one of the best live music venues in the area, with nightly rock ‘n’ roll courtesy of popular local acts like Los Rancheros Tristes and The Brian Flynn Band. 2) Rockstone boasts some of the best football-friendly food and drink specials in town. Half-price appetizers like french fries, chicken wings, nachos, and jalapeño poppers are available all day on Sundays, as are $1 U.S. draft beers. For Monday night football, the deals are even better: $1 U.S. drafts plus half-price on all menu items, from salads to gourmet chicken or cheeseburgers.
Let’s be honest: the happy hour specials (20 peso beers, 2×1 well drinks) are well and good, and the food is delicious, but if you’re camping out on Sundays at Sammy G’s (624-143-4441), it’s probably for the TV. Which one, you ask? The enormous 106-inch high-definition TV that makes the players appear as if they’re full-sized and about to fly onto your lap. There are other televisions in town, and in Sammy G’s for that matter, but no other set in town captures the hard-hitting action quite like this monster. It doesn’t hurt of course, that the place also offers comfortable furnishings and traditional American comfort food favorites like hot dogs, burgers, pizzas and fudge sundaes. The portions are big, the prices are reasonable, and if guests grow bored with the football action, they can amuse themselves playing darts or shuffleboard, or shooting pool on the regulation 8’ table.
Sammy G’s has the ultimate magnet for football fans: a gargantuan 106-inch flat-screen television.
There are a number of excellent places to watch football in downtown Cabo San Lucas—Tanga Tanga, Cabo Cantina and Cabo Blue, to name just a few—but for my money nothing tops Sundays at Cabo Lounge (624-116-2238). Seven flat-screen televisions provide coverage of virtually every early game (and all of the late ones), plus the bar offers cheap bottled beer, superb Bloody Marys, and a $1 U.S. menu of football-friendly treats like corn dogs, chicken wings, and mini-pizzas. Tourists usually camp out in the comfy chairs in front of the main television for the game of the day, while the local fantasy crowd sets up their computers at strategic bar spots to catch keep an eye on multiple games. Visiting fantasy players will be pleased to know Cabo Lounge has two free computer stations, so you can make any necessary last minute changes.
Cabo San Lucas Marina
If you prefer fresh sea breezes to the air-conditioned comfort of Sammy G’s or Cabo Lounge, try spending your football Sundays (or Mondays or Thursdays or Fridays or Saturdays) at one of the many excellent watering holes on the marina. Two of the best are neighbors Mango Cantina Restaurant & Sports Bar (www.mangocantina.com) and El Patio Choyero (624-143-3563).
Flat-screen televisions also line the back wall at Mango Cantina, and visiting football fans will enjoy feasting on themed specialty items such as Touchdown and Super Bowl burgers.
Mango Cantina’s walls are lined with 17 high-definition, flat-screen TVs showing all the best games, and their menu features delicious sports-themed specialty items like Touchdown and Super Bowl burgers (or, if you visit on Saturday, Heisman tacos). Those with sweet teeth will also want to check out their selection of cakes, brownies, and ice creams. And the all-day, everyday two-for-one beer deal is a favorite.
The La-Z-Boy style recliners at El Patio Choyero may be perfect for people watching on the marina boardwalk, but hardcore fans will want to grab a table in the back (or a seat at the bar), order a bucket of ice cold beers (5 for $10 during happy hour) and root on their favorite teams. Comfort food favorites fill the bill of fare, but for a real treat, try the Mexican combo plate.
For those fans that are a cut above, so to speak, the ultimate pigskin watching roost is at Ruth’s Chris Steak House (http://www.ruthschris.com/restaurant-locations/cabo-san-lucas/). There are televisions mounted above the bar, and the bartender or onsite sommelier will be happy to fill you in on the international wine selections as you nibble on spicy lobster appetizers or petite filet mignon.