Nothing unites America quite like the Super Bowl.
Obviously it’s a high holy day for football’s biggest fans, whether they’re rooting this year for the favored Kansas City Chiefs or the underdog Philadelphia Eagles. The Super Bowl is not just for sports fans. This quintessentially American spectacle offers something special for everyone.
Foodies gorge on vast spreads of meats, cheese, dips and desserts. Partiers party hard. Even the most jaded anti-capitalists tune in to the epic commercials with million-dollar budgets. Music fans are transfixed on the biggest live performance of the year (2023’s halftime event features legendary R&B/pop icon Rhianna). And those who just came for the food, drink and/or company are in the back of the room happily catching up.
In these days of streaming video, food delivery apps and pandemic-conditioned solitude, getting off the couch and into the sports bar milieu is a borderline revolutionary act. Even if you’re just heading to a friend’s house for a homestyle party, rest assured: people will be happy to see you, and you’ll be happy to see people. How your sports bets pan out is another matter.
Here are our picks for the 15 best places in and around Ulster County to celebrate Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12 and unite with your fellow humans in real-life revelry.
P&G’s and McGillicuddy’s
(New Paltz) all day
Picking a favorite sports bar in New Paltz is mostly up to personal taste. Both P&G’s and McGillicuddy’s are village staples for sports-watching – cold drink in one hand, fried food in the other. Both have ample flat-screens for viewing. Both offer atmospheres of college-town conviviality. Sure, there are numerous good options in New Paltz for game day, but this pair of Main Street mainstays are the obvious choices for the everyman. If you like the pre-game to last longer than the real game, you will find enthusiastic partners at both spots.
Mirabellas or The Partition
(Saugerties) all day
Like New Paltz, Saugerties has two bar/restaurants that immediately come to mind when one’s pigskin neurons fire. There are enough TVs in both these joints to satisfy a good-sized crowd. If you’re looking for a hearty meal and diverse menu, we recommend Mirabella’s American-Italian cuisine. The Partition has some super-tasty “bar bites”, salads and simple charcuterie.
The Dutch
(Saugerties) 12pm
Football-friendly food and drink specials will be on offer all day long at this upscale brewpub. If you want a quieter and more refined pre-game dining experience, this is a good spot to duck into for an hour or so.
Chic’s Sports Bar
(Kingston) @ 12:30pm
This is one of those venerable establishments that doesn’t have to change anything when Super Bowl Sunday comes around – the wings fly and draft beer is poured all year round, and the game is always on here. A solid choice for those who like a slightly rowdier crowd.
Hurley Mountain Inn
(Hurley) @ 12:30pm
With 20 flat screens, 19 draft beers, a full menu of bar food and a massive indoor space, Hurley Mountain Inn has been a classic destination for game day in Ulster County for decades. It’s a great option for folks seeking a down-home vibe, fast-flowing domestic beers, and camaraderie with fellow fans.
Ole Savannah
(Kingston) @ 1pm
This pre-game tailgate party with game-day snacks and drink specials is popular with many locals. The enormous venue gives lots of room to stretch out, and the friendly, attentive staff will keep the drinks and dishes flowing like a run through the gap into the end zone.
Resorts World Catskills
(Monticello) @ 1pm
When online sports betting launched in New York last year, it received an enthusiastic embrace, earning the state $1.4 billion in revenue from more than $16 billion in bets. But if that’s not enough action for you, there’s only one place to be on Super Bowl Sunday: a casino. In addition to being able to bet on the game right at your seat, five winners will be selected for $150 in free slot play, with one winner drawn to win an 85” flat screen TV. Seating at the sports bar is limited, so you might consider buying in to a poker game and enjoying the game with a full peanut gallery.
Colony
(Woodstock) @ 4pm
The special super bowl menu for Colony’s Super Bowl celebration includes French onion dip with housemade Old Bay chips, wings, burgers, queso fundido with chorizo, nachos, fries… are you drooling yet? But that’s not all. There’s also a late-night karaoke session after the game, so dust off your Jock Jams CDs and start warming up.
Italian American Community Center
(Albany) @ 4pm
Why head all the way up to Albany to watch the Super Bowl? Because the party these folks put on is big, unique and fast becoming legendary. For starters, the game plays on a 12-foot HD screen. Appropriately, the pre-game buffet eschews wings and nachos for delicious Italian classics like Penne alla Vodka, Chicken and Eggplant Parmigiana, and of course, meatballs. Astonishingly, there’s a second buffet spread at halftime with pizza, crackers and cheese, popcorn and dessert. There will be complimentary beer, soda and coffee in addition to a cash bar. And if your sports bets aren’t exciting enough, there will be multiple raffles. Reservations required.
NYXP Gaming Center
(Kingston) @ 4pm
For some, watching the game is not enough, they must literally play it themselves. Couch quarterbacks of the popular Madden video game franchise will converge for a $25 buy-in tournament on the Gaming Center’s bank of flat-screens. There will be food (BYOB for alcohol), discounted hourly prices to play video games and a free place to watch the game.
Refinery 51
(Poughkeepsie) @ 5pm
Fans of higher-end fare and free-flowing alcohol will enjoy a sweet Super Bowl viewing party at this popular Poughkeepsie hang. A $50 ticket includes unlimited draft beer and wine, an all-game buffet, and entry into prize pools for some added excitement.
Mill Creek Caterers
(Hopewell Junction) @ 5:30
Why go to a catered party when you can go straight to the caterers? Dubbed ‘Hudson Valley 2023 Wing-a-thon” and presented by a local police non-profit, for $45 you can back the blue and enjoy wings, wedges, hot dogs, chips, beer, and something called a “Super Bowl square”.
Buffalo Wild Wings
(Kingston) @ 6pm
The chicken chain will celebrate its 3rd annual Outlaw Blitz Super Bowl pre-show party. Trivia, games, touchdown dance competition, door prizes and giveaways. Here’s the coolest part: If both teams tie and force the game into overtime, the restaurant will offer an order of wings to every guest free of charge. The only catch? You would have to wait until Feb. 27 to redeem your free morsels. Free wings or no free wings, the joint is expected to be packed with hungry fans.
Join the family! 
