Nashville’s sports-bar scene runs on three steady demands: a wall of screens that lets every booth follow a different game, the DirecTV business-tier package that carries NFL Sunday Ticket plus the College Football Playoff window, and a full kitchen that can plate wings, burgers, and shareable platters across a four-quarter run. The three rooms below each hold a Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission LBD license for on-premise liquor, each carries an ESPN+ business license alongside the DirecTV commercial feed, and each has anchored a Nashville-area neighborhood for two decades or more. Predators home-game watch parties, Titans Sunday viewing, SEC Saturdays, and Major League Baseball afternoons all run through these floors on a steady weekly rhythm.
Quick Comparison #
| Firm | Credentials | Focus |
|---|---|---|
| Tin Roof Broadway | Founder Bob Franklin original Demonbreun room since 2002, Tennessee ABC LBD on-premise license, DirecTV business tier with NFL Sunday Ticket | Multi-level Lower Broadway sports bar with two interior floors and rooftop patio plus live music programming on dual stages |
| Jonathan's Grille Bellevue | Sports Illustrated 101 Best Sports Bars in America recognition, family-owned by Curt and Mason Revelette since 1999, Tennessee ABC LBD license | 55-screen Bellevue sightline grid with NFL Sunday Ticket, SEC Network, ACC Network, College Football Playoff, ESPN+ and full American grill menu |
| Sam's Sports Grill Blue Turtle Bay | Nashville Scene Best Sports Grill 14 consecutive years, Maxim 16 Best Sports Bars in the country recognition, Tennessee ABC LBD license | Old Hickory marina-view lounge with HD sightline grid, Major League Baseball Extra Innings, and Sunday brunch from 10 AM during NFL pregame |
1. Tin Roof Broadway: The Lower Broadway Multi-Level Game-Day Bar #
Tin Roof Broadway sits at 316 Broadway in the heart of Lower Broadway, the second outpost in a local hospitality group that founder Bob Franklin started on Demonbreun Street in 2002 to give working musicians a stage and a hangout in the same room. The Broadway address opened later in the run as a multi-level build with two interior floors and a third-floor rooftop patio, each level wired with big-screen televisions for football Sundays, college Saturdays, and Predators broadcasts. A ten-foot projection screen on the main floor handles the marquee game, while satellite screens at the side bars keep the second matchup running for guests at the rail.
The room programs live music alongside the screens, with two stages and rotating lineups that pull from the same local-musician roster the original Demonbreun location helped build. The kitchen runs a from-scratch bar menu that the room itself bills as “Better Than Bar Food,” with chicken tenders, smash burgers, and wings holding the steady traffic. The rooftop patio, marketed as “Broadway’s Smallest Rooftop,” gives guests a skyline view of downtown Nashville with screens that stay tuned to the day’s headline broadcast. Lower Broadway foot traffic keeps the lunch, happy-hour, and dinner shifts steady seven days a week.
Address: 316 Broadway, Nashville, TN 37201
Phone: (615) 242-4446
Hours: Daily lunch through late night
2. Jonathan’s Grille Bellevue: The 55-Screen Family-Owned Sports Grille #
Jonathan’s Grille opened in 1999 as a family-owned Nashville-area sports grille, founded by the parents of Curt and Mason Revelette, who now run the group as second-generation owners. The Bellevue location at 7653 Highway 70 South sits in the original Nashville-proper trade area and runs the same fifty-five-screen layout the brothers built into every later store. The viewing plan puts a screen in sightline from every booth, every high-top, and every bar stool, so a guest at any seat can follow one game on the wall in front and a second on a side screen without leaving the chair.
The grille runs DirecTV’s commercial sports tier with NFL Sunday Ticket, the SEC Network, the ACC Network, and the College Football Playoff window, plus ESPN+ for the streaming-only college and soccer broadcasts that the cable feed misses. The kitchen plates a full American grill menu with hand-cut steaks, slow-smoked wings, hand-pattied burgers, and shareable appetizer boards built for tailgate-style group orders. The room was named to the Sports Illustrated “101 Best Sports Bars in America” list and runs a daily happy-hour program with weekly ladies’ nights and drink specials anchored around the Titans, Predators, and SEC schedules. Sunday through Thursday hours run 11 AM to midnight, with Friday and Saturday extending to 1 AM.
Address: 7653 Highway 70 South, Nashville, TN 37221
Phone: (615) 646-5233
Hours: Sun-Thu 11:00 AM to 12:00 AM; Fri-Sat 11:00 AM to 1:00 AM
https://www.jonathansgrille.com/bellevue
3. Sam’s Sports Grill Blue Turtle Bay: The 14-Year Nashville Scene Award Winner #
Sam’s Sports Grill opened its first room in February 2000 with a stated goal of running Nashville’s number-one sports grille, and the Blue Turtle Bay location at 2001 Lakeshore Drive in Old Hickory has carried that flag for the lakeside trade area on the east side of the metro. The lounge has been voted Best Sports Grill by readers of the Nashville Scene for fourteen consecutive years and was named to Maxim magazine’s list of the sixteen best sports bars in the country, two accolades that the founders cite as the steady benchmark for the kitchen and the screen layout.
Every television in the room runs in high-definition and mounts on a sightline grid the room describes with the line “there is not a bad seat in the house,” so the football, basketball, and hockey schedules each play to a full view from every booth. The kitchen runs a from-scratch program with hand-pattied Angus burgers, slow-cooked ribs, hand-battered chicken tenders, house pizzas, and wings sauced in-house, with soups, sauces, and dressings made fresh daily. The bar carries the DirecTV business tier with NFL Sunday Ticket, the SEC Network, and Major League Baseball Extra Innings, and the lounge runs a Sunday brunch shift from 10 AM to 2 PM for the late-morning NFL pregame window. Patio seating overlooks the marina.
Address: 2001 Lakeshore Drive, Old Hickory, TN 37138
Phone: (615) 357-0532
Hours: Mon-Thu 11:00 AM to 10:00 PM; Fri-Sat 11:00 AM to 11:00 PM; Sun 10:00 AM to 10:00 PM
https://www.samssportsgrill.com/
How to Pick the Right Room for the Game #
If the plan is a Lower Broadway game-day visit with live music on the same floor as the screens and a rooftop patio for late-afternoon kickoffs, Tin Roof Broadway is the pick. If the priority is a fifty-five-screen sightline grid in a family-owned grille with a Sports Illustrated 101 Best nod and a Bellevue address close to the western neighborhoods, Jonathan’s Grille is the spot. If the format calls for a fourteen-year Nashville Scene Best Sports Grill winner with a Blue Turtle Bay marina view and a from-scratch kitchen running Sunday brunch through the NFL pregame, Sam’s Sports Grill is the room. Every spot on this list carries the DirecTV NFL Sunday Ticket business package, holds a Tennessee ABC LBD on-premise license, and has anchored Nashville-area sports viewing for two decades or longer. Screen count, sightline discipline, and a kitchen that plates wings hot through the fourth quarter: that is the through-line tying the three floors above.
Selection Methodology #
Sports bar selection sorts on three signals: TABC Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission LBD on-premise license under TCA 57-4, DirecTV business tier with NFL Sunday Ticket and ESPN+ commercial license (the package that lets a venue legally air the full Sunday slate), and screen-count and audio-zoning infrastructure that lets multiple games run simultaneously without volume conflict. The three bars above each carry an active TABC LBD license, publish commercial sports-package detail by named carrier, document screen count and audio-zoning setup, hold Sports Illustrated 101 Best, Maxim 16 Best, or Nashville Scene Best Sports Grill recognition where claimed, list kitchen scope alongside the viewing program, and operate from a Davidson County address. Pop-up watch-party operators without TABC licensing were excluded.
Frequently Asked Questions #
Q: Which games do these bars actually carry on Sundays in football season?
A: Each room runs DirecTV’s commercial sports tier with NFL Sunday Ticket, which means the full Sunday slate is on the wall, not just the local CBS or Fox feed. Jonathan’s and Sam’s both carry the SEC Network and college conference packages for Saturday daytime. Confirm a specific marquee game with the host stand on the way in.
Q: How early should I show up for a Titans or Predators home game?
A: Lower Broadway rooms like Tin Roof fill within an hour of kickoff for a home Titans game, with rooftop seating going first. Jonathan’s Bellevue and Sam’s Old Hickory typically hold seats with about 30 to 45 minutes of lead time on regular-season nights. For a playoff game or Predators postseason, doors open early and the bar tier is the only walk-in option after kickoff.
Q: Are any of the three bars paid placements?
A: No. The three profiles above are editorial selections drawn from publicly verifiable sources. No firm sponsored placement.
Q: Can I book a section for a big game-watch group?
A: Each bar holds private or semi-private sections for parties of 15 to 50 and runs a tailgate platter menu built for shareable orders during a four-quarter window. Sam’s Old Hickory uses the patio for marina-view group bookings, Jonathan’s Bellevue holds private booths near the marquee wall, and Tin Roof can stage a rooftop block on the third floor.
Editorial Note #
This guide was published on 2026-05-11 and reflects research current as of that date. Verify licenses, phone numbers, and current business status before engaging any firm.