Best of Boston

2004 Best Sports Bar

The Baseball Tavern

A reverential silence descends on this spartan tap room whenever the Sox play. The patrons and bartenders alike are true fans, and their passions are readily apparent on the slew of television sets aimed at every nook and corner. If you don’t have a ticket for a home game, this is the closest you can get to Fenway (literally—the ballpark is across the street). Little wonder it’s also become a regular stop for visiting players. This loyalist stronghold wears its lack of pretense on a Red Sox sleeve.

1306 Boylston St., Boston, 617-437-1644, thebaseballtavern.com/