As far as sports bars are concerned, it’s not a typical spot.

Cheers just don’t seem to bang against the walls the same way here when the quarterback steps up in the pocket and hits his man over the middle for that drive-saving first down.

There isn’t the smell of an old smoky grill and cheap beer that musters the childhood memory of the ballpark concession stands. The bartenders are busy, racing back and forth to serve mixed drinks and wines. They rarely have a moment to lean on the bar and catch a few moments of the game behind them. Tourists even go in, for crying out loud.

Maybe that’s why it’s not called a sports bar. Yet somehow, like a breath of fresh air from the sports gods, it all seems to work.

Resting just off the corner of Geary and Powell streets and just a small sidestep away from the bustle of Union Square, “Lefty” O’Doul’s Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge is a fine place to eat, drink and spend an afternoon watching the day’s big games.

At Lefty’s, the voices of sports announcers from the featured game cut through the banter of friendly patrons and employees and over the faint sound of oldies coming from the speakers.

The walls in every section are decorated with old baseball photos and memorabilia, enshrining the memory of founder, Francis “Lefty” O’ Doul, who according to baseball history websites, was a popular pitcher-turned-position player from San Francisco who played most of his professional career in the 1920s with the San Francisco Seals of the old Pacific Coast League. The hometown hero also had a successful, if not short, seven-year major league stint, where he had an astounding .349 batting average in a little more than 3,000 at bats.

Following his baseball career, O’ Doul established Lefty’s in 1958.

The popular restaurant has four sections: the bar and cafeteria-style food counter in the front; a dining section in the middle; a back room, which is a bit of a quieter place and has a bar and big screen; and a cozy little lounge area in a nook in the front, where comedic pianist Frank O’Connor entertains from Thursday to Monday nights at 9 p.m.

Lefty’s boasts a full bar with more than 25 different types of beers along with eight televisions, one of which is big screen. The drink prices are reasonable; a domestic beer goes for around $3.75 and depending on the cocktail, prices usually top out at about six bucks or so.

The food is the best value of all. The sign outside advertises a spaghetti dinner for $4.99. It is worth more. The price scale goes up as the amount of food increases, but it almost seems like the restaurant gets cheated when people don’t even spend nine bucks for the Wednesday night dinner special—a huge lamb shank drenched in tasty gravy, beautifully-baked macaroni and cheese, hot mashed potatoes, a green salad and a roll. (There are other sides dishes from which to choose.)

Eating a bowl of Lefty’s famous chili ($3.99) and drinking a Coors Light while watching three different college football games is easily the best seven bucks a sports fan can spend.

It sure beats the stale chips and crusty bean dip sitting on the kitchen counter since Monday night.

“Lefty” O’Doul’s Restaurant and Cocktail Lounge is located at 333 Geary St. (at Powell Street), three blocks north of the Powell Street Muni Station.