Lots of bars around the Bay Area had outdoor setups with tables for watching the Super Bowl on Sunday, some likely more safe than others. And in Santa Clara County, they had inspectors making surprise visits to enforce all the rules.

Inspectors from Santa Clara County's Business Compliance unit went around to some sports bars Sunday, checking out tent setups, checking for signage about mask-wearing and hygiene, and making sure that patrons were behaving appropriately. But as KPIX reports, there were — and probably always will be — some issues with people taking their masks off to eat and drink and leaving them off.

Inspectors dropped in on The Brit in downtown San Jose — a.k.a. the Brittania Arms — to make sure pandemic rules were being followed. And the place reportedly only got a couple of warnings for correctible offenses. One issue brought up was telling patrons to put masks back on when not eating.

A patron at The Brit on Sunday, Rudy DeAnda, tells KPIX, "You can’t enforce that. First of all, [people are] here to have a good time. They’re here to enjoy the little freedom that they have. And to sit at a table that you’re with people that you know, I think you should be able to take them off. And I feel like they’re enforcing too many rules now."

Inspectors were also reportedly making sure that everyone who was drinking had food on their tables, which is another requirement.

KPIX reports that restaurants in downtown San Jose were "busy but not crowded," on Sunday, but they did observe patrons watching the Super Bowl who were fraternizing with people at other tables, discussing the game — which is a no-no, but is also inevitable.

On Friday we learned that a big sports bar in the East Bay, O’Sullivan’s in Newark, had a tent set up with TVs for watching the big game. It's not clear whether Alameda County was doing similar types of inspections on Super Bowl Sunday.

Photo: The Brit/Facebook