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Sports Bar

The Sports Café An absolute haven for sports fanatics, The Sports Café is an immense two-story bar featuring 120 televisions, three giant super-screens, and three full bars serving an often rowdy crowd of Europeans and North Americans. London England 51.5079962 -0.1313332

3.54 14

The Sports Café - Pool Hall | Restaurant | Sports Bar in London.

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10 User Reviews

User Reviews (10)

Ratings:

Lucas

Adriana

Jonah

Emma

Party Earth Review An absolute haven for sports fanatics, The Sports Café is an immense two-story bar featuring 120 televisions, three giant super-screens, and three full bars serving an often rowdy crowd of Europeans and North Americans... ... read full review

Neighborhood:

Central London
Address:

80, Haymarket
London SW1Y 4TE

Get Directions

Tube:

Bakerloo, Piccadilly Lines: Piccadilly Circus
Phone:

020 7839 8300
Links:
Official Website

Hours:

M–Sa noon–3am, Su noon–10:30pm
Recommended as:
- Day Spot
- Night Spot

First to review Kira A.

Write your review

Party Earth The Sports Café Review

The Scene

An absolute haven for sports fanatics, The Sports Café is an immense two-story bar featuring 120 televisions, three giant super-screens, and three full bars serving an often rowdy crowd of Europeans and North Americans.

Central London, London –

The décor, not surprisingly, consists of sports-related souvenirs, signed memorabilia, trophy cabinets, and a hanging motorbike and racecar, as well as some charmingly overdone touches like the baseball bat door handles – but despite the overall theme, the leather booths and clean, modern furniture still manage to convey some sophistication.

Even the menu reflects the bar’s dedication to all things sports, with such delicacies on offer as Warm Ups and Power Play Satay. Eight booths in the restaurant feature individual flat-screens, but given the number of TVs available, snagging one of the booths is hardly necessary.

Whether there’s a match on or not, The Sports Café has made sure its patrons have plenty to do, from pool and foosball to gaming machines and Wii – and if that’s not enough, the crowd can always blow off steam on the weekends when a DJ shows up to get the dance floor hopping.

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Tip from Lucas:

Patrons here love to play, so it’s best to call ahead to book a pool table or Nintendo Wii – otherwise, you’ll face long lines or no play-time at all.

Crowd

International mix of Europeans and Americans, early to late 20s.
Entertainment / Music

Over a hundred TVs and three super-screens feature international sporting events. Eleven full-size pool tables, gaming machines, foosball tables, and Nintendo Wii.

Various themes each night offer special discounts, so check the website for the schedule of events. DJs from 10pm on weekends play popular hip-hop, rock, and dance music.
Food / Miscellaneous

Daily à la carte menu and large variety of bar food including wings, bruschetta, ribs, salads, steaks, burgers, sandwiches, pizza, vegetarian burgers, and nacho sharing platters.

Prices

Cover charge £3–£5. Bar snacks and appetizers £4.50–£11.25, entrées £8.45–£16.25, desserts £3.45–£5.75. Beer £3.50+, wine £2.95+, cocktails £12.95/pitcher, shots £2+.
What to Wear / Dress Code

Casual. Dress code: no team colors or jerseys.
Hot Nights / When to Go

Office Party 6–10pm on Fridays, American Sports Night on Sundays, Student Night on Tuesdays, and Wild Wing Night on Thursdays are all good bets.

Tags:: BaseballBasketballBurgersCasualCover chargeCricketDJDanceDance FloorDancingDress CodeEarly 20sFinger FoodFish and ChipsFoosballFootballGaming / GamblingGood for GroupsGroupsHip-HopHot DogsLate 20sLocalsPizzaPool (Billiards)RockRowdyRugbySandwichesSnack FoodSoccerSophisticatedSportsSports FansSteakTVsTheme NightsTouristsVideo GamesWings

The Sports Café User Reviews

Sanwest May 9, 2013 3.0 stars Good meeting place Indistinctly, if you are a student, tourist or sports enthusiast, when you first arrive to London everyone talks about this place: "It's not just sports, it's a meeting place". Finally, you accept and go. First impression? All full of televisions and broadcasting various sports. And you think: Where I am? You go in and see that there are something else to do. It is a good meeting place. You can drink, talk, watch sports and dance at night.

Emily Ovaert May 4, 2013 3.0 stars American-style college bar in the heart of London For American students abroad, the Sports Café is a little slice of home in the heart of London. From May-August, this bar is absolutely packed with study-abroad students looking for a rowdy American-style bar scene. For the rest of the year, the bar attracts primarily an international crowd of sports fans. The bar has relatively good drink deals for this touristy area in West London. The pitchers offer some of the greatest deals in fun mixed drink flavors like Sex on the Beach. As can be expected, some of the flavored shots are little more than fruit syrup, so those are a rip-off. Tuesday night is student night, and high school or college-aged bar-goers can present a student i.d. to get free cover charge. The dance floor usually gets packed after midnight, and the DJ plays a mix of British and American hits (not many West End clubs play American hip-hop / rap, but this is the place to go for that). Not only are beer pong tables set up for a tournament, you can compete in a team beer-chugging contest (all on student night). All in all, if you’re looking for a posh London club or an authentic British pub, this is definitely not the place to go. However, if you’re homesick for a lively bar scene reminiscent of a college campus bar, this is the place to go.

Chanequa Campbell Apr 10, 2013 2.0 stars A Haven for the Nostalgic Ex-Pat My first thought walking into The Sports Café – London was that I had never seen so many TV screens all showing sports – it was reminiscent of seeing Jordan return to the Bulls in ’96. There are two floors and two bars with monitors everywhere. First I was told there would be a 5 pound cover charge but I was not forced to pay; usually all major international sporting events are shown and patrons are charged a 5 pound cover at the door but it seems randomly applied. I realized this place might be more than I bargained for as the awe of the hundred flashing screens began to wear off, and all I could make out was bright, flashing, screens and drunken obnoxious body parts (just their body parts obstructing any possible view, not the people themselves of course). When the bar is less crowded, I was encouraged to ask for match of my choice. The upstairs features several pool tables and Wii stations for patrons to use, however it can be an impossibly long wait if you do not bother to sign up in advance. There is a decent selection of cliché bar food but you are served really small portion sizes for the price paid. (10 chicken wings will cost about 7.50 pound) If you are with a small group of 2 or 3, the American Platter may be the best food offering for your money. Unfortunately, the beer here is not cheaper by the bucket, and one pint generally costs 4 pound. The wait staff is a bit underwhelming so you should be prepared to be aggressive when trying to get bar service on a crowded night. The bar is mostly frequented by international travelers, ex-patriots and students in their 20s. The Sports Café – London convenient Piccadilly Circus location makes it highly accessible and very easy to find by underground or bus. Also, if you are out at the bar after the tube closes, there are plenty of night buses that stop just up the road from the bar. Unless you love rowdy crowds and spotty wait service, I recommend visiting this place on a weekday afternoon or early evening to sit comfortably in a booth with its own individual monitor and actually WATCH a game. There is better food and cheaper beer for your money in London, so I would truly only recommend this pub for the sports enthusiast. However, if you are ever truly in search of camaraderie, check out The Sports Café and decide for yourself, it is worth a visit.

maggieryan17 Apr 1, 2013 2.0 stars College Atmosphere I visited this bar to watch the FIFA World Cup in 2010. It definitely screamed "American college bar," but I still had a good time. There was a good mix of American tourists, young British students, and international European travelers. The place was absolutely packed, but it was a ton of fun. There are TVs everywhere, so finding a spot to see the game was not hard at all. Everyone was getting really into the game, so the atmosphere was really crazy and energetic. It definitely doesn't feel like the authentic British pub or bar you might expect elsewhere, though. I had fun for the night, but I don't know if I'd return again. It's a good place to go if you're with a large group of people and are looking for the typical American college night out. It is pretty centrally located though, so it would be easy to hang out here for a bit before leaving to check out a few other places, too. Public transportation is easily accessible as well, which is always great after a long night out!

jtzeng Dec 13, 2012 2.0 stars American Frat Party I studied abroad so I could get away from the American college scene- NOT become reimmersed in it, which is what happened the one time I visited the Sports Café. No doubt, it was a fun time seeing all the guys pull sleezy tactics to drunk slutty girls who can't even look forward and hold themselves up. It's great for people watching though and drinks are very cheap on most nights. It can get very crowded with a line and a cover, so be aware of that. There is a main room upstairs with beer pong and downstairs there are several spaces for people to go- an area where people can sit and chat with their friends, the bar area, and then a clubbing dance floor where sometimes they do entertainment nights like a pint chugging contest my awesome roommate totally owned everyone else.

Anna Ovaert Nov 30, 2012 4.0 stars Trying to be American - oddly successful I am an American and was a student before university in London. It was always so fun to literally be surrounded by Americans, play beer pong and watch sports. This being said, not everyone there is American, which is what kind of makes it fun. I've taught Europeans how to play beer pong which has always been fun. Dance floor doesn't heat up until later but it ALWAYS gets packed and has great music. Drinks are cheap and Student Night on Tuesday is always a good time!

Nicole Baqai Nov 29, 2012 4.0 stars BEERPONG AT A BAR?! MUST GO This was one of the highlights of my London trip. We wanted to go drink at a casual bar/club and our friends told us there's a really cool sports bar downtown London. We went and it was one of my favorite nights of my whole entire trip! We walked in and met so many tourists and Americans mixed with Londoners. It was a great group of people all looking to have a good time. They had a beer pong tournament running upstairs and downstairs and me and my friends killed at it! We met so many people through our games and I ended up keeping in touch with a lot of them that were my age. This is a must go if you want to party, meet people and have a little sense of home downtown!

Alli Holt Nov 14, 2012 2.0 stars American Sports Bar In London I believe there are a number of Sports Cafes in London but I went to the one near Soho as a place to pregame before going out. We didn't know what to expect but knew it was a sports bar. Right when we walked in, it was like we were back in America. The people were American, the loud/obnoxiousness was American, the light beers were American and the intense games of beer pong were very American. It was a very young crowd and obvious that this was where all the college kids studying abroad came when they needed a little taste of home. There were even some on-stage, very U.S.-spring-break-in-Cabo drinking contests. The beer specials are really good and the cover is pretty small, just a few pounds. While no student studying abroad should waste their time here every night, I'd recommend it when a taste of home is REALLY needed, like during the Superbowl or another US sporting event.

Kira Abe Aug 8, 2012 3.0 stars Amurica!!! The Sports Cafe is one of the few places in London where sports fans, American or not, can go to enjoy some good old fashioned American sports traditions. Booths with individual TVs, tables conducive to beer pong, and waitresses in skimpy cheerleading outfits, this bar has America written all over it. You can count on Sports Cafe to cover all the important tournaments, finals, qualifying games or rivalry games in fooball (U.S.), baseball, basketball, football (U.K.), etc. and you can bet it'll be packed during the Superbowl, NBA finals, MLB world series, soccer World Cup, and the like. Sports Cafe gets pretty rowdy and fun on the weekends and there is a minor cover charge. When you're abroad it's definitely the place to go to get your weekly dose of America.

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The Sports Café Pool Hall / Restaurant / Sports Bar

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Ratings:

Neighborhood:

Address:

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Tube:

Phone:

Links:

Hours:

Recommended as:

Party Earth The Sports Café Review

The Scene

Tip from Lucas:

Crowd

Entertainment / Music

Food / Miscellaneous

Prices

What to Wear / Dress Code

Hot Nights / When to Go

The Sports Café User Reviews

Similar Venues

Upcoming Events in London

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