An American Student in London: The Sports Cafe

Every American student in London will wind up at The Sports Café eventually. I went there for the American football. Others will go for the Thursday night wing-deal, a useful bit of American-style gluttony. And then there's the pound-pint Tuesdays. It's far from perfect, that's true; most Londoners sincerely hate it. But if you prepare yourself and don't expect too much, The Sports Cafe can be downright tolerable.

First of all, know that despite having an honest claim to offering the most pervasive sports coverage in all of London, the Sports Café isn't a "sports bar" anymore than Hooters is a "family restaurant." Instead, The Sports Café tries to be every kind of bar at once. While the TVs are huge, numerous, and in HD, showing everything from the Premier League to American college football, the only sound you'll hear is straight house and techno-pop, all the better to go with the large, crowded dance floor. Meanwhile, the bars offer some pretty fancy, high-fallutin' cocktails and they even cater. The Sports Café does have elements of a sports bar, but it's got elements of everything - even "family restaurant."

Predicatably, The Sports Cafe only winds up disappointing everyone a little. If you go there for the sports, you'll be annoyed by its pretentiousness and loud music. If you go there to dance, you'll be disappointed in the crowd, mostly people who either got dragged there by their sports-fan friends or just aren't cool enough to find a real club. The food's rewarding, if you have the money (again, I do recommend the Thursday night wing deal), but not enough to justify the occasional covers, long lines, and conversation-incompatible music. Even Tuesday nights, when the bar offers pounds for a pint to students, the crowd just isn't right, too old and trying too hard, foreign grad students looking to pick up freshmen and frat guys who'll continue to hang around their houses long after they graduate.

It's not a hell-hole, like the locals will tell you. They'll tell you it's shallow and generic and that it's overpriced (except for Tuesdays, obviously). They'll tell you that its full of clueless foreigners (which will include yourself). They'll tell you that there's really nothing special about it - and that all will be true. But for some things, it just works, not unlike a college-town bar whose only merit is the fact that it doesn't card. The Sports Cafe's very uncommitted blandness is it's greatest strength. If you want to watch American sports, it's the most obvious option. You can eat there, especially on Thursday nights. You can dance there. If you're out of other ideas, you can definitely drink there. Don't expect too much from The Sports Café, but don't write it off, either. When you go, and you will, brace yourself but keep an open mind. You just have to make the most of things, or, at the very least, drink heavily.