Review: He Shoots, He Scores!

Score on Street 282 - click for more photos

Sports Bar. Ladies, are you still with me? Don’t go away. It’s just possible that you’re going to enjoy ‘Score!’, a new venue from Pascal Plamondon and his wife Srei Oun, the owners of ‘Liquid’ and ‘Flavours’. Its early days (the place has only been open a week) but Pascal and Srei seem to have pulled off an interesting trick. They have created a Sports bar that appeals equally to women. Yes, I know it sounds oxymoronic. I can’t work it out either.

Maybe there’s been a shift in gender behavioural patterns in the week since I last visited my local male-dominated sports bar. But, there they were. Women. Lots of them, all apparently enjoying themselves, and obviously not planted for the benefit of this reviewer (LOL!). Unless it was an elaborate ruse. Because they, and their escorts, kept arriving during my stay.

It’s not really surprising. A monster Sports screen (plus at least half a dozen more LCD’s throughout the venue) keeps the, well, Sports fan occupied, while everyone else can enjoy the convivial bar scene and the great playlist on offer. The sexy wait staff, all done out in black and white American-style sports kit and Converse footwear, look great running the floor and seemed to know the job pretty well.

I confess to impure thoughts. Namely, how much did this joint cost to create? That’s for the owners and their bank manager to figure out. Like a Cecil B de Mille biblical epic, at least you can see where the dollars got spent. It looks great.

The cavernous entrance is a triumph, with a long white curving cocktail-style bar to one side, opposing the wall where that huge retractable screen lives. At a height of nine metres, and composed of 10,000 over-fired bricks (okay, they used some of those upstairs, too), it’s an impressive elevation, and its rustic earthiness is blended cleverly into the polished concrete that forms the main aesthetic of the interior. The low-slung banquette seating accentuates the feeling of spaciousness.

The entertainment area gives onto a proper Pool hall, with four excellent quality, well-spaced, tables and its own bar area (and more screens). There’s also a separate mezzanine bar (I guess we should call it a bar|meeting|party ‘zone’) which is certain to be a big hit with the corporate crowd, and for one-off events.

At this point the emphasis is on the booze side of the show, but the burger ($6) I ate was the juiciest in my (admittedly brief) stay in the city. The chips (not fries) were good, too. Wine is served in an elegant goblet by the glass ($3). But that’s for WAGS and Football Managers only. The chaps have to make do with draught Anchor ($1.50) or Tiger ($2) but it’s no great hardship. There’s a range of cocktails too, starting at $3.75.

But, hey, this is a Sports bar. There’s the football on the big screen. Understandably, scheduling is still being finalised at present, with the Premiership the big weekend draw. But Pascal, a Canadian by birth, knows that the World of Sport extends beyond UK shores, and, once scheduling has been sorted out, intends to offer a wide-ranging program. Even I, as a Brit, can see the bigger picture. For I must belatedly declare an interest. I like Sport. I live in hope of watching the World Series there in the fall. Oh, and that’s Baseball to you ladies still reading…

(The writer acknowledges that he may simply be a male chauvinistic pig, and shamelessly guilty of using gender stereotyping to draw inspiration for this article…)

‘Score!’
Sports Bar and Grill
Street 282

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