Does London need another sports bar? The capital is hardly short of a spot or two to chill out (or rage) and indulge in the big Premier League match, cricket showdown or Formula 1 race. Well it’s got one, and it is fair to say it’s purposely positioning itself in a different lane.
Because the latest addition to Kensington High Street is La Cage Montreal Sports Brasserie. It’s a little bit too flashy for the average sports fan with its metallic tones and mirrors a stark contrast to the comfy sports bar booths you’d find elsewhere in London, but setting up shop in the lucrative Knightsbridge-Belgravia corridor appears intentional.
“The biggest issue in London is the real estate,” its founder Jean Bedard tells City AM. “It’s very expensive to have a good location and when they presented me with that location; well it’s a very high-end sector.
“We’re not going [up] against pubs, we’re trying to bring a new experience to the customer in Europe. We elevate our decor to be at the level [for the area]. And that’s why we decided to go to London.”
Watching the Premier League at La Cage is akin to eating lunch on a cruise ship (with better food). The ambiance is relaxed with a very international clientele – reflective of the chain’s move to London.
Canadian-founded and built, Bedard says that there was a conscious decision to avoid turning south to the United States and instead head to Europe – France and now London – where, he suggests, there’s an audience for a heightened experience.
La Cage unleased?
“There’s tons of sports [in London],” he adds. “People love sports more than in France. I have a consultant that works in Europe, and he said, “If you have success in the south of France, you should have a lot of success in London’.
“People say, ‘You’re a visionary. Instead of going to the US, you’re going to Europe’, but I think it’s more natural, and I think there’s more possibilities in Europe.”
The US appears to be a difficult country to do business with, and that has been replicated within political circles too; UK Prime Minister Andy Burnham and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney bonded over a game of football up in Liverpool last month.
“[London is] definitely our flagship,” Bedard says. “We have a pretty good location, very nice atmosphere. But I think we can expect maybe one or two more in London, because London is such a huge market.
“We’ll take a couple of months to see what’s going on here in London. But then we can think of another one in London or maybe Manchester.”
It appears, even amid economic uncertainty, that London remains an investible market. There continues to be business undertaken, abandoned units to repurpose and sporting communities to serve.
La Cage Montreal Sports Brasserie won’t be for everyone, and it will need to go a long way to match the impeccably poured offerings at local (classy) boozer The Britannia. But the latter – an establishment which celebrates its 200th birthday within the next decade – doesn’t show the 4:30 Super Sunday kick-off, which means Kensington’s newest sporting edition has its place.