You know what London is missing? A colossal bar in the middle of Covent Garden where you can watch Nightmare on Elm Street, The Omen and The Shining on 30 silver screens while simultaneously cheering on the Europa League. Said no one ever. Yet Bloodsports, from the same minds behind Meatliquor, seems to really be onto something here. This is the sort of unpretentious late-night fun that has been lacking in central London for far too long.
A quick stroll from Covent Garden tube, and slyly hidden down a corridor entrance sandwiched between a coffee hatch and a Tesco, this place is a Tardis: a vast, windowless den where it could be 10am or 10pm - you wouldn’t know for the glare of red neon lights and lack of windows. A generous bar lines one side of the room, another is closer to the back, and the whole space is kitted out with stacks of tables and benches as well as arcade games and pool. There’s plenty of organised fun to be had if you fancy it, though take caution if you choose to do karaoke: it is ‘on demand’, meaning pretty much the whole venue will watch (and hear) your rendition of ‘My Heart Will Go On’.
This kind of huge, big-booking place could be hellish – hello, Brewdog Waterloo – but somehow, it’s not. Bloodsports is cool in a sort of self-consciously cringey way, working well because it truly goes all-in on the ‘horror movie meets sports bar’ theme. There’s a ‘bloods’ menu, with lip-smackingly good tomato-based cocktails (your classic bloody marys, as well as tequila, martini and other variations), as well as a Psycho-inspired photobooth.
This sort of unpretentious late-night fun has been lacking in central London for far too long
Unlike many of its corporate drinking den counterparts, Bloodsports does stuff well. The cocktails have kick, and the drinks menu is vast, spanning frozen margs, picklebacks, decent non-draft and draft beers offerings, as well as a generous non-alcoholic selection. The service is slick; the staff genuinely seem to believe in the concept. And the food offering surprised us: it’s all fried, American diner-esque stuff, but it’s not greasy in a gross way. It’s greasy in a delicious, carb-up-for-the-night kind of way. You’ve got a great selection of burgers and hot dogs, as well as epic loaded fries: the garlicky variation, tossed in pungent garlic butter and dusted with diced raw white onion and crispy onion, were seriously naughty.
With a late 2am license and lots of space, this sort of place is becoming a rare find. A bar for big groups and big fun, but somewhere that would work just as well if you needed to sink a quick one to kill time.
Order this
Ease yourself in with a leisurely michelada: a cute concoction of refreshing lager mixed with tomato juice, lemon and spice mix. Tangy yet utterly refreshing.
What’s nearby?
All of Covent Garden is on your doorstep, and better still, Soho is within walking distance. That said, Bloodsports is open until a very decent 2am, and there’s enough fun to be had here to make a proper night out of it.