JEDDAH, 15 May — For some reason people have been calling it Sport’s Cafe. I thought it was a great idea when I first heard of it. You know, something new and different — a place that really cheered when a soccer match was on TV. Other restaurants would be dead at such times but Sport Studio would be packed with sports fans. They all gathered in a room full of TV sets watching the matches together while enjoying friendly service at a fun place. Naturally you have the choice of watching any channel you like — Discovery, MBC, MTV etc. It’s a cool and funky place with lots of signed T-shirts and caps of all sorts of famous players hung or framed on the walls. They have some modern looking tables and chairs along with a few comfortable couches. The ceiling is blue mainly with some spotlights that look like stars. At first it was open for families only on the weekends and for singles during the week, but now they have a singles section so that’s that. I think that the place targets teenagers mostly. I mean who else would tolerate such a busy and noisy atmosphere?
On the day of my visit, luckily there were no matches going on. MTV was on most of the screens with the volume on high. I would like to add I positively loved it. It was a room full of energy and fun. There were a lot of thirteen-year-olds and no doubt that made me feel old. The juices and cocktails were terrific, as were the unique glasses they were served in. Plus they all had very colorful and interesting sporty names — apple pitch, power forward pina colada, Mark McGwire delight and volleyball on the beach. But some were so tall that my friends found difficulty sipping from them. There is a wide selection of teas, which pleased me a great deal. After all I drink tea more than anyone else I know.
Unfortunately the food was a disappointment. It’s divided into seven sections. I would put kick off, which includes Wimbeldon wings, slam dunk dumplings and Shaquille chips and salsa, along with warm-up which includes both water polo soup and water sky soup, together with halftime which is a bunch of different salads. All under starters. In fairness the chicken Czar salad is reportedly excellent, I have a friend who said it’s the best Czar salad she have ever eaten in Jeddah. Then there’s substitute a variety of sandwiches such as football club, tennis turkey and hockey fried chicken etc.
Of course the main game is more or less the main course section. It includes quarterback shrimp, right-hook steak, cricket chicken curry, gold medal fajitas and world cup fondue etc. Then they have Texas rodeo challenge that is just another name for burgers. Finally Italian league is basically pasta. In general, all the food is too oily and greasy, especially the Mexican stuff. The judo nachos for example were too mushy and disgusting; the rally chili cheese fries heavy and gave me a tummy ache. The burgers are gross or barely edible. My friend ordered a body slam chicken sandwich that she could not finish because frankly she found it “Tasteless.” My sister’s friend said that she loved the chicken sandwich, so there you have it.
As for dessert, or should I say, third round — it’s really good! The best two are death by chocolate and double kick brownies with ice cream, which is served hot with a candle under the plate to keep the brownies warm.
Gymnastic crepe is another yummy treat with fresh strawberries and vanilla ice cream. And of course like all popular cafes in Jeddah, you can have a hubbly bubbly.
Sport Studio Café is on Jeddah’s Tahlia Street. For other information, call 6657090.