Of all Notting Hill’s slick and stylised restaurants, it’s the one belting out Frankie Valli and grilling sardines that’s the most compelling. One part social club and one part raucous sing-a-long, Sporting Clube De Londres is a fun-loving escape from London tedium fuelled by food rather than existing for it.
This Portuguese canteen combines a banquet hall setup with Sporting Lisbon memorabilia on the walls, but the atmosphere feels more like the peak hours of a wedding you’ve just crashed. Groups 20-deep double fist chourico assado and vinho verde, while at any given point a diner may stand up, piri-piri chicken mic in hand, and murder Respect as it plays over the speakers. There’s a perma-crooner up on the mic, disco lights orbit the room, and groups of all ages (and sobriety) can’t help but lean (or fall) into the refreshingly carefree atmosphere.
The food is excellent-value and you’ll see plates of freshly grilled chouriço and hearty bowls of cataplana bobbing with squid, fish, prawns, and mussels plonked onto many a table. Hand-cut chips soak up lagers, while piri-piri chicken that leans dry is rescued with a dousing of hot sauce. A plate of chargrilled fish showered in lemon never sees anyone wrong. Be it couples on a night out lit by the rainbow lights of the room, or burly fellas grouped around the fruit machines as Portuguese Who Wants To Be A Millionaire plays on the TV above them. Whether you’re sinking pints, singing classics, or shovelling calamari there’s a good time to be had at Sporting Clube De Londres.
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