As a summer of sport kicks off with the World Cup, London’s restaurants, bars and pubs celebrate with big screens, beer and Brazilian feasts
Popping up
Boteca Brasil
A month-long pop-up in Soho, Boteca Brasil combines Brazilian food, drink and art with all the footy action. Tickets (£60 on match days, £40 otherwise) include a meal of Brazilian small-plates, a welcome
cachaça 
cocktail, and the opportunity to
admire the specially curated exhibitions while the game is shown on large screens.
Clerkenwell Cabana
South America has come to town at gastropub The Well, which has transformed its basement into the Clerkenwell Cabana
(pictured right) for the duration of the Cup. Brazilian bar snacks and Havana Club cocktails will offer refreshment while all the major matches will take pride of place on the venue’s big screen.
Globe House
This Bermondsey Street month-long pop-up is split completely in two. While the upstairs of Globe House is a relaxed, pubby 'home bar' that
takes no reservations, the downstairs ‘away bar’ is cocktail-led and comes with table service. While food isn't served, the staff will order takeaway pizzas for you.
Special serves
Anise: The beautiful game
There aren’t any scrums in football. Unless you try and pack into a City pub at the end of the day to watch an upcoming game, that is. Cinnamon Club’s standalone bar Anise near Liverpool Street is a much more civilised alternative. A range of special food and drink packages include the Game
of Two Halves featuring a pulled Kentish-lamb naanza with wedges and four beers for just £27. Get in there.
Bubbledogs: Dogs of the world
Bubbledogs may like to keep their formation simple (Champagne and hotdogs), but they’re not averse to recruiting
from abroad: ‘Dogs of the World’ are available for the duration of the tournament, featuring ten new hot dog toppings inspired by international cuisines. Try and guess the nationalities of the
Diego (chimichurri mayonnaise and spiced cassava chips), the Stavros (smoked aubergine puree and feta cheese) and the Junya-san (teriyaki noodles, nori and toasted sesame seeds), or stay patriotic
with a ‘Breakie’ dog, topped with fried egg, tomato relish, crispy bacon and black pudding (pictured right). Prices start at £7, which is a bargain for a foreign player.
The Diner: Round the world in 32 burgers
All-American chain The Diner has set itself the challenge of a different burger for every day of the tournament,
having created a list of 32 inspired by nations taking part. For £10 you will be served medium fries and a burger garnished with anything from mushroom stroganoff (Russia), to roast beef,
horseradish and gravy (you might just be able to guess this one) or a Belgian waffle with syrup. If you can stomach that final combination (it comes atop a cheese-covered patty) you’ll be in a
league of your own. For a full burger timetable visit The Diner’s Facebook page.
The Draft House: Beering the team on
All five branches of Draft House will be showing the full World Cup action on their giant HD
‘monster’ screens. Choose either patriotic and international beers from the vast selection, and chomp down on perfect match food in the form of burgers, buffalo wings, bacon dogs and foot-long pork
scratchings.
Frankie’s: Frankly greedy
The recently refurbished Frankie (Dettori)’s Sports Bar & Diner at the Chelsea ground
is now majoring in north American food and World Cup action, with 12 widescreen TVs. Watching other people exercise on a football field can be exhausting, so to ensure you get all the nutrients you
need Frankie’s have devised the £25 BBQ Challenge: if you can eat a pulled pork sandwich, a BBQ burger, a serving of jalapeño cheesy chips, onion rings and chicken wings, half a rack of BBQ ribs
and a pot of coleslaw in under 45 minutes, you won’t have to pay, saving the money for a larger pair of trousers instead.
Footie fatigue
City sports refuge
Not a fan? Football free evenings run for the duration of the World Cup at The Sign of The Don and Bleeding Heart bistros, where a hat-trick of a deal means that when you buy two courses from the
£18 prix fixe menu, you’ll get a third course of pudding or cheese completely free.
Published 12 June 2014