I am not a huge sports fan and usually only go to sports bars if I am meeting up with friends. However, if you're an avid sports fan then I am sure you'd enjoyed Real Sports Bar & Grill to watch the latest games. I believe that this establishment is one of the largest ones in Toronto with its abundance of space, and multi-screens along the walls.

A girl friend of mine loves this place and decided to host a small gathering here one afternoon with a total of 8 people. Everyone got there around 9 pm. However, I had a prior engagement and couldn't make it until 10 pm. My friend greeted me outside of the sports bar and shared her frustrations; as the waitress had "just taken their orders" a few minutes before I came. They had waited nearly an hour to get their orders in despite the capacity not being a full house. As a disclaimer, the above information was second-hand as I wasn't present during the wait.

Upon entering the dim lit sports-centric establishment; I noticed that the decor was very sleek and more on the upscale end. There were several flat screens throughout the bar with different sport games on. Real Sports Bar & Grill is spacious with ample seating from booths, bar seats, tables, to stools seating. They also have a large bar at the front of the establishment with several beers on tap; priced between $6 to $11.




The menu offers a wide range of bar food such as appetizers, chicken wings, salads, sandwiches, burgers, ribs, and steaks. The food items are slightly priced higher than the average sports bars but you have to take into account of its location next to the Air Canada Centre and how the establishment positioned themselves as more "higher end".

The Real Sports Nachos ($17.49 / party size) [three cheese blend, jalapenos, green onion, pico de gallo & sour cream] was of a good size, and definitely shareable. You have a choice of adding either guacamole, chili, BBQ chicken or BBQ pulled pork for an extra $4.00.

One of my favorite food is probably chicken wings, so this was a no-brainer for me as I flipped through the menu. I decided on the 1/2 dozen chicken wings ($14.49) with a side of fries ($2.99). There were a choice of 15 different sauces and I got the Thai sweet chili. According to a little printed tidbit on the menu; this was the sauce that got the chef hired at Real Sports Bar & Grill. The large wings were coated evenly with the sweet sauce, and came with a small portion of carrot and celery with Caesar sauce. I liked that the wings were crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside. The fries came out in a mini deep-fryer basket which I thought was pretty cute.

One of my friends got the Canadian Flat Bread Board ($14.49) [pepperoni, bacon, portobello mushroom and double cheese]. The flat bread was quite delicious and extremely cheesy which I liked.

The Real Sports Burger ($13.49) [Canadian AAA ground beef served with chopped lettuce, tomato, onion and Real Sports sauce]. It's an extra $3.00 if you want to add sweet potato fries to your burger meal.

The service wasn't completely unbearable, but it was average at best. The wait for the food and bill afterwards was a bit of a wait. Based on the reviews online; service is either a hit or a miss for patrons. Also, there is a 18% service charge for groups of 6 people or more (even if you ask for separate bills).

The overall atmosphere of the sports bar was good though. People are either chatting amongst their group of friends or attentively watching the games on the multi-screens. There weren't any big games happening that day so it wasn't overly loud at all. I can't imagine how busy or loud it would be on any finals night but it does sound fun (if you're a sports fan).



RATINGS:

Quality of Food: 3.8/5