Hoops Sports Bar and Grill

Critic's Review

This place seemed like a good idea until Twin Peaks opened. Another Canadian bites the dust.

Review 10/19/14

Ah, we so wondered about Hoops Sports Bar. Hoops is a chain in Canada, and owner Eesan Subramaniam first opened a Hoops across from American Airlines Center, which went out of business soon after. Subramaniam was evicted in Jan 2013 for non-payment of $171,000 in rent, and was subsequently ordered to pay $1.6M to the landlord. The details of the case aren't clear; but apparently the judge didn't buy that Subramanium's LLC was legit. He didn't bother to file his annual report, which results in an automatic dissolution in Florida, which may have contributed to the thinking.

Hoops finally opened last week; do we believe that this is going to be a long-term legitimate business? In Davie? What can this guy possibly know about the demographics in Davie, FL? They've taken down their US web site; this location is not included on their main site; and I have to wonder what's really going to happen here.

With the Giants playing at 4pm today, I figured I'd go early and check it out.

Parking in this crazy lot was difficult; they drew a pretty good crowd for the Dolphin's game. I was wondering if I'd be able to get a seat. They have a big outdoor patio, but it didn't seem like a place I'd want to hang out.

Hoops Outdoor Space

No food specials; I wasn't too impressed with their posted specials.

Hoops Specials

The bar is way in the back, so you have to walk through the restaurant to get to it. The first thing you notice is the big mosaic TV screen.

Hoops Wall of TVs

There were a bunch of seats at the end of the bar; nobody wanted to sit there because you can't really see the big TV from the corner. I didn't care about the game anyway, so I asked for a menu and ordered an iced tea.

Hoops Bar

The menu is similar to their Canadian locations, but not close enough to post it here. The have some strange stuff that tells me that they don't know much about food; such as "Cajun" items with "chipotle" aioli dipping sauce. I was going to get some wings, but noticed that they served them with buttermilk sauce. The guy next to me had some and it looked pretty watery. So I decided to order the fish and chips.

The iced tea was delivered without any lemon or sweeteners. I asked for some lemon. I never did get any sweeteners. I'm starting to drink tea without sugar; as I'm off Splenda and you have to put too much sugar in to make it sweet enough to make a difference.

Hoops Iced Tea

While I waited I tried to catch some of the other games; at this point I discovered that this isn't a great place to watch multiple games. The Dolphins were on most of the sets. You can't see the sets across the room. I could only see 3 games from my spot at the bar.

Hoops Sport Bar Interior

I saw the bartender walking over with my food. He plopped it in front of me and went to make a drink for someone. It was initially delivered without the cole slaw; no setup, no napkin. I was waiting to tell him that the cole slaw was missing when he went to the back and came out with it. Very strange. I suggested that a fork and some napkins would be useful.

Hoops Sport Bar Fish and Chips ($10.95)

They use Haddock for the Fish here; the only worthy replacement for Cod. Places that try to make it with Mahi should be run out of town. It was well made, but completely unseasoned. Of course I had not salt. I had to ask for that also.

Hoops Sport Bar Fish from Fish & Chips

While the construction of the fish was good, they need a tastier batter. The fries were useless, obviously. Fish and chips should come with thick cut fries. This is a Canadian version.

The cole slaw was WAY too creamy; literally soaking in mayo. Not bad tasting though. Better than many others around town.

Conclusion

First, Hoops doesn't make my Where to Watch Football Article. They don't have a plan for the TVs, and it seems unlikely that I'd be comfortable watching my game if I could even find it. They do have TVs in the booths so you could go that route, but the bar area is good for watching 1 main game but not for watching others.

The menu has enough on it, but no blue cheese for the wings is a big negative. They're also not very accommodating; the guy next to me asked for "all flats" and they simply refused. "They come out the way they come out". He got 9 drums and 1 flat. You'd think that they could do better than that.