Restaurants of all stripes and jerseys are gearing up for World Cup, which kicks off on Friday (June 11) and runs until July 11th. At American sports bars and British pubs, French, Italian and Spanish dinner houses, the flat screens will be turned up bright and loud.
Many of the matches will start at 4 a.m. Seattle time, a bit early even for the truly hardcore, but replays will continue throughout the day.
A few personal suggestions:
Cafe Presse (1117 12th Ave.) will feature every minute of every match (not just Les Bleus, the French team) on a big-screen TV in the front room, live from 7 a.m. onwards, with replays of other matches in the afternoon. The weekly schedule of televised matches and times will be posted on the restaurant's website every Monday.
The most ambitious program could well be at ART, in the Four Seasons Hotel (99 Union St.), which plans a World Cup "Pub Menu" of TV trays at lunch, cheese from around the world at the all-you-can-eat cheese bar, and a Champion World Cup prix fixe dinner. Two flat-screen TVs in the lounge.
Spain gets into the act at Taberna del Alabardero in Belltown (2328 First Ave.), which will focus on La Furia Roja (the Spanish national team) but promises to show every game from Stage 2, on new plasma TVs.
