Grandio Group has taken its famous sports-bar concept across the Atlantic, opening La Cage Kensington in London, UK. The brand, originally known as La Cage aux Sports, brings its Quebec-born mix of sports, comfort food and game-day atmosphere to Kensington High Street. The move marks another step in the company’s international expansion.
Founded in Montreal in 1984, La Cage built its name around burgers, chicken wings, poutine and wall-to-wall sports. The London restaurant keeps that familiar formula while adding a British Sunday roast with Yorkshire puddings. The polished Kensington setting is a long way from a neighborhood game night, but the pitch is clear: serve up a Quebec-style sports brasserie for London diners.
The early reviews, however, have not all been a victory lap. Food critic Tom Parker Bowles reportedly described the chicken wings as “bleak, dry, and joyless.” Maybe Tom Parker Bowles was expecting Hasenpfeffer and a Michelin-starred rabbit warren, or perhaps he walked into La Cage thinking he’d bought a ticket to La Cage aux Folles. Either way, those wings may need extra time in training. For Grandio, the real test is whether Londoners embrace a taste of Quebec. That is the big challenge awaiting the Montreal-based group.