As sports bar restaurants go, the dining experience at The Arena at the Acropolis is a winning combination of fine food in an immersive atmosphere. The eatery, found in the upper-level Acropolis gaming lounge at the Barbican Centre, is colourfully alive with multiple flat-screen televisions screening soccer, golf and basketball games and ESPN's Sports Centre, sporting paraphernalia adorning the walls, and the national flags of several countries hanging from its ceilings.

 

The Arena is the sole full-service restaurant operated under the Supreme Ventures-owned Acropolis brand, which has other locations in Portmore, May Pen and a new outlet launched just last week in Cross Roads. "Fridays are high-traffic days at The Arena," discloses Ann Taylor, manager of The Acropolis. "We have a constant turnover over of patrons, from people who come after work to those who go home first and come back out to have fun."

 

On this Friday evening, pockets of after-work groups are gathered at tables across the room's span. They are engrossed in conversation, laughing and chatting at high decibel levels over beer and cocktail mixes, with several awaiting their orders for meals.