Sportsman's Bar Renovation Q&A

The kitchen was last upgraded in 2002 and between 2003 - 2017 the volume of dining covers increased by 300+% and the level of throughput in the Sportsman's Bar has increased dramatically to the extent that the current facilities and restaurant operations can no longer sustain these volumes and the kitchen facilities are no longer fit for purpose.

In addition to any members feedback given to staff and management, formal satisfaction surveys and focus group sessions were carried out in 2019. The key finding was that the Sportsman's Bar scored the lowest for food quality and the highest for atmosphere/ambience. Members love the Bar but not the food presently available. 

The anticipated budget for the Sportsman’s Bar Kitchen and Bar area renovation, including construction of the new kitchen, keg room, bar area renovation, new salad bar, lighting, AV, air conditioning, SB lavatories, new power supply and bar furniture together with the temporary SB facilities, have been estimated at HK$28million and this will be funded through the CAPEX budget.

The focus of the renovation is to keep the atmosphere of the bar area while improving the efficiency and smooth running of the outlet's operations. In terms of measuring the project's performance, we as always are open to hear Members feedback and future Membership satisfaction surveys will provide the opportunity for Members to rate the SB food quality, atmosphere and service. 

The outside structure of the Sportsman's Bar building will not be altered and the covered areas will remain the same.

There are no plans to change the terrace seating layout and the back patio will still be available for functions and for busy periods. The existing chairs will be replaced like for like, although the good condition of the existing tables means that they will remain. 

The entire back of house will be removed and replaced by a new kitchen, keg room and preparation area together with new electrics & lighting, air cooling, plumbing, drainage and fire suppression system. The new kitchen will be larger and will hold more kitchen equipment and the keg room will be refrigerated and reorganized to increase storage capacity and efficiency.

The new kitchen will be larger and designed to the highest safety and hygiene standards with new flooring, stainless steel cladding on walls, with a walk-in fridge and freezer and a better prep area. It will be a safer and more hygienic place to work which should also help improve kitchen staff turnover.

With the installation of new and more advanced kitchen equipment, the range and type of cooking choices will increase, such as the popular stir-fried items will become available. In addition, the new kitchen will be larger and will enable a more efficient and streamlined food service.

The internal area of the Sportsman’s bar will not change that much, but rather it will be refreshed with new wooden flooring, furniture, lighting, decoration and air cooling system. Much of the works consist of upgrading and reorganising the working stations to enable a more efficient service. There will also be more usable space created, with a new counter in the middle of the bar and relocation of the salad bar to the current bag storage area.

All AV and computer hardware will be updated to provide a better all round AV experience with an increased number of higher definition large TV screens and an improved sound system.

Yes, there will be a temporary Sportsman's Bar facility located on the training triangle. The temporary facility will be a scaled down version of the SB to meet the anticipated demands over the renovation period and will be provided by a company well versed in providing temporary hospitality venues. 

The timing of the SB renovation has been planned to avoid the busy days anticipated in the typical Hong Kong sporting calendar. However, the Club management will work closely with the F&B team to plan for anticipated high usage events and will offer alternative outlets within the Club to service these needs.

No, the availability and usage of the hockey pitch and bowling green will not be restricted by the renovation works. Access to the hockey pitch and the bowling green will be maintained with additional signage and hoardings to provide clear and safe routes for access.

Access will be provided to both the new SB and the renovated SB for disabled Members and visitors similar to the existing arrangements. 

The Sportsman's Bar temporary facility will open when the current Sportsman's Bar closes for renovation and will follow the usual opening hours.

From the early planning stages everyone actively working there, such as dishwashers, cooks, bartenders, the outlet manager, executive chef and the senior F&B team has been involved and asked for feedback on the development.

The more efficient layout and better operational environment combined with additional staff training, will all contribute to enhanced service levels.

While we do not plan to make the ala carte menu bigger, it will be changed seasonally and we will seek to include more variety and Asian options in the ever changing daily and weekly specials.

There are no plans to increase F&B prices as a result of the works. However there may be higher quality items added along side the existing menu that could have higher prices. This will not replace existing items, they will be additional. For example, in the Restaurant, we introduced more expensive Tamahawk steaks in addition to our usual steaks which were kept on the menu. 

If you would like any further information please e mail them to sbinfo@hkfc.com and we will get back to you within 2 working days.