Photograph by Skye Dunlap

Full Throttle's full-time bartender Natalie Marie pours a cool pitcher of beer for her customers.




Full Throttle brings sports
bar to Murphy Avenue

By Michelle Ku

It's full steam ahead for the Full Throttle Sports Cafe.

Open since March 15, Full Throttle has carved a niche for itself as the only sports bar of its kind in Sunnyvale.

"There's nothing else like this on Murphy or in the area," said owner George Gera. "Everything else on the street is fine dining."

Gera opened the motorcycle-and-sports-theme restaurant and bar to create a fun place to hang out that caters to both families and the sports crowd.

Throughout the two-story building are 12 televisions with 12 satellite receivers. The 10-foot big-screen television will arrive before June. The bar offers pool tables, foosball, pinball, darts, air hockey and golf games.

The menu consists of hamburgers, sandwiches and pizzas.

The restaurant serves nine kinds of hamburgers, from the traditional half-pounder to a guacamole or jalapeño and cheese burger. Hamburgers range from $4.50 to $5.75.

Full Throttle features five chicken sandwiches--grilled, spicy, cheddar, mushroom and roasted red pepper--ranging from $5.50 to $5.95. The restaurant serves eight varieties of sausages, which cost between $3.50 and $4.75. Traditional tuna, turkey, roast beef, Reuben and club sandwiches are also on the menu.

Every hamburger or sandwich is served with seasoned fries.

Despite the wide array of hamburgers and sandwiches, the kitchen's specialty is pizza. Customers can choose from one of three standard pizzas or custom build their own using any or all of the more than 20 toppings.

Pepperoni, sausage, garlic, tomatoes, roasted peppers and sautéed onions and a three-cheese blend top the Custom Cruiser pizza. A small is $10.95 and a large is $18.95.

The Off Road pizza is vegetarian with yellow tomatoes, mushrooms, roasted peppers, green olives, artichoke hearts and diced pepperoncini. A small is $10.50 and a large is $18.50.

"We try to keep most of the traditional items on the pizzas, but we also make it a little more California cuisine," said Chance Kozak, head chef.

The food is made fresh, from the sausages to the pizza dough.

"Everything in-house is as fresh as possible," said Kozak.

Full Throttle has a full bar with more than 10 imports and microbrews on tap. Happy hour is from 4 to 7 p.m. daily.

The restaurant features dancing with DJs every Thursday, Friday and Saturday night beginning at 9 p.m.

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Full Throttle Sports Cafe is at 155 South Murphy Ave. The phone number is 720-1535. Full Throttle is open seven days a week from 11 a.m. until 2 a.m. The kitchen closes at 10 p.m. every night. Customers can fax in lunch orders to 720-1675 by 11:15 a.m.

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