ReviewThis is an unusual bar, located inside AFC Wimbledon's new stadium, but open to the public on non match days. I visited whilst attending a fixture here, so the bar was closed to everyone except home fan ticket holders, meaning the experience probably wasn't very representative. The bar, which is also the taproom for the By The Horns Brewery, occupies an open plan room with a scruffy concrete floor, blockwork walls and big metal girders across the ceiling with lots of exposed utilities. The bar is down the right-hand wall and has a wooden slat counter front and brushed metal top with quite a nice backlit modern shelving unit across the bar back, bearing some By The Horns logo light features and "COYD" spelled out in bright lights across the canopy. Aside from a few fixed banquette booths to the rear, there was no indoor seating, with much of the space given over over to a queueing barrier system - whether seats fill this space outside of match days, I'm not sure. Many large TV screens were dotted around, showing a muted live football match with trap music playing quietly in background. Outside there's a covered seating area with lots of tables and benches under a neon brewery sign, where you can find more TV screens showing the match. The place was a nightmare to find, with clueless stewards sending me to every corner of the ground (I even ended up in the away end at one point!) before I eventually found it for myself, in the corner behind the Cappagh and Movers stands. Having said that, I would imagine it's much easier to find on non match days, when you don't have to enter the ground first.
I think I counted eight By The Horns beerson keg, with a session brew such as Yuzu (4.2% abv) priced at £6.80 a pint. There was a sole cask option - By The Horns Classic - which came in at a much more reasonable £5.50 a pint and was in good nick, even though it was served in a hard plastic cup. The staff seemed really on top of things, providing swift, friendly service, so that the queue never really got very big despite a near capacity crowd.
This is a difficult place to rate, as I can't really imagine what it would be like drinking in here on a regular day, but I have to say, for a match day experience, it's probably the best in-stadium bar I've ever been to, thanks to the efficient service and good range of local beers. It's probably a different story sitting in what could well be a gloomy, cold room without the crowds, but it's better than a lot of London brewery taprooms I've been to and I wouldn't rule out a non-football return visit.
Date of visit - 9th December 2023
