The O2 arena,
Peninsula Square,
Greenwich,
London,
SE10 0DX
The ViewLondon Review
A superior refreshment stop, typical of the world’s premier concert arena.
The Venue
Housed within the cavernous O2 Arena (and this means the actual arena, as opposed to the faux-continental Entertainment Avenue that circles it), Two Degrees Bar is a cut above the average concert venue pit-stop. It’s still a hole in the wall, but like everything else in the O2 it’s impeccably clean with a rather funky mirrored backdrop and wallpaper displaying its Two Degrees logo. And how many other fast food and drink style outlets do you know that sell Champagne?
The Atmosphere
Obviously the atmosphere at Two Degrees Bar is very much dependent upon the night’s performers, but be it pre-teens clutching banners and about to scream their little heads off at their pop idols or black-clad goth rockers who are far more cool about seeing their guitar heroes, there’s typically a sense of giddy anticipation about the bar. After all, this is the final opportunity to grab some food or drink before the gig begins.
The rapid service also means that queues don’t build to epic proportions, so there’s rarely any fear of missing that opening song.
The Food
Expect little more than gourmet crisps (a variety of flavours of Tyrrells ;£1.10), nuts (£2.20) and bags of Nestle sweets (£3.50) at Two Degrees Bar. Yes, it’s horrifically over-priced, but then you go to concerts knowing this will be the way.
The Drink
With gig goers not being trusted with glasses in this day and age, it’s all served in plastic but you can at least take it into the arena and you can get Becks or Boddingtons on tap (£4.30 per pint). Vodka Kick and Gaymers Cider are the bottled options (£4.50 each) with spirits split between house (Smirnoff, Bacardi, Gordons, Bells priced at £4.20 for a single plus mixer or a whopping £8.20 for a double with a £1 surcharge for Red Bull) and premium (Jack Daniels and Couvousier – perhaps not everybody’s idea of premium but for £5.30 a single and £10 a double your wallet will think so).
There are two varieties of red (Bourgogne Pinot Noir and Beaujolais Mommessin) and white wine (Bourgogne Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc), which are £4.80 per glass or £25 per bottle - expensive but handy if sitting through a 2-3 hour show. The coup de grace though is the Lanson Rose and Black Label Champagne (£13 for 20cl) and the cocktails – nothing remarkable but the choice of mojito, cosmo, bramble and mai tai is unexpected in this environment.
The Last Word
What you think of Two Degrees Bar will no doubt be swayed by what you make of the O2 as a whole. Yes, it’s corporate but there’s no denying that it’s smarter than your average arena bar.
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