Fun things in Wimbledon

November 25, 2011 3:06 AM

What's fun to do in Wimbledon?

We recently moved to Wimbledon from Brixton. We're kinda struggling to find fun things to do – in terms of awesome pubs, cafes, restaurants and cultural stuff. I'm getting the impression that Wimbledon isn't really going to be as exciting as Brixton, but I'm still hopeful that we can find a few great places to hang out.

Any recommendations for places to try?

posted by dudekiller to Food & Drink (10 answers total)

Did you try the Village?
posted by devnull at 4:14 AM on November 25, 2011

I've lived in Wimbledon and Brixton, and made the move in the other direction precisely because the vibe is totally different, and Wimbledon was, in a word, boring. That said, have you tried trekking up the hill to Wimbledon Village? Wimbledon itself feels like suburbia (and is where I'd really define the start of the suburbs to be), but the village is a lot like Hampstead (if slightly less posh) - you're more likely to find a nice cafe / pub / bar than on the high street I reckon.
posted by iivix at 4:17 AM on November 25, 2011

For what it's worth, aside from geography, one of the reasons I'd say that Wimbledon is the start of suburbia is because you take on the suburbian mindset around going out. In Brixton, you expect to be able to walk out your front door and do stuff within that immediate locality, whereas in the suburbs, your expectations are different around what "local" actually means, and due to train and car travel expands to take on a much larger area. So living in Wimbledon means thinking about Richmond, Kingston, and those other orbital "towns" that seem so far away from central London.
posted by iivix at 4:25 AM on November 25, 2011

Ditto to the comments already. The village has a number of cafes and so on, there are also some adequate enough places down on the Broadway near the theatre, but Wimbledon and Brixton are just, different.

Wimbledon is older (demographically), spread out and more centralised - in many ways it's a town: there's a town centre with a focus, the village offers an alternate slightly more refined centre, but there's less scope for things to happen just everywhere.

Wimbledon just isn't as exciting as Brixton. It's got a few pubs, a few cafes, but it's got a lot of kids, a lot of families and much (too much?) is geared to them.
posted by unsliced at 4:33 AM on November 25, 2011

Best answer: Yeah, I’ve lived in both, and Wimbledon has much less going on. The draw is the common, rather than the nightlife.
That said, try the Curzon cinema, the Fox and Grapes on the common, the Dog & Fox in the village. Futher afield, I’ve heard good things about Lebanese restaurant Aya, but never been myself. On Kingston Road there's a great Italian deli and family-run bakery. Finally, if running is your thing, join the Wimbledon Parkrun.
posted by sleepy boy at 4:42 AM on November 25, 2011

Not much, in my experience. I used to date a girl who lived there, and it's a pretty dull part of town.

Copperfield's second-hand bookshop is excellent though. And I know a few people who go to the art college there - a couple of times a term they'll have a free exhibition which can be really fun, and they usually have free beer and wine too. The end-of-year degree show is the highlight.
posted by Ted Maul at 6:10 AM on November 25, 2011

Also, don't forget that you're only 15 minutes or so away from Waterloo on the National Rail, and a simple Zone 1-3 travelcard/oyster covers the journey.

Although believe me - you won't forget!
posted by Ted Maul at 6:20 AM on November 25, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yeah, there are a few okay pubs up in the Village/Common area but Broadway is pretty hellish. Sadly you're going to have to accept that Brixton is just much more fun. Wimbledon has a weird mix of the suburban toddler-pushing crowd and noisy drunken youth in the evenings. My best pal lives in Wimbledon and we almost never go out there. We hop on the northern line and head Clapham-wards. Balham's improving these days, too.
posted by Decani at 6:58 AM on November 25, 2011

Response by poster: Thanks for the advice! Guess it's time to start my Wimbledon-based burger joint/microbrewery/lending library/wrestling school/cultural space/paintball arena.
posted by dudekiller at 7:16 AM on November 25, 2011

There's the Wimbledon Film Club at the hmvcurzon.

I haven't been to Slurp in ages, but I seem to remember it doing quite good noodles.
posted by Magnakai at 8:17 AM on November 25, 2011