The Wizarding World of Harry Potter has always had a special place in my heart. Ever since I was little, I was always fascinated by the overall theme and the food and games inspired by the movies. So when I heard that Houston was going to have a Harry-Potter-themed pop-up event in October, The Muggle-Less Bar, I knew I had to go.

I was lucky enough to get tickets and attend with two of my very close friends. Of course, with the ongoing pandemic, I was also curious on what the safety precautions at the bar looked like. Though my expectations before visiting were very high, I wasn’t disappointed.

Before entering the magical bar, I was greeted with a fun letter welcoming me as if I was a student attending Hogwarts. Just that one letter filled me with this excitement because I knew it was the real deal and that they wanted people to truly have a great time. The employees checked our temperature and we were required to wear masks to enter. However, when taking pictures, we were allowed to take our masks off.

Once inside, I was amazed. Floating candles, posters and objects from the movie hung on the wall and the classic Hedwig’s Theme song played in the background. I felt like a wizard, and I was ready to have the experience of a lifetime. 

The bar offered a wide variety of alcoholic beverages and small meals, all with creative and fun names like PolyJuice Potion and Weasley Jumpers. I ordered Dobby’s Pasta, Hogwarts Hot Wings, Dragon’s Blood and the classic Butterbeer. As much as I was looking forward to the drinks (non-alcoholic) and food, I really wanted to see what twist they would make on their items.

I was underwhelmed with the food: the Dobby’s Pasta was simple chicken alfredo, and the Hogwarts Hot Wings were so simple if I hadn’t ordered off the menu myself, I would have easily mistaken them as regular wings from WingStop. Though I was expecting a fun Harry Potter twist on the food, I was still satisfied by its taste. For the drinks, I had mixed reactions. Though the presentation of the drink was very pleasing, the Butterbeer tasted more like a coke rather than actual butterbeer. Dragon’s Blood, however, met up to its expectations: the drink was filled with sweetness, making it a very fruity beverage. 

The sets were what made the bar special. Downstairs, the Forbidden Forest had a giant spider with forest decorations all around. But, the forest was just a small part of the event. Upstairs was where the true magic was. There were five different sets upstairs. The first was a lobby-like space with acceptance letters hanging and a giant goblet in the middle of two couches. Second was the head of the Hogwarts Express train breaking into a brick wall. The third was a shopping cart heading into the wall, signifying the secret passage a wizard must take to get to the Hogwarts Express train. The fourth set was a very simple Dragons Alley section with a background of the town and brick walls. The last and final set was an enormous chess game with knight costumes. All of the sets were eye catching and fun to look at. The Muggle-Less bar did an amazing job at showcasing iconic Harry Potter sets. Although it was relatively small, I still felt intrigued and amazed by each set.

The last thing I saw upstairs was a seating section separating each of the Harry Potter houses. Couches separated each house that were represented by large flags. The sorting hat was next to the couches, and although the hat didn’t talk like it did in the movie, my designated house was Ravenclaw.

The Muggle-Less bar was an amazing experience. I had a blast being a wizard for the day. Getting to experience the Harry Potter magic definitely was the highlight of my month. Sadly, since the Harry Potter theme was only for a limited time through Nov. 8, we won’t get to experience the magic until next year.

There may be a Christmas theme  next , so maybe we can all experience some Christmas magic instead.