All Bar One
Encyclopedia
All Bar One is a chain
Pub chain
A pub chain is a group of pubs or bars with a brand image. The brand may be owned outright by one company, or there may be multiple financiers; the chain may be a division within a larger company, or may be a single operation. Examples include Chef & Brewer, Wetherspoons, Walkabout, Taylor Walker...

 of bars in the UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

, owned and operated by Mitchells and Butlers plc which was part of the Six Continents
Six Continents
Six Continents was a large British-based retail business which was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was once a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.-History:...

 group (previously Bass (beer)
Bass (beer)
The Bass Brewery was founded as a brewery in 1777 by William Bass in Burton upon Trent, England. The main brand was Bass Pale Ale, which was once the highest selling beer in the UK...

 ) until 2003.

The concept was originally designed by two women who wanted to open a 'female friendly' bar at a time when they found most pubs and bars intimidating places for single women to go and have a drink or something to eat, hence the huge glass frontage, open plan space and bright airy interiors.

The first bar was opened in the London Borough of Sutton
London Borough of Sutton
The London Borough of Sutton is a London borough in South London, England and forms part of Outer London. It covers an area of and is the 80th largest local authority in England by population. It is one of the southernmost boroughs of London...

 in 1994 and was a runaway success, paving the way for similar concepts such as Slug and Lettuce, Pitcher & Piano and The Fine Line. There are now 39 outlets in the UK, mostly based in Central London
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, England. There is no official or commonly accepted definition of its area, but its characteristics are understood to include a high density built environment, high land values, an elevated daytime population and a concentration of regionally,...

 with one site in Cologne, Germany.

A recent multi-million pound investment program has updated the bars with a more modern feel whilst still retaining the characteristic wooden floors, bright open spaces and huge glass frontage.

The All Bar One chain has been criticised, however, for its lack of character, with each bar looking almost identical. With most branches set around the major cities in the UK, very few retain any local heritage.

All Bar One attracts a mature guest base due to its strict 21+ policy.

There is also an All Bar One in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...

, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, part of the Alex group of Restaurants in Germany.

The chain was mentioned in the The Long Blondes
The Long Blondes
The Long Blondes were a five-piece English indie rock band formed in Sheffield, United Kingdom in 2003 by Dorian Cox , Reenie Hollis , Emma Chaplin , Kate Jackson and Screech Louder .After several critically...

song "All Bar One Girls", a criticism of the chain's clientèle.
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