Mac Rating: 5.00 | Votes: 1 | Date: 19/06/2026 20:29:00

With a cocktail list that runs to around a hundred drinks, the Norwich branch of Be At One sits at 23 Bank Plain in the city centre, close to the historic core and its surrounding bars and restaurants. It is one site in a national cocktail bar chain whose model is firmly drink-led, designed around mixed drinks and a sociable party atmosphere rather than a food offer. The chain was founded in May 1998 by Steve Locke, Leigh Miller, and Rhys Oldfield, bartenders who had worked together at TGI Fridays in London and believed the cocktail bars of the day leaned too far towards style over substance. Their first bar opened on Battersea Rise in south London, focused on quality drinks and strong service, an approach they called cocktail theatre, and it laid the template for everything that followed. Be At One expanded across Britain over the next two decades, reaching more than thirty bars in prime locations before the Stonegate Pub Company acquired it in July 2018 in a deal reported at roughly 50 million pounds. The three founders left the company at that point, while the bars continued to operate under the familiar name and format that customers recognised. At Bank Plain the Norwich bar provides the group's usual combination of classic and signature cocktails, regular happy hours and drinks promotions, and resident DJs who lift the energy as the night goes on. Its central setting, within easy reach of the city's shopping streets and nightlife, makes it a practical choice for after-work drinks, group celebrations, and weekend evenings out. The chain became known for its bartender culture, training staff to mix a long classic-and-contemporary menu quickly and running internal cocktail competitions, reflecting the broader boom in British cocktail bars across the 2000s and 2010s. Group bars usually open with two-for-one and happy-hour deals earlier in the week and build towards DJ-led party nights at the weekend, and the scale of the menu is part of the appeal. Norwich, with its historic centre, cathedral, market, and large student population, supports a lively city-centre nightlife, and the Bank Plain bar sits within easy reach of the main shopping and going-out areas, suiting the brand's sociable, drink-led format.