It was conceived to solve a specific problem: in the early 1990s many pubs and bars still felt intimidating places for women to walk into alone. In February 1994, designer Amanda Wilmott, a former director of Slug & Lettuce, drew up a deliberately "female-friendly" bar concept for Bass, defined by glass frontages, open-plan layouts and bright, airy interiors that felt welcoming and safe rather than dark and cliquey. The first All Bar One opened that December in Sutton, in south London, run by Bass Taverns, and its fresh, light-filled style proved influential well beyond its own walls, with many later bar chains following the template it helped establish. Expansion came quickly: five outlets opened in 1995, including in Islington, Wimbledon and Richmond, and by the end of the decade the chain numbered in the dozens, cementing its position as a stylish, food-and-wine-led bar brand for city professionals. The concept emphasised an approachable wine list, cocktails and a modern European menu, with brunch and small plates suiting an after-work and weekend crowd, and it became a familiar fixture of high streets and business districts. Ownership followed the corporate path of its parent: Bass became Six Continents, which split in 2003, leaving All Bar One in the hands of Mitchells & Butlers, one of the UK's largest pub and restaurant companies. Under Mitchells & Butlers the brand was refined and consolidated to focus on prime city-centre and affluent suburban sites, running to around fifty-six bars across the United Kingdom. Three decades after its Sutton debut, All Bar One endures as a pioneering name in British bar culture, a 1994 concept that set out to make bars welcoming to everyone, helped reshape the look of the high-street bar and remains a polished, wine-and-brunch destination under Mitchells & Butlers. The brand also became a template much copied across the industry, its bright, glass-fronted look influencing a wave of high-street bars that followed in its wake and helping normalise the idea of a relaxed, mixed-crowd bar serving good wine and food.

Address: ,

Birmingham, United Kingdom

Website: https://www.allbarone.co.uk

Established: 01/12/1994