A staple of British high streets around the turn of the century, All Bar One may be a less familiar sight that it used to be but all the hallmarks of the mid-market pub chain that we fell in love with in the 1990s are still present and correct.
Effectively All Bar one is a pub for people who don’t normally like pubs and this 02 outpost is no exception. It’s a huge site, spread over three floors, with the sort of warehouse decor that wouldn’t have looked out of place as one of the apartments in Friends.
Big, squishy leather sofas are arranged for families and groups of mates to spread out on, there are exposed brick walls (not strictly necessary in the 02) and dangling filament bulbs, while the all-day offering aims to be about so much more than beer.
Things start early with breakfast and brunch. The full English includes veggie and vegan versions, there's eggs Benedict, royale or Florentine, bacon and sausage sarnies as well as avocado and feta on sourdough. If you don’t fancy something hot, you can have a croissant, blueberry muffin or pain au chocolate, washed down with all the usual coffees and teas as well as vitamin-packed juices.
The all-day menu, meanwhile, kicks off with a line-up of familiar international bar bites designed to share. Snack on nachos and tacos, salt and pepper squid or mustard-glazed cocktails sausages ahead of something more substantial.
Burgers are the house special, available in beef, chicken and vegan variations with all the usual trimmings, or else there's a reasonably priced global greatest hits featuring the likes of pad Thai, mac'n'cheese, steak abd chips and quesadillas.
One thing that you might not be expecting is a trio of superfood salads, while vegan and vegetarian choice is way better than you would have found in the 1990s.
To drink, there's still the All Bar One hallmark of placing as much emphasis on wine as beer, while there's a decent showing of cocktails and booze-free options for non-drinkers, too.