All Bar One

Stopped in for a quick drink at the weekend before getting the train back North to Manchester. Unfortunately it was very stereotypically London. Expensive, crowded and not particularly friendly.
Perched on the corner outside Euston station it feels like they’ve tried to fit a full ‘All bar one’ into a unit half the size it should be. With it being a train station based bar, it should have more room between tables as nearly everyone in there had some form of luggage and navigating the bar to the table was an adventure.
It seemed particularly busy at the time, and the bar staff were looking very rushed and were quite curt.
There is every chance this review was affected by the strength of my hangover though, so maybe check out 2 – 3 others before making a decision…

This is usually a meeting point for friends and I if we’re meeting to go on elsewhere, as it’s nice and centrally located and easy to find. Of course, we’ll order drinks while we’re waiting, it would be rude not to.
My generous two stars is for the fact they make a mean amaretto sour. I can’t say I’m a fan of anything else — this place is usually very busy, due to being right outside Euston station. It takes an eternity to get served, especially as people often push in without the bar staff noticing and have their orders taken first. With business in mind, it’s almost impossible to find a seat, inside or out.
Also, if you want to go out for a cigarette, the pushy door staff won’t let you unless there are seats available — no standing up and smoking! Not sure why this rule is enforced, as it’s a stupid one.
The cocktails are good, but honestly, it’s expensive and lacking in atmosphere. Best avoided if you can help it.

All bar one in name only as none of the normal cheery good service married by a reasonable knowledge of the wines.
This poor example of all bar one is outside Euston station. It had outdoor seating at the front and side. Avoid the side as it is wind tunnel although is good at blowing fag smoke away. Tables were full of empty glasses and quite a few half finished ones.
Service — poor is one way to describe another would be unprintable!
Food I didn’t eat as that would have meant some interaction with the imbeciles at the bar. Getting 2 drinks was hard enough. Definitely not service with a smile.
You may be better off at Euston tap

The good thing about All Bar One is that you know exactly what you are going to get. The problem however is that this is normally not a great experience. The location of the bars normally means that the place is normally filled with people having after work drinks or hen dos. Neither group is who I normally want to associate with!
Price wise I would say it was on the upper end of the chains although I have noticed a few special offers on the weekend and the drink selection is generally ok. If they didn’t seem to be dotted everywhere around London I would never set foot in one so they are a useful meeting place.
With so much choice there will be somewhere else close by doing it better and probably for cheaper. Don’t settle for an All Bar One!

Well now, here’s the rub. I waited 15 minutes for seating after checking with the front of house that their spectacular ‘4 tapas & bottle of wine for £20′ offer was available to lunch with my partner before leaving London. Once sat, we were told the offer didn’t start until later. They ‘ummed’ and ‘ahhd’ demonstrating their power of discretion, which they then decided not to grant us — So, a big fat ‘0’ for customer focus and product knowledge! That hurrumph out of the way, the 3 tapas (Bravas, Teriyaki chicken skewers and Szechuan crispy prawns) and 2 glasses of wine for £27 were excellent if not quite a bargain. Good portions, tasty and beautifully garnished and presented. To be fair, All Bar One at Euston has to be one of the busiest in a very competent chain and despite the contretemps service remained warm and friendly. Two important things for a bar at a train station — the bill came quick and they have phone/​tablet charging sockets built into the tables, cool. Top tip: for our missed offer get there after 4pm on a Tuesday!

Oh boy, don’t come here for breakfast, the kitchen don’t know how to cook it.
I gagged on my ‘fried’ egg, it resembled something more like boiled and basically I was paying premium for low standard buffet breakfast. I asked for mushrooms, and got 1 mushroom, and they charged £1. Hmmmm
The person with me had eggs florentine — one of the poached eggs was not cooked, ie. Raw egg spilling out the side. It’s enough to put you off breakfast…

Good is ok but the service is terrible. Be prepared for up to an hour of waiting and dealing dealing the waiters with poor English.

A very pleasant surprise to find this place while waiting for our train. We had the tuesday evening Tapas special of 4 dishes all very scrumptious with a bottle of white wine for 20 quid. A deal if you ask me. The food was great. It did get very crowded but we had a good little table in the corner and with the large windows did not feel claustrophobic. The only complaint was they were having a serious problem with their exhaust fan system in the kitchen and smoke filled the restaurant. Staff were apologetic

Just in front of Euston Station, in a corner of an old Seiferts building.
This latest All Bar One is quite small, but manages to cram in plenty of tables, both inside and outside (for smokers etc).
If it gets too busy, there’s quite a few pubs within spitting distance so if its too bust try the Crown and Anchor, Euston Tap, or slightly farther afield the Somerstown Coffee House.

Newly opened (as of 4Q2013) outpost of the well known mid-​market chain, which in the culinary desert that is Euston is welcome.