The newest cocktail bar in town, Be At One, opens it doors tonight, and I headed down for the launch last night. What a night!


It’s where Tantra used to be, but couldn’t be more different. Not a bed, or pole, in sight. The bar is huge, impressively stocked, and kept clean and tidy at all times. The drinks are categorised by cocktail, not the usual ‘by spirit’ as you would expect. This really speeds up the time it takes to make each. I watched the guy below make 8 pot star martini in the time it would usually take me to make a vodka red bull!

My friend and I made the huge mistake of driving, but took our cars back immediately. We didn’t expect to get a wristband, so didn’t plan ahead. Mistake rectified we headed back to town by taxi. 

By the time we arrived it was absolutely packed and lowly lit, so I didn’t manage to get any decent photos. But I DID manage to try a few of their drinks. Admittedly not the 150 on offer, I tried to give it a good go but it was a school night after all so I couldn’t go too mad. 

There is literally something on the menu for everyone. Fancy a classic cocktail? Bellini or Caipirinha then. 

Want something cool and modern? How about an Amaretto Sour?

Fancy a dessert? Go for the frozen Brazilian Monk. 

I started with the Candy Pants as I love sweet cocktails. It contained Absolute Kurant Vodka, Chambord, Lemon juice, strawberry purée and cranberry juice. It was so sweet and amazing. 

Next up was a Gin Re-Fashioned with orange bitters and passion fruit syrup. God this was strong. Not for me to be honest. I like my alcohol to taste of pop! 

Next up was the Killing Monica, made with rose champagne. This red little number reminded me of rhubarb and crumble sweets – if those sweets had got you hammered! It was sweet, sophisticated and I can imagine a night on these would be fantastic. 

Then the Popster, the one that I had been dying to try. Butterscotch Schnapps, ice cream and sweet and salty popcorn. If they sold this at a cinema I would never leave. It was delicious, creamy, sweet and salty but not heavy as I expected. 

Rhys Pieces was like a chewy alcoholic milkshake. The only difference is that this will get you smashed without realising it!

Blood and Sand, a mix of vermouth, whisky and brandy with orange juice, was really delicious but the whisky overpowered it for me – I’m not your typical whisky drinker. 

The beetroot retox was one I thought I would really dislike. I love beetroot but whenever I have tried to juice it, I’ve regretted it. This was totally different. It tasted like beetroot, but not. Sweet and incredibly unusual but really scrumptious. That makes no sense but I’m putting this on my diet plan – beetroot is healthy yes?

Next up was the Ban Daq. It wasn’t heavy as I expected but tasted exactly like the banana sweets I used to eat as a child, with a hint of lime. Amazing. 

My friend then went for the lychee martini. It was so good, and so strong it would have had me on my backside after two. 

Lastly was the Giant Bruce Killer. Using El Dorado 8 year old rum, lime juice, Apple squash, angostura bitters, vanilla bitters and ‘Bruce Juice’ this was delightful. I have no idea what Bruce Juice was, but I want more. 
At between £6 and £9 the cocktails are reasonably priced, but what really makes this is the quality. With so much choice, you would expect the bartenders to mess up a little but if they did, I didn’t tell. The fact music choices reminded me of a school disco, and the atmosphere was electric. 

Shout out to the bar staff too. They really got in to the spirit (pardon the pun) of the evening, with lots of singing, jumping and generally keeping in contact with the customers on their section of the bar. I can’t wait for my next visit.