‘Be at one’ means to be in harmony, united, at peace – a serene and aspirational name for a lively cocktail chain
Be At One on Battersea Rise holds eleven hundred and sixty-three reviews and a 4.8 – an exceptional score on a large sample, one of the best in this Clapham survey – and it belongs to the lively cocktail bar chain whose name is a serene and aspirational phrase: “be at one,” to be in harmony, united, at peace and in accord.
To be at one
“To be at one” is a lovely phrase meaning to be in harmony, in agreement, united, in accord – at peace with someone or something, in a state of oneness and unity. To be “at one” with nature, with the world, with another person, with oneself, is to be in a state of harmony and accord, free of conflict and division. It is a phrase of peace, unity and serene togetherness.
As a bar name, “Be At One” is warm, aspirational and inviting – it promises harmony, togetherness, and a kind of serene unity, the coming-together of friends in accord and good feeling. It suggests the bar as a place of harmony and connection, where people come to be “at one” with their friends and their good time. There is something genuinely appealing in the aspiration – the bar not merely as a place to drink, but as a place to be in harmony, united in enjoyment.
The idea of oneness
“Oneness” – the state of being at one, unified, whole – is a deep and resonant idea, found throughout human thought, philosophy and spirituality. Many spiritual and philosophical traditions place the idea of oneness at their very heart: the sense that all things are ultimately one, that division and separation are illusions, that the deepest reality is a unity in which everything participates. To be “at one” with the universe, with the divine, with all things, is, in many traditions, the highest spiritual goal – the overcoming of separation, the realisation of fundamental unity.
There is a gentle, perhaps unintended, profundity in a cocktail bar named for this idea. Whether or not “Be At One” intends any spiritual depth, the phrase carries this whole resonance of harmony, unity and oneness – a surprisingly serene and aspirational note for a lively cocktail chain. It suggests that the good time on offer is not mere hedonism but a kind of harmony – friends at one with each other, at peace, united in enjoyment.
The cocktail chain
Be At One is, in practice, a well-known and lively cocktail bar chain, celebrated for its enormous cocktail menus, its energetic atmosphere, and its skilled, showmanship-driven bartending. The bars are known for being fun, busy and sociable – places of energy and enjoyment rather than hushed reverence. The exceptional score across a large sample suggests this branch does it very well: a genuinely popular, well-loved cocktail bar, delivering the fun, harmony and good feeling its name promises.
There is a nice fit between the serene, harmonious name and the lively, sociable reality – the aspiration to be “at one” fulfilled not through meditation but through the simpler harmony of good friends, good cocktails and a good night out. It is oneness achieved the cheerful way, over a well-made drink.
The bar
An exceptional, hugely popular cocktail bar doing a superb 4.8 across a large and real sample, named “Be At One” for the serene and aspirational idea of harmony, unity and being at one.
Verdict
Exceptional and superbly rated, warmly and aspirationally named – “Be At One,” the cocktail bar of harmony, unity and good feeling.
Order a cocktail, gather your friends, and be at one – in the cheerful, sociable harmony of a good night out, which is oneness achieved the most enjoyable way there is.
Alan Nafzger was born in Lubbock, Texas, the son Swiss immigrants. He grew up on a dairy in Windthorst, north central Texas. He earned degrees from Midwestern State University (B.A. 1985) and Texas State University (M.A. 1987). University College Dublin (Ph.D. 1991). Dr. Nafzger has entertained and educated young people in Texas colleges for 37 years. Nafzger is best known for his dark novels and experimental screenwriting. His best know scripts to date are Lenin’s Body, produced in Russia by A-Media and Sea and Sky produced in The Philippines in the Tagalog language. In 1986, Nafzger wrote the iconic feminist western novel, Gina of Quitaque. He currently lives in Holloway, North London. Contact: [email protected]
The precision here proves exaggeration’s unnecessary when you’re paying attention to reality.