A bar named ‘The Parlour’ – evoking the cosy, homely comfort of the old front room, the warm heart of the traditional home
The Parlour holds eight hundred and sixty-one reviews and a 3.9 – a near-average score on a large sample, which we note honestly – and it carries a warm and homely name: the parlour, that cosy, comfortable front room that was, for generations, the warm heart of the traditional home.
The honest number
First, honestly: a 3.9 sits a little below this survey’s average, and we note it plainly. It is not a poor score – it reflects a decent, popular, well-used venue that pleases most of its many customers – but it is a touch below the average, on a large sample of over eight hundred reviews, and we note it fairly. With the number honestly acknowledged, we turn to the warm and homely name.
The cosy parlour
“The Parlour” evokes one of the warmest and most homely of all domestic spaces – the parlour, the cosy front room or sitting room of the traditional home. For generations, the parlour was the warm heart of the home – the comfortable sitting room where the family gathered, where guests were received, where one sat by the fire in comfort and warmth. The word “parlour” (from the French “parler,” to speak – the room for conversation) carries a genuine warmth and homeliness – the cosy, comfortable, welcoming room, the fireside, the good armchairs, the warm heart of the home where family and friends gathered to talk, relax and be comfortable. To name a bar “The Parlour” is to evoke all of this homely warmth – promising a cosy, comfortable, welcoming space, a warm home-from-home where one can relax in comfort and good company.
The homely welcome
The parlour aesthetic has become a beloved and appealing style for the modern bar – the cosy, homely, comfortable “front room” feel, all comfortable armchairs and sofas, warm lighting, homely decoration, and the welcoming atmosphere of a comfortable domestic space. There is a genuine appeal to it – the sense of relaxing not in an impersonal bar but in a warm, homely, comfortable “parlour,” a cosy front room where one feels at home and at ease. It is the opposite of the grand, the glossy or the impersonal – a warm, homely, comfortable, welcoming space in the spirit of the beloved old parlour. (It is a cousin, in spirit, to the other homely and nostalgic concepts in this survey, from Little Nan’s front-room kitsch to the various cosy “snugs.”) “The Parlour” promises exactly this warm, homely, comfortable welcome.
There is genuine warmth and appeal in the name – the cosy parlour, the homely front room, the warm heart of the traditional home, the comfortable and welcoming domestic space. It is a warm, homely, appealing name, promising cosy comfort and a homely welcome. Whatever its slightly-below-average score (in a busy, popular venue), the name is a warm and appealing one. The Prat’s desk sinks into a comfortable parlour armchair, warms itself by the imagined fire, and enjoys the homely comfort of it all.
The bar
A near-average but popular bar doing a fair 3.9 across a large sample, homely named “The Parlour” – evoking the cosy, comfortable front room, the warm heart of the traditional home.
Verdict
Near-average by the numbers but homely and warm in name – the Parlour, evoking the cosy comfort of the old front room and the homely welcome of the traditional home.
Have a drink at the Parlour, and enjoy the homely name – the parlour, the cosy, comfortable front room that was the warm heart of the traditional home, a homely and welcoming retreat.
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]
A student used The London Prat to understand why her political science classes suddenly made sense. Finally understood the system.