B@1 (Be at One) (Bar)

Best for: singletons; beautiful people; alfresco drinking; a tome of cocktails; and getting drunk (responsibly, of course!) in east London.

Great: Friendly staff; cocktails; atmosphere.

WLTM a hot partner with a GSOH for a LTR. Must be well-groomed with a penchant for spirits (lots of them) and a good knowledge of cocktail mixology. A good socialiser with a group of friends who are also up for a laugh. Must have lots of party spirit, enjoy long summery evenings spent outside or dancing the night away with lots of people in tightly packed spaces. Needs to take an interest in music, especially old school sing-a-long songs. Mustn’t be pretentious, but laid back and easy-going. East London based would suit best but I’m WTT.

It only took one date and I’ve found my perfect partner. I’d heard some bad things about this one and his family before, but I shrugged them off. My friends had all been previously and they’d had mixed experiences, but I like making my own mind up; so I did.

One hot summer night, I went on my merry way to Spitalfields - really easy to get to after work - for a first date.

On first impressions I thought he wasn’t as well groomed as I might have liked but pleasant enough nonetheless; a bit rough around the edges, I like that.

The night flowed easily as there was lots of cheer and merriment and more cocktails than you can shake a cocktail stick at. He was very generous. I tried to buy rounds but he said that he didn’t mind getting the cocktails. I had a sneak peak, it was two for the price of one, so of course he wouldn’t mind, who would?

Supping on a ‘Freshen Up Whitney’ cocktail gave us something to talk about, although this cocktail was named after a bartender not a singer and was a delicious mix of gin, lychee, black pepper and mint. We talked about our favourite music genres and agreed that something danceable with a beat was the best kind. We both shared Aretha Franklin, The Supremes and James Brown as our favourites.

He knew his stuff about cocktails, so we moved on to harder stuff later on. We tried a Ginger Sour, a bit awkward to drink gracefully as it was so thick and frothy from the whisked egg white, so we let some inhibitions go and used our fingers to wipe the glass. I loved that he was so easy going, no pretences here!

It was a bit awkward at one point because he bumped in to his mates. Very quickly, though, I was one of the crew. We all got on so well, even strangers became friends in no time, it was quite the sociable affair. Once more friends had arrived, we started doing shots: classic B52s with Kahlua, Baileys and Grand Marnier; certainly got the show on the road.

The date was young, lively, vibrant, and cool, especially after those shots! You should have seen us dancing. In fact, I’m glad you didn’t. I’m not quite sure how it looked but we had fun all the same, all of us. We got to know the people around us intimately throughout the night.

Just a couple of days later while I was out in West London recently I accidentally bumped in to one of his brothers. I didn’t know him so well but really got to know him after a long Saturday night out with friends. I’ve heard he’s got more brothers who I’m also willing to meet. A girl can date more than one partner at a time, you know!

Anyway, my first date, he’s definitely a keeper. When I’m in the East London area, I feel like there’s so much more to explore with him, especially those cocktails and dodgy dance moves.
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