Get us in your inbox

Search
Heads + Tails bar
Andy Parsons

Places in London to drink when you’re not drinking

Just because you’ve stopped drinking doesn’t mean you're not going out. These brilliant bars will impress non-drinkers

Written by
Laura Richards
,
Leonie Cooper
&
Joe Mackertich
Advertising

It's no longer impossible to find tasty and satisfying alternatives to pints at London's pubs and bars – in fact, some of the no-alcohol options on offer right now are even better than their boozy cousins. And they come with an added bonus of leaving you hangover-free, too. These bars cater to non-drinkers for Dry January and beyond. We've got buzzing drinking holes that also specialise in alcohol-free cocktails, completely dry tasting rooms and pubs with a penchant for low-and-no beers. These zero-percent champions are 100 percent fantastic. 

10 great places to drink when you’re going alcohol-free

  • Bars and pubs
  • Covent Garden

The first permanent UK site for mindful drinking collective, Club Soda. This shop and tasting room sells over 150 low-alcohol and alcohol-free drinks brands and, excitingly, there's a bar at the back. Cocktails, beer on tap and masterclasses are available. The perfect place for a no-booze sesh. 

Permit Room
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • King’s Cross
  • price 2 of 4

Visit the Bombay-styled bar beneath Dishoom King’s Cross when on a voyage of sober discovery. Their tee-total tipples menu includes sober Negronis and booze-free Espresso Martinis, as well as affordable sharbats made from fruits and flower petals. 

Advertising
  • Bars and pubs
  • Pubs
  • Hackney Road
  • price 3 of 4

Danish brewery Mikkeller first UK bar offers up 20 different beers on tap (and more available in bottles and cans), which always includes a non-alcoholic option. Currently, it's an American style wheat ale brewed in Belgium. Pop down and see what's new. 

  • Bars and pubs
  • Craft beer pubs
  • Islington
  • price 2 of 4

On the wall is a board of beers from across the land, with each one’s hefty ABV advertised. But in fact, the Earl has got the soft options on lock. Lucky Saint beer is on tap and full of the hoppiness you'd expect from any round at this pub, and there's a special low and no alcohol section of the menu, too. If beery flavour is too much like temptation, the Earl also stocks a solid range of sodas.

Advertising
Lina Stores
  • Restaurants
  • Italian
  • Soho
  • price 2 of 4

Okay, it’s not a bar. But Lina Stores has the answer for the indulgent pasta-and-wine moment you may well be craving at the times you go sober. Boozeless cocktails on the menu include the Nogroni, a Crodino Spritz and a Lyre’s Bitter & Tonic, which all stand up to the bold comfort-food flavours. Minus the booze, but still buonissimo.

The Connaught Bar
  • Bars and pubs
  • Hotel bars
  • Mayfair
  • price 4 of 4

The mega-bling hotel bar may be famed for its Martinis, but you can still make it a place for one hell of a celebration when on the wagon. Mocktails – presented with just as much artistry as the hard stuff – include luxe ingredients, from salted cacao coconut water to red berry kombucha.

Advertising
The Exmouth Arms
  • Bars and pubs
  • Pubs
  • Exmouth Market

At the foot of Exmouth Market you’ll find just as appetising a spread of delicacies at beery institution the Exmouth Arms. Away from the hard stuff, feel-good brews from Erdinger and Lucky Saint are on offer. 

The Book Club
  • Nightlife
  • Late-night bars
  • Shoreditch

Now we know what you’re thinking: this is a party bar in the middle of Shoreditch. But party doesn’t always have to end with a hangover, and The Book Club proves that with its ‘Lo and No’ menu, with a range of booze-free beers and ciders.  

Advertising
Sexy Fish Bar
  • Bars and pubs
  • Cocktail bars
  • Mayfair
  • price 3 of 4

This lavish Mayfair hangout with a terrible name caters to a fashionable crowd with its menu of three booze-free cocktails. The Orange & Clove is made using aromatic alcohol-free spirit Seedlip Spice 94, and the Grapefruit & Rosemany with Æcorn Bitter, a non-alcoholic spritz with botanical herbs and flavourings.

Brewdog
  • Bars and pubs
  • Craft beer pubs
  • Camden Town
  • price 3 of 4

You can still have a night out on the hops at Brewdog’s Camden branch, where they regularly pour their own non-alcoholic craft beer Nanny State from the taps. Beer guzzling never felt so saintly.

Recommended
    You may also like
    You may also like
    Bestselling Time Out offers
      Advertising