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Top 10 London bars serving mocktails to get you through Dry January
Taking part in Dry January this year? You’re not alone.
In fact, some 3.1 million people in the UK say they’ve vowed to lock their drinks cabinets for the rest of the month, according to Alcohol Research UK.
In a decade which has seen a steady decline of alcohol consumption globally, the launch the world’s first non-alcoholic spirit, and grocers like Tesco bolstering their low-ABV drinks ranges, this year Dry January has a higher profile than ever before.
Thanks to the development of new low-to-no ABV spirits and the careful attention of the UK’s best mixologists the campaign, now in its fourth year, no longer stands in opposition to the alcohol industry, but is instead a great opportunity for drinks makers to showcase their products in what many claim is its “most exciting category” today.
So it’s little surprise that some of the most sought-after bars in London have revised their non-alcoholic offerings.
Mocktails are no longer an afterthought, and now teetotallers can get their hands on complex concoctions that could rival some of the capital’s most iconic drinks for theatrics.
We’ve listed the best places to unwind with as many drinks as you like this month without the fear of a hangover.
Whether you’re a die-hard Seedlip fan, on a juice cleanse or looking for something challenging minus the intoxication, keep scrolling to find the bars that are making Dry January easier in 2018.
Dandelyan, Bankside
With river views, a marble bar in a calming green hue, and a softly-furnished interior, who needs a strong drink to unwind at Dandelyan?
Cocktails and theatricts often go hand-in-hand, but teetotallers needn’t feel left out of the fun at this bar. The award-winning South London hangout from one of the capital’s most prominent mixologists Ryan Chetiyawardana (who also owns SuperLyan in Hoxton) serves an extensive “Booze-Less” menu alongside its alcoholic offerings.
Dandelyan, which is famous for fusing unorthodox ingredients from potatoes to nixtamalised blue corn into tipples, was one of the early adopters of Seedlip’s non-alcoholic spirit. Try a refreshing Million Dollar Smile, which combines Seedlip Spice with roasted sweet potato, off-cut cordial and grass.
Price: Booze-less drinks range from £7 – £8.50
Ceviche, Soho
While Frith Street’s South American restaurant is better known for Pisco Sours and fresh fish, Ceviche also serves a range of three non-alcoholic cocktails vibrant enough to take your mind off the cold weather.
Try the Pimentolada, which blends pineapple juice, banana, and coconut cream with red bell pepper, or for a more grown-up take, opt for the Club Waikiki incorporating Seedlip’s summery 108 Garden Spirit with cucumber and hucatay cordial, lemon verbena tea.
Price: Non-alcoholic drinks range from £4.40 – £5.50
Skylon, Waterloo
Like Dandelyan, Skylon benefits from enviable riverside views, and cocktails are presented with pin-perfect precision.
Skylon’s traditional cocktail menu takes inspiration from the four elements; Earth, Air, Fire and Water, but its non-alcoholic list is far from an afterthought, featuring herbaceous tipples like the Tarragon, which combines pineapple and tarragon syrup with lemon and grapefruit juices.
Of course, if you’re looking for another Seedlip cocktail, try the Elderflower or Lemongrass cocktail, which both incorporate different flavours of the non-alcoholic spirit.
Price: All non-alcoholic cocktails are £7
Redemption, Notting Hill and Shoreditch
This completely alcohol-free bar is changing how locals drinks from East London to West, and puts an emphasis on good health.
The mocktails are a mixture of blended fruit juices and seedlip-infused served, which are all served alongside a vegetarian food menu.
Those on the cutting-edge of health food may want to order the activated charcoal martini, which is made using activated charcoal, shaken with fresh lemon and maple syrup, and topped with aquafaba — the liquid leftover from draining a tin of chickpeas (no, really).
Temporary teetotallers who aren’t fans of cocktails can also order a Fitbeer, or sip on Bees Knees no-alcohol sparkling wine.
Price: Drinks range from £4.95 to £6.50
Nightjar, Shoreditch
Nightjar is well known for its full-strength, ever-changing cocktail card and prohibition-era theme, which in the past has celebrated vintage spirits, highlighted the beauty of superfoods, and even, controversially, brought imported Japanese whale skin to the bar as an ingredient.
But Nightjar doesn’t just court controversy; the bar also provides lower-alcohol alternatives for those wishing to take it easy, as well as a non-alcoholic Wolverine cocktail ( Seedlip Spice 94, apple and rhubarb juice, passionberry, pennyroyal syrup, Bitter lemon tonic) for anyone who wants to see Dry January through.
If you still can’t find what you want, opt for the Bartender’s Choice — Nighjar’s team of mixologists will ask you your flavour preferences before whipping up a bespoke drink to match.
Price: Non-alcoholic drinks are £6, lower-alcohol cocktails range from £5-£10
The Permit Room, Shoreditch
The dark and brooding basement bar of Indian restaurant Dishoom – The Permit Room serves a small but refreshing menu of “Copy Tipples,” which won The Spirits Business Award for best non-alcoholic cocktail list back in 2016.
The Sober Martini, which blends a non-alcoholic spirit with grape and cucumber water, is a refreshing favourite of teetotallers.
Price: All Copy Tipples £6
Trafalgar St James
Trafalgar St James, which opened last September, offers three tea-tails made with tea from English tea producer
Tregothnan.blends include the Tregothnan Berry Tea with orange juice, citrus and mint; Tregothnan Black Tea with peach puree and lemon; or the detoxifying Tregothnan Matcha Tea blended with pineapple syrup, raspberry and lime.
Price: All non-alcoholic cocktails £7
Sexy Fish, Mayfair
Sexy Fish – ‘a ludicrous restaurant with a ludicrous name in a ludicrous town’, according to Tanya Gold (Photo: Paul Winch-Furness)
Another early adopter of Seedlip’s non-alcoholic spirit, Sexy Fish may be better known as one of London’s more extravagant seafood restaurants, but the bar is a safe space for drinkers and abstainers alike.
Teetotallers can sample one of four drinks from Sexy Fish’s “Size Zero” menu, including the Driver’s Julep, which combines agave, cucumber, chilli and a homemade tonic cordial, finished with ginger ale.
Price: All Size Zero drinks £7
Sakagura, Mayfair
Last year we reviewed Sakagura’s sake-based cocktail list which ranged from the floral to the fiery, but the Japanese haunt’s teetotal drinks card shouldn’t be overlooked. With its combination of Seedlip-spiked serves and fruity tipples alongside a comprehensive collection of sake, whiskey and unique spirits from around the globe, the bar is something of a crowd-pleaser.
Sakagura offers three tipples on its booze-less cocktail menu; a Sokai Mojito (mint, grapefruit soda, lime, cranberry juice and calpico — a lactic soft-drink from Tokyo); the Kirei Tonic (cucumber, lime, elderflower cordial, aloe juice and tonic water); and the Kyoto Garden (Seedlip Garden, mint, lime and apple juice).
Price: All non-alcoholic cocktails £7.
Scout, Shoreditch
Matt Whiley is one of the most exciting and creative mixologists working in London today. In charge of the drinks at Peg + Patriot bar at the Town Hall Hotel in Bethnal Green, he also curates the cocktail lists for a number of top restaurants including Fera at Claridge’s. Last year, Whiley launched a truly unique new drinking den in Shoreditch, Scout, which bears closer resemblance to a laboratory than a bar.
Scout takes an almost evangelical approach to cocktails, working only with local, seasonal ingredients. The menu format alone rips up the rule book by excluding any mention of the spirits used in Whiley’s cocktail list.
It’s a bar for serious cocktail enthusiasts, but those taking on Dry January have also been catered for with the non-alcoholic This is Meadowsweet now graceing the drinks card.
The new drink combines non-alcoholic sweet Vermouth with oak-aged meadowsweet, vetiver and cherries, ideal for anyone who wants to be challenged without lowering their inhibitions.