A bar without booze used to be a bit of an oxymoron, but with more and more drinkers taking time out from alcohol or ditching it all together, there are now a number of fantastic venues catering to it across the UK.
From extensive alcohol-free options to completely sober bars, these are the establishments offering somewhere to kick back with friends and family without the booze.
Nottingham
Café Sobar
As the name suggests, this is more of a daytime haunt than a fully fledged bar so don’t expect endless choice but there is a great value mocktail menu featuring Savyll’s range which we adore. There’s plenty of other food and drink to enjoy on the menu too and saving the best till last... all profits are poured into alcohol and drug recovery charity ‘Double Impact’. Great stuff.
Hastings
The Nest
The Nest is a really cool events venue and cafe that’s part of Eggtooth, a community-based not-for-profit in Hastings. Gigs, comedy, poetry, therapy sessions, workshops... the variety of events, activities and services hosted here is remarkable but the reason they make the list is their bar, which is predominantly alcohol-free!
Derby
YADA
A super popular collective, YADA is an entirely alcohol-free bar and venue offering an alternative night out in Derby. They recreate the authentic communion that makes traditional pubs so popular and have a wonderfully enticing, lengthy and rotating bar menu. Over 10 mocktails like the Tequila Sunrise with Mockingbird and the Classic Mojito with Lyre steal the show, but there’s also wine like Chardonnay and Rosé, as well as Beers and Ciders. Their website even serves as an online shop so if you try something you love, you know just where to go to buy it in.
Cardiff + Bristol + Penarth
Bar 44
Bar 44 is a stylish Tapas bar showing off local produce as well as Spain’s finest. Situated in three different Southwest locations, the largest of which is Cardiff’s former canal warehouse spot, they’re all beautifully and sophisticatedly designed. There are plenty of non-alcoholic options with 0% Vilarnau Cava, Estrella Galicia Beer and 8 Mocktails including the Tanqueray 0% G&T, perfect for sipping alongside a flurry of delicious Tapas plates.
London
Club Soda Tasting Room, Covent Garden
Inventive and delicious sodas are a great way to go to enjoy a night of drinking without the next day hangxiety, and no one does it better than Club Soda – The Drinks Business’ Independent Retailer of the Year 2023. As well as being a top notch online and street shop, you can swing by, relax and taste the latest and greatest in No-Lo invention. Beer, Premixed Cocktails, Wine, Spirits, Soda, Mood Enhancers... they’ve got it all, from big names like Everleaf to new and exciting releases, many of which we’ve featured on our site before. A must for curious No-Low drinkers.
Lucky Saint, Marylebone
Lovers of alcohol-free beer, you may recognise this name because Lucky Saint began as a booze free beer, and many people’s favourite at that. Well, now they’ve refurbished an historic watering hole with a third of the menu being made up of non-alcoholic drinks, as well as outstanding food.
Permit Room, King’s Cross
One of the best options in the capital, The Permit Room, referencing Mumbai’s Prohibition days, is the underground bar of Dishoom in King’s Cross St. Pancras. Moody lighting, impeccable design, and a delightful Teetotal Tipples menu with mocktails that feel just as special as the cocktails. Try the booze-free Espresso Martini!
Mikkeller, Exmouth Market + Hackney Road
The first UK bar of Danish brewer Mikkeller, this is definitely the place to be for trying alcohol free beer, and not only because it’s part owned by the one and only Rick Astley. Deliciously Danish interiors welcome you in to a rotating selection of 18 or so beers on tap, with guaranteed 0% options.
The Connaught Bar, Mayfair
Super swanky barely covers it when it comes to The Connaught, a bar that has topped the global rankings more than once. Located within the Ritzy Connaught with Cubist-inspired wooden décor and giant mirrors, this is a bar famed for its cocktails. They’ve also committed the same expertise to mocktails however, such as the Essence of the Tropics and the British Cooler. If you want a special mocktail that is a guaranteed hit, then treat yourself at The Connaught.
The Book Club, Shoreditch
This party bar in central Shoreditch is a little different, offering a great night without the hangover. The Lo and NO menu is seriously extensive options including tasty mocktails, Lucky Saints beer and alcohol-free cider like Kopparbergs. Dance the night away in this refurbished Victorian warehouse with weekend DJ sessions, or sip on the alcohol-free/CBD selection whilst watching live music, comedy, or poetry. So much happening here and a variety of sippers to keep you on your toes.
Fancy a night in instead? We’re always trying No-Lo drinks here at The Three Drinkers, so check out our recommendations here!