It’s what you’d call the rise of the Soberati: London’s in(control)-crowd are now cutting out the booze, but still heading out for a good time — and it’s a set that includes the likes of chef Jackson Boxer and Kate Moss to curator India Rose James.
You can read the full story here, but for those wanting to give it a go themselves, here’s where to head for a night on the tiles that won’t end up with anyone on the floor.
Club Soda
This sober-friendly spot is a multi-hyphenate: it’s a cocktail bar, a tasting room and an alcohol-free off-licenc all in one. Whether you’re just popping by to restock your fridge with stylish sober aperitivos or heading for an actual sit down drink, Club Soda can meet your needs. It’s great for events, as well as being one of the only places in London you’ll find bearable alcohol-free wine (the magicians behind alcohol-free beer and spirits have been considerably slower when it comes to cracking this code) courtesy of the Club Soda wine club on the second Thursday of each month. They also frequently partner with LGBTQ+ group Queers Without Beers, and even ran an alcohol-free afterparty for Pride on July 1.
39 Drury Lane, WC2B 5RR, joinclubsoda.com
The Lucky Saint
The folks behind one of the most popular alcohol-free beers in the UK have taken up shop in a historic Marylebone pub which they “lovingly restored” earlier this year. There’s Lucky Saint on tap, Ploughmans sandwiches and a host of other alcohol-free alternatives for punters to try. The pub does also have a selection of regular beers on tap, so it won’t be impossible to convince your drinking friends to pop in, and its location means it still functions as a good place for the requisite post-work pint. Truly an all-rounder.
58 Devonshire Street, W1W 5EA, luckysaint.co
The London Alcohol-Free Comedy Club
If you love live comedy but can’t take the boozy culture and rowdy heckling that surrounds it, head over to Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green, where they regularly host an alcohol-free night of stand-up. The events usually start around 2pm with stand-up commencing at 3.30pm, so beforehand there’s time for a “pre-show meet-up”, where you can get to know fellow guests or just play pool and table football with your mates. Tickets start from £18 plus booking fee and the next event is September 10.
231 Cambridge Heath Road, E2 0EL, soberisfun.co.uk
Soma
This vibey underground central London cocktail spot might look like it’ll make the strongest cocktails you’ve ever tasted — and yes, they really do pack a punch — but it also promises to make its virgin variants just as powerful but with none of the alcohol content. No, really, a team of Evening Standard food and drink writers couldn’t even tell which was which. If you want to taste a real cocktail and sit in a real cocktail bar but remain firmly off the sauce, this is the place for you.
14 Denman Street, W1D 7HJ, somasoho.com
National Gallery lates
Sober friends of the Standard have advised this is one of the best Friday night non-drinking activities in the capital that still feels buzzy and social. Enjoy sketching classes, musical performances, poetry readings and late-night wanderings around art-laden halls, all without a sip of alcohol. The National Gallery’s bar and restaurant Ochre is open for food and drink should you require it (or your drinking friends fancy a tipple), but it’s very much a schmooze-sans-booze sort of vibe. On top of this, many of the Gallery’s late offerings are also free, which is not to be sniffed at in our expensive metropolis.
