If you’re attempting to ‘Go Sober For October’, good on you and congrats – you’re halfway through the month! To help you out on those nights when your mates lure you to the pub, leading UK nightlife website DesignMyNight.com has put together a list of top 10 bars in the UK to get a great mocktail.
Be at One, Shoreditch, London.
With its outgoing staff giving a warm welcome, your journey at Be at One is pleasant from the start, even when sober. The 28-page menu has a tidy selection of 11 non-alcoholic mocktails, so you’ve got no excuse not to go booze free. They range all the way from a Bloody Mary (which is probably what you’re muttering under your breath at the thought of a non-alcoholic drink) to cocktail milkshakes that come in vanilla, strawberry, chocolate, Oreo Cookie, espresso, banana and strawberry banana. Sounding more appealing now?
The Nightjar was conceived as a chilled-out alternative to overcrowded West End bars and flashy night clubs. There are candlelit tables to place your non-alcoholic tin cup cocktails on while killer jazz bands send you back through the ages. In this complicated menu lays a section where you can feast your thirty eyes (minus the beer goggles) on homemade galangal beer and sparkling coconut water, amongst many others. Ok, so the beer might be alcohol free, but it sounds interesting doesn’t it?
Stylish and modern, the Metropolitan offers a cool hangout on the corner of Merchant Square. It’s the place to be to avoid those famous Glasgow kisses you’ve been hearing about. This cocktail bar has an adjoining restaurant which gives you the option of enjoying a meal while sipping on some of the best non-alcoholic cocktails in town. Yes, I know you don’t need to line your stomach, but maybe this would be a nice change to wolfing down a KFC. On the drinks menu, if the No-jito, a mixture of all the vital ingredients in a classic mojito, doesn’t take your fancy, be sure to dive head first into its delicious Very Berry Smash mocktail that contains anti-oxidants to help you kick start your health spree.
Blue Dog, on Sauchiehall Street, is one of the premier cocktail bars in Glasgow, with an interior that promises a chilled night. You can sink into one of their comfy booths after a hard days graft and relax to the sound of piano classics. Even without alcohol, that’s got help you unwind. On their menu the Not Quite Russian blends Nutella, double cream, espresso and vanilla syrup; welcome to mocktail heaven.
With an unpretentious environment, open mic nights and DJ performances, Island Bar will soon make you forget all about that cold beer – which we know is still on your mind – to try one of their Prohibition Iced Tea’s (a cocktail brought alive by talented mixologists without one ounce of alcohol.) With a great variety of live music, there’s plenty to keep you entertained, and you might just remember it all in the morning too!
Browns Bar and Brasserie, Birmingham.
With its collection of non-alcoholic cocktails under the title ‘Softails’, it’s notable that Browns Bar and Brasserie takes pride in its non-drinkers custom, as hard as that is to believe for some. Its memorably designed bar makes way for a great alcohol free night out, with Virgin Pina Coladas and Rosehip and Rhubarb Fizz stealing the limelight.
The Whim Wham Café, Manchester.
The massively popular Whim Wham Café on Whitworth Street is the ideal cocktail bar in which to request a non-alcoholic cocktail. Events are held each month to keep customers flocking to its doors. Some worth a mention include Whim Wham Blues Jam, its Vintage Emporium and Sausage Wednesdays, where gluten free sausages are even available. With such events helping fuel Whim Wham’s success, it’s easy to see that it has a lot more to offer than just alcohol.
Berry and Rye, Liverpool.
Branded the country’s best kept secret, Berry and Rye is a secret cocktail bar that requires certain measures to enter. You need to find its hidden location and hope that once you knock on the door you will be granted entry. With such mystery, who needs alcohol? The intimate atmosphere of Berry and Rye is the perfect place to be for an alcohol-free beverage.
The Alchemist carries a distinctive theme that is so whacky you have to put it on your bucket list. The cocktails resemble science experiments and are presented in quirky milk bottles and chilled hipflasks. Its alcohol-free cocktails span from the Virgin Pornstar to Ollie’s Cucumber Sling, which is so refreshing you will be revitalised. It goes without saying that it must be the perfect place to create some chemistry.
Dirty Blonde, located in the heart of Brighton Lanes, will seduce you with a varied menu that has the heart and soul of New York at its very core. Non-alcoholic beverages, hot and cold, are available to wash down some of the scrummy food they have to offer. The ingredients that go into the mocktails are made with 100% organic juices, so it’s a fun way to slip in one of your five a day.
