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Boozeless bar crawl: Sober in Shoreditch

Be sure to ditch the alcohol with our guide to the mocktail hotspots of Shoreditch

By Natalie Wilson / 21 June 2022

Here’s our summer guide to ditching the booze and enjoying Shoreditch’s best mocktail hotspots

Socialising sober does not have to be boring. In fact, as far back as 2016, millennials in New York were going on juice crawls as sobriety was labelled “the new drunk” and boozy bar crawls were ditched by wellness advocates. 

As bars become more accommodating of the teetotal, the once small, sad ‘mocktail’ boxes on cocktail menus are starting to grow. It is now easier than ever for sober people to get involved in a bar crawl that suits their lifestyle.

Getting your steps in, a boujee bathroom selfie and waking up to a bank account that forgives you for leaving the house? Get us a mocktail, we’re in.
Mercifully, you’ll still be standing after completing Dry’s Shoreditch bar crawl, which follows a route guaranteed to give you the best night out while supporting your sobriety.

  1. The Cocktail Club Shoreditch, 29 Sclater St, London E1 6HR

Start strong at London’s favourite cocktail club for some low-and-no versions of classic cocktails. This bar takes its mocktail menu seriously, with over eight non-alcoholic drinks to choose from. Why not try a Pina Con-Nada for a refreshing blend of coconut and pineapple. The best part? If you are the designated driver for the night or just don’t fancy a drink, you’ll get the same great experience as any of your friends drinking a cocktail with a kick.

  1. Common Counter at Glass House, 118 Bethnal Green Rd, London E2 6DG

Three minutes around the corner is the Common Counter bar. Part of an exciting new series of LGBTQ+ venues introduced by Glass House Projects, the space offers a hub for London’s diverse communities to thrive and enjoy mocktails made with fresh, seasonal produce, craft beers and sustainable wine. Alcohol-free cocktails include a Garden Sour, Spiced Rhubarb Collins and a Damascus Road. At £7.50 a mocktail, head for happy hour to get the most booze-free drinks for your buck. 

  1. The Permit Room – Dishoom, 7 Boundary St, London E2 7JE

Since 1949, the Bombay Prohibition Act has placed Mumbai under a state of prohibition, as you will find out at the next stop, the Permit Room at Dishoom. As in Mumbai, anyone who wishes to have an alcoholic drink must do so with a permit in the Permit Room. Dishoom’s London branches still accommodate those who do not wish to drink, serving several “tee-total tipples” including a sober Negroni and a rumless mojito.

  1. Barrio, 141-143 Shoreditch High St, London E1 6JE

Bounce down to Barrio for your next mocktail in just four minutes, but run and you might even make it in two! Once you’re in the vibrant Latin American bar, be saintly and go virgin on any classic cocktail for just £6.50. Alternatively, if all the mocktail sugar is making you feel like you’ve drunk five red bulls, try a Big Drop brewery beer with just 0.5% ABV to relieve your sugar high.

  1. The Nightjar, 129 City Rd, London EC1V 1JB

Get ready to go back in time by next heading to The Nightjar, sober-supporting bar number five. The concept? A menu divided into four sections spanning the history of the cocktail: pre-prohibition, prohibition, post-war and their Nightjar signatures. A dedicated menu for £10 non-alcoholic cocktails includes “Euphoric life”, “Café Kirsch Elixir” and “Libre”, a peppery drink with refreshing vanilla notes. Some even claim it’s better than the real thing. 

  1. The Book Club Shoreditch, 100-106 Leonard St, London EC2A 4RH

Take an eight-minute stroll past the infamously boozy establishments of Simmons and XOYO to The Book Club for low-and-no beers on tap. Organise your bar crawl on a Wednesday to make the most of two-for-one pizza night, alongside a Nojito from the booze-free menu or an alcohol-free Kopparberg. It’s important to line those stomachs, even when you’re going alcohol free. 

  1.  Hawksmoor, 157A Commercial St, London E1 6BJ

Just a ten-minute walk down Great Eastern Street to work off that pizza, you will reach Hawksmoor Spitalfields. The final bar has its own “Temperates” menu of non-alcoholic cocktails as a guide on what to drink when you’re not drinking. The large menu ranges from dry non-alcoholic aperitifs to South London’s finest ginger drinking vinegar. For between £4 to £7, these are the perfect drinks for a sober social butterfly who can’t be bothered to rehash the “I don’t drink” conversation with strangers.

Finally, whether you’re sober or drunk, you can’t beat grabbing a Brick Lane bagel before riding an inevitable mocktail sugar high on the way home.

Featured picture: Alexander Popov on Unsplash

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