Dry January: 12 reasons to be cheerful when you’re off the sauce

Love it or loathe it, Dry January is upon us and across the country millions are taking part in the annual, monkish abstinence from alcohol. But January is such a bleak month! It’s cold and dark and wet – what are we supposed to do in lieu of the lovely warm pub? Fear not: in our first Big List of the year we round up just the places for you, from alcohol-free bottle shops to the best places to go for low- and no- cocktails. Don’t worry – February will be here soon.

1) Club Soda

This Covent Garden bottle shop and bar is London’s first dedicated alcohol free spot, run by Laura Willoughby, one of the industry’s most dedicated alcohol free experts. You can sit in and have some fabulous cocktails, or take them away. We’re in love with their iteration of an espresso martini, so we’d recommend that, and there’s a rolling series of events too. All month.

2) Torstig 

The second alcohol free bar in London has opened. Torstig is the official bar of Dry January 2024, and has a great selection of no-and-low cocktails, beers and wines. This is version number two: the first Torstig has been a huge success in Brighton and if this pop-up goes well, the owners hope it’ll become a permanent part of the London landscape. It’s in Hoxton until 20 January.

3) Lucky Saint Bar

Lucky Saint is one of the most common alcohol free beers to find on tap, and they have a dedicated bar space too. On Devonshire Street in Marylebone, the venue has a warm, classic feel, with coffered wood paneling and cosy interiors. There’s just one thing that’s different: many of the bottles behind the bar are booze free. Unlike Torstig and Club Soda, Lucky Saint has a decent range of alcoholic products, so this is a good spot if you’re trying to please everyone. luckysaint.co

4) Alcohol free comedy

Comedy is almost inextricably tied to boozing, so it’s refreshing to see an event link laughter with sobriety. The Backyard Comedy Club in Bethnal Green hosts booze-free events every so often; the next features four comedians and is on final release, so move quickly. 28 January.

5) A boozeless tasting menu

Le Petite Pause from LPM Restaurant & Bar is showing how great food and drink pairings needn’t involve any poison. Four non-alcoholic drinks are paired with dishes, in association with Lyre’s Non-Alcoholic. The limited-edition cocktails paired include the nogroni sbagliato, with aperitif rosso, Italian spritz, earl grey and Gentian root, and the enticing-sounding watermelon gazpacho. lpmrestaurants.com

6) Go networking

Trendy Mama Shelter hotel in Bethnal Green has a spacious lobby that’s brilliant for co-working, or just popping in for a drink. This month they have a new reason to go: their Mix and Mingle event, a “hangover free” event designed for “community, connection and conversation.” There’s a DJ, drinks by non-alcohol apertifivo company Everleaf, and an invitation to dress to impress. 17 January, 7pm.

7) Dry January 10k

If you’re really doubling down on the punishment, join trainer Ollie Ollerton for a fitness challenge. Runners are asked to “swap out your bar tab for running bibs and feel the benefits: sleep better, have more energy, sharpen your focus, save money, turn heads with radiant skin, and cross that 10K finish line with a newfound sense of empowerment.” Sounds, erm, tiring. 28 January, Pippingford Park, Sussex.

8) Start gaming instead

Throw back to your favourite 80s and 90s retro games with this night of boozeless drinking and golden era gaming. Drink Asahi 0.0% and play some of the most iconic games of a generation, including Pac-Man, Double Dragon, Shinobi, Golden Axe, R-Type, Micro Machines, Mortal Kombat, Street Fighter II, Streets of Rage, Sonic and more. Hosted at the Hyatt Place London City East hotel by gaming events nerds REZtron. 30 January.

9) No-alc spirit tasting

The Last Tuesday Society in east London hosts spirit tasting events throughout the year, but for January there’s a special alcohol free version. With a welcome drink on arrival and a second mocktail included that’s made by in-house specialists, expect to learn about how to generate complex flavour profiles without the need for the hard stuff. 17 January.

10) Drink with the originators

Alcohol free originators Seedlip kind of kickstarted the whole low-and-no alcohol scene almost ten years ago. Since then the industry has moved in strides, making their original booze-free products seem a little simplistic. But this Reading-based event will be a good opportunity to catch up with what the brand is up to now, and every guest gets three alcohol free cocktails and food too. The Narrowboat, Reading, 26 January.

11) A mocktail pairing

To mark Veganuary and Dry January, Ochre at The National Gallery will be introducing a dedicated set menu priced at £35 for two courses and £50 for three courses, including a mocktail. There will be a starter of pumpkin soup with king oyster mushroom and pine oil, followed by a main course of roast and tempura cauliflower with curry sauce, cashew nut and pickled ginger, and a decadent valhrona chocolate mousse with pear cômpote to finish. A Non-Pisco Sour with a sage tincture will complete the evening. All month.

12) Party like Bond

Named after an Ian Flemming character, Vesper is an intimate and refined bar at The Dorchester. Usually a place for Bond-esque sipping of martinis, it’s going (partly) dry for January. Try the Mrs Smith, featuring Seedlip Garden, granny smith, pear, cardamom, lime and London Essence tonic water; St John’s Gold made with Everleaf Forest, carob honey, lemon, apricot, grape soda; or Forbidden Fruit with Everleaf Mountain, pomegranate molasses, zero-waste champagne & rose petal infusion, London Essence pomelo & pink pepper tonic water, and blood orange jelly. All month.