7 alcohol-free activities for Dry January in London

Friday 25 October 2019
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Full of clinking champagne flutes, inventive cocktails and craft beer, London’s bustling party scene has something for every taste, but there are also experiences that can be made alcohol-free – great options for detoxers not wanting to miss out during Dry January. From brunch with glamorous drag queens to disco yoga, these fun-packed evening and quirky day experiences offer moreish mocktails and delicious non-alcoholic options to eliminate any FOMO – fear of missing out – for visitors travelling to London during their January detox.

Drag Brunch

A stone’s throw from London’s Oxford Circus, Loop Bar offers visitors an afternoon of drinks, dancing and drag queens at their Drag Brunch. Starting at midday, guests will be welcomed with a choice of cocktails and mocktails, before indulging in bottomless pizza and drinks, accompanied by 90 minutes of entertainment from some of the UK’s best drag acts.

Held every Saturday, this sing along-inducing party offers some great non-alcoholic options, including virgin mojitos, alcohol-free gin and tonic and non-alcoholic beer.

Price: £35 per person

Disco Yoga

Good for the soul in more ways than one, visitors can experience a Disco Yoga session, followed by a fruit mocktail and three-course brunch this Dry January. Combining the uplifting nature of a yoga class with a live DJ spinning high-energy disco anthems, this activity will leave visitors pumped-up, revitalised, and covered in glitter. Drinks such as It’s Raining Melon Hallelujah, Blame it on The Blueberry and The Disco Inferno are just a few of the boogie-worthy mocktails on offer, post-stretch. Visitors can indulge in this glitter-covered Disco Yoga brunch at Boulevard Theatre, Soho.

Price: £40 for a one-hour disco yoga session, mocktail/cocktail and brunch, 11 January at 10.15am

Cocktail Making Classes

Visitors participating in Dry January can still channel their inner bartender, in a cocktail or mocktail making class. Held at a specially designed cocktail classroom in Shoreditch, the fully interactive classes take place under the guidance of expert mixologists, allowing visitors to create and taste four innovative concoctions. Students of the art of mocktail making will then be entered into a classroom-wide competition, where they can let their creative juices flow as they combine flavours to produce their own signature mocktail.

Price: Held every Friday and Saturday, public classes are £70 per person. There is a maximum of 4-5 people per bar

 

The Book Club

With a constant stream of cool evening events ready to be filled with interesting and flavoursome mocktails, The Book Club in Shoreditch caters for both drinkers and non-drinkers. Offering detoxing visitors a drinks menu of their own, The Book Club’s ‘Lo & No’ list includes Nojitos, Sage-ins and the Swedish Lous, mixing thoughtful flavours and using the non-alcoholic spirit, Seedlip. Visitors can dance the night away at one of the quirky after-dark events, including a 90s pop night, vinyl listening session, and a hip-hop special, or even get creative at a heads and bodies drawing party.

Price: Mocktails cost £6-6.50 each

Sherlock Official Live Experience

Visitors can now step into the shoes of the world-famous detective, Sherlock Holmes, in the new Sherlock Official Live Experience, an immersive escape game. Starting in an unsuspecting opticians, the various steps lead players through recreated rooms and environments from the show, as they solve a Sherlock-esque mystery. A collaboration between the writers of the nail-biting series, Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss, and Time Run, pioneers of the escape room scene, this 100-minute experience will push visitors to their problem solving limits. Continuing the Sherlock theme, visitors can finish their evening in The Mind Palace, a speak-easy style cocktail bar attached to the escape room. The experienced bar staff are able to make many mixes into mocktails upon request, including a non-alcoholic Negroni, making this post-mystery solving spot great for non-drinkers.

Price: The Sherlock experience is for teams of 4-6 people, costing from £32 per person, £30 for concessions

Vortex Jazz Club

Bringing some of the best and most experimental jazz to the capital, Vortex Jazz Club in Dalston allows detoxing visitors soak up the magic of live jazz, while sipping on a range of refreshments including alcohol-free beer from Scottish brewing masters, BrewDog. A chance to catch London’s many jazz groups and singers every night of the week, The Vortex also holds a ‘Late Night’ event on the first Friday of the month. Showcasing a spectrum of music inspired by the genre, from jazz classics to fusion and experimental sounds, these sessions welcome visitors to experience the house band as well as multiple special guests.

Price: door fee changes depending on the act, whereas the Late Night: JazzInc events costs £6 per person, £5 concessions

Brunch to the Beat

Visitors can eat, drink and revel in live piano at The Piano Works in Farringdon’s Brunch to the Beat event. Non-drinkers can indulge in bottomless mocktails and a range of brunch dishes, while enjoying live music from two piano vocalists in the background. Held every Saturday until 4pm, the endless flow of drinks culminates in a full band, who take to the stage after 1.30pm and play an entirely request-led set.

Price: £50 per person for Brunch Dining tickets, which includes a 2-course brunch menu, and £35 for the Brunch Drinking package, a price that drops to £25 as an early bird offer.

For more information contact:

Patrycja Woda

patrycja.woda@visitbritain.org

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Disco Yoga with Mocktail
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Disco Yoga with Mocktail
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Sherlock game and bar
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Sherlock game and bar
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Sherlock game and bar