You can have a good night out in London without drinking alcohol, and it no longer means lemonade. Most pubs now keep at least one alcohol-free beer on draught or in the fridge, serious cocktail bars make proper drinks without spirits, and one Marylebone pub is owned by an alcohol-free brewery. The one thing worth understanding first is what the labels legally mean, because "alcohol-free" and "0.5%" are not the same thing in Britain.
The reason to get this right is practical rather than pedantic. If you avoid alcohol for medical, religious or personal reasons, a drink labelled 0.5 per cent may or may not be acceptable to you, and in the UK it will usually not be called alcohol-free. Knowing the vocabulary lets you ask a precise question at the bar.
This page covers the labels, where to go, what to order, and what it costs. Our guides to pub etiquette and alcohol laws in London cover the wider rules.
What the labels mean in the UK
- Alcohol-free
- No more than 0.05% alcohol by volume, under Department of Health guidance
- De-alcoholised
- Alcohol removed, no more than 0.5% ABV
- Low alcohol
- No more than 1.2% ABV
- Most imported "0.0" beers
- Usually 0.5% or below; check the bottle, not the branding
- Is the 0.5% threshold changing?
- A government consultation on raising "alcohol-free" to 0.5% closed in November 2023 and had not reported by September 2026
- Alcohol-free gin or whisky
- Does not exist in law: gin must be at least 37.5% ABV, so these are sold as "spirits"
- Free tap water
- A licence condition obliges bars and restaurants to hand it over when you ask, at no charge
The labels, and why British ones look stricter
The Department of Health's guidance on low alcohol descriptors, published in December 2018, says "alcohol-free" should be used only for drinks of no more than 0.05 per cent alcohol by volume; "de-alcoholised" only for drinks from which the alcohol has been removed and which contain no more than 0.5 per cent; and "low alcohol" for drinks of no more than 1.2 per cent.
Most of Europe treats 0.5 per cent as alcohol-free, which is why a German or Spanish beer sold across the Channel as alcohol-free may be labelled differently here. The UK government consulted on raising the British threshold to 0.5 per cent to match; that consultation closed on 23 November 2023 and, as of September 2026, the GOV.UK page still says the responses are being analysed.
Two things follow. If you need genuinely zero alcohol, ask for the ABV rather than relying on the word on the pump clip, because a lot of what bar staff call "alcohol-free" is 0.5 per cent. And if 0.5 per cent is fine for you, you have a much longer list to choose from, including most of the best-tasting products.
The guidance is advisory rather than criminal law, so labelling in practice is inconsistent. The number on the bottle is the fact; the word beside it is a description.
Spirits that cannot be called spirits
Gin must be at least 37.5 per cent alcohol to be called gin. That is why Sipsmith, which makes an alcohol-free product at its Chiswick distillery, states flatly that there is no such thing as alcohol-free gin and sells the drink as an alcohol-free spirit instead. Its own product is 0.45 per cent, and the company explains that the traces come from the ingredients used to carry flavour.
The same applies to whisky, rum and vodka. Anything on a shelf described as "alcohol-free gin" is using the word loosely, and if that matters to you, read the small print.
Practically, these products are designed to be mixed rather than sipped: most taste thin on their own and come alive with tonic, soda and something bitter or citrus. Our guide to gin distilleries in London covers where the alcoholic versions are made.
The pub that does not need you to drink
The Lucky Saint at 58 Devonshire Street in Marylebone is owned by the alcohol-free brewery of the same name and is the clearest example in London of a pub built around the idea. It is a proper pub in the traditional sense, with pub food, and it serves alcoholic drinks as well; the point is that the alcohol-free options are on draught and treated as the main event rather than an afterthought.
Its published hours are Monday 11:00 to 22:00, Tuesday to Friday 11:00 to 23:00, Saturday 15:00 to 23:00, and closed on Sunday. That Sunday closure catches people out, so plan around it. The pub is a few minutes from Great Portland Street and Regent's Park stations, in the area covered by our guide to Marylebone.
It is not the only option, but it is the most reliable one: at an ordinary pub you are dependent on what the licensee happens to stock, which in London is usually one lager and sometimes one stout.
Club Soda's Covent Garden tasting room has closed. The shop and bar at 39 Drury Lane, which let you sample more than 250 low and alcohol-free drinks free of charge, closed at the end of January 2026 when its lease ended. The organisation is looking for a new home and still runs an online shop, but do not travel to Drury Lane expecting to find it.
What to order, and how to ask for it
The single most useful sentence at a London bar is: "What have you got that is alcohol-free, and what is it?" Staff are used to it, and it is more effective than scanning the taps.
- Beer. The easiest category. Most pubs keep at least one alcohol-free lager; many now have a stout as well. Draught alcohol-free beer is increasingly common in London and is noticeably better than the bottled version.
- Cocktails. Ask for something built around bitterness or acidity rather than a fruit juice mix. Seedlip-style spirits with tonic, a shrub with soda, or a bitter aperitivo substitute with sparkling water all work.
- Wine. The weakest category. De-alcoholised still wine is difficult to make well; sparkling versions are generally better because the bubbles carry the flavour.
- Everything else. Good tonic water with a slice of grapefruit, a proper lemonade, a cold-brew coffee or a strong tea are all respectable orders in a London bar.
Prices are a common complaint. An alcohol-free beer usually costs 80 per cent or so of the alcoholic one, and an alcohol-free cocktail is often within £2 of the full-strength version. That is partly ingredient cost and partly the table you are occupying; it is worth knowing before you feel cheated.
If you are driving
England sets a legal breath, blood and urine limit for drivers, and Scotland's is lower; the figures are on GOV.UK and are repeated in our page on driving in the UK for visitors. What matters here is that no number of drinks can be converted into a safe amount, because it varies with weight, food and time.
Products at 0.5 per cent are widely treated as compatible with driving. A pint of one contains roughly as much alcohol as a ripe banana or a glass of fruit juice. If you would rather not do arithmetic at all, pick something at 0.05 per cent or below, or a drink that never contained alcohol to begin with.
In practice very few visitors drive in central London, because of the Congestion Charge, the ULEZ and the cost of parking. If you are hiring a car for a day trip, plan the drinking around the driving rather than the other way round.
The free water rule
A licence condition, not a courtesy, obliges every licensed premises in England and Wales to hand over tap water without charge when a customer asks for it and it is reasonably available. Pubs, bars, clubs and restaurants are all covered.
Staff rarely offer it unprompted. Ask, and you will get it; no explanation is needed, and you do not have to buy anything else. For refilling a bottle during the day, see our guide to tap water and refill points.
Nights out that do not revolve around a bar
The other approach is to choose an evening where drinking is not the structure. London is well set up for this.
Museums run late openings with talks, music and bars where nobody notices what is in your glass; our guide to museum late openings lists them. Comedy clubs and gig venues have a fixed ticket and a fixed end time, covered in comedy clubs in London and live music venues. Cinemas, theatre and the river all work the same way, and our guide to London at night has a wider list.
Food-led evenings are the easiest of all: a long dinner, a late-night café or a walk. Our page on late-night food in London covers what is open after midnight.
January, Ramadan and other times it gets easier
Two periods in the year change what London bars stock. In January, a large number of people take part in a month off alcohol, and pubs and supermarkets expand their alcohol-free ranges accordingly; it is by some distance the best month to find unusual products. During Ramadan, restaurants across the city serve large evening meals with no alcohol at all, which our guide to halal food in London describes.
Christmas is the hardest: parties are built around alcohol, and the seasonal menus at many venues include drinks in the price whether you want them or not. Ask for the alcohol-free version of a set menu when booking; most places have one and few advertise it.
Ask for the soft version of a bottomless package. Many London venues sell an alcohol-free version of their weekend drinks package, usually £10 to £15 cheaper than the standard one, but they often do not show it on the booking page. Phone or email before you book. Our guide to brunch in London explains how those packages work.
Frequently asked questions
Does "alcohol-free" mean zero alcohol in the UK?
Under Department of Health guidance it means no more than 0.05 per cent alcohol by volume, which is not quite zero. Drinks at up to 0.5 per cent should be labelled "de-alcoholised" and up to 1.2 per cent "low alcohol". If it matters to you, ask for the figure rather than the word.
Is the UK changing the 0.5% alcohol-free rule?
It has been under consideration. A government consultation on raising the "alcohol-free" threshold from 0.05 per cent to 0.5 per cent, to match most of Europe, closed on 23 November 2023, and the GOV.UK page still showed the responses as being analysed in September 2026. Nothing has changed yet.
Do London pubs serve alcohol-free beer?
Most do, usually at least one lager and often a stout, and draught alcohol-free beer is increasingly common. The Lucky Saint in Marylebone, owned by an alcohol-free brewery, treats it as the main offer. Expect to pay roughly 80 per cent of the price of the alcoholic equivalent.
Can I get free tap water in a London pub?
Yes. Licensed premises in England and Wales operate under a mandatory condition obliging them to hand over tap water at no charge when a customer asks and it is reasonably available. No purchase and no explanation are required.
Where can I taste alcohol-free drinks in London?
Club Soda's tasting room on Drury Lane, which was the obvious answer, closed at the end of January 2026 and the organisation is looking for a new site. Until it reopens, the practical alternatives are the Lucky Saint pub, specialist bottle shops and the expanded supermarket ranges in January.
Sources
- Department of Health and Social Care - Low alcohol descriptors guidance (2018) (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - Updating labelling guidance for no and low alcohol alternatives (consultation status) (checked September 2026)
- Licensing Act 2003 (Mandatory Licensing Conditions) Order 2010 - free tap water and age verification (checked September 2026)
- Club Soda - closure of the Drury Lane tasting room (checked September 2026)
- The Lucky Saint pub, Marylebone - address and opening hours (checked September 2026)
- Sipsmith - why there is no such thing as alcohol-free gin (checked September 2026)
- GOV.UK - the drink-drive limit (checked September 2026)