Bar Lina (London)

Lina Stores has been feeding Soho since 1944, and its pistachio-green Brewer Street shopfront is one of the neighbourhood's most recognisable survivors. Bar Lina is the cellar beneath it: a small, low-lit aperitivo bar that takes the delicatessen's Italian instincts and applies them to drinks. The list is negroni-led on the alcoholic side, but the reason it belongs in this directory is the Virgin Cocktails page, which is written with a care that most Soho bars still reserve for the hard stuff. All three builds start from zero-proof Italian bases rather than fruit juice, and all three read like drinks someone argued over: Essenza pairs Amaro 0% with lemon balm cordial, fresh lemon and a strawberry and lavender soda; Euphoria works Amaro 0% against raspberry, mint and tonic; Ananas & Menta sets a gin alternative against pineapple cordial, mint and a pepper bitter that gives the finish actual grip.

The room itself is the other half of the appeal. It is genuinely small, which keeps the volume conversational, and the aperitivo format means the kitchen requirement is handled by the deli upstairs: plates of salumi, cheese and filled focaccia arrive at the bar rather than a full menu, so the drinks stay the point. An alcohol-free order here does not feel like a workaround, because the Italian aperitivo tradition the bar draws on was always about bitterness, ritual and something salty alongside, none of which requires alcohol. Hours run to 11.30pm through the week, late enough for a post-dinner stop, and the Sunday afternoon opening makes it one of the more civilised places in central London to end a weekend without a drink. For anyone working through Soho's cocktail row on a dry month, this cellar is the stop that asks the least explaining: order the Essenza, take the stool by the bar, and the evening runs itself.