Nightjar

Nightjar opened in 2011 on City Road, at the northern edge of Shoreditch, and was among the bars that defined London's modern cocktail revival. It was founded by Edmund Weil and Rosie Stimpson, a jazz, swing and blues singer, who set out to build a room that would do justice to the music as much as the drinks — Weil has said the idea "came from the style and the music angle before the drinks," rooted in a love of art deco design and the pre-Prohibition era. The bar took Difford's Guide's Best New Bar award in its opening year and went on to a remarkable run on The World's 50 Best Bars list, placing third in 2012 and second in 2013 and remaining a fixture through much of the decade. It also holds one of the UK's largest absinthe collections and a cellar of vintage spirits dating back to the 19th century.

The venue is a low-lit basement speakeasy marked only by the nightjar symbol on its door, a couple of minutes' walk from Old Street station. Inside it is all exposed brick, dark wood and closely packed tables, with live jazz, blues and swing every night from 9pm — a cover charge is added to the bill and goes directly to the musicians. The cocktail list is divided by historical era, with pre-Prohibition, Prohibition and post-war sections sitting alongside signature and non-alcoholic drinks, and every drink arrives elaborately, sometimes theatrically, garnished. Nightjar runs a 21-and-over policy, a smart-casual dress code and a minimum spend of £15 per person, per hour.

Crucially for non-drinkers, the zero-proof cocktails form their own section on the main menu and are built with the same care as the vintage-spirit list rather than defaulting to a soft drink. They lean on named non-alcoholic spirits — Lyre's and Seedlip — layered with house syrups and unusual ingredients. The Libre combines Lyre's Dark Cane Spirit with Zooz energy drink, fresh lime juice, black cardamom caramel and orange blossom soda; Heal Me Up pairs Seedlip Garden 108 with blood orange, plant-based vitamin D extract and elderflower cordial; the Midori mixes Seedlip Garden 108 with aloe vera soda and jasmine blossom; and Passion de Coco builds Seedlip Grove 42 with coconut orgeat, coconut water and lemongrass. The result is a genuine alcohol-free offering inside one of the world's most decorated cocktail bars, well suited to anyone who wants the full Nightjar experience — the room, the garnishes and the jazz — without the alcohol.