While most people might associate cocktails with a sun-drenched bar in Ibiza, filled with hammocks, maraschino cherries and club reps trying to slap you with a 2-4-1 at Amnesia, there are actually healthy cocktails out there too. Trust me, maybe apart from the hard liquor, the accompanying ingredients provide quite the health kick… or at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves.
Here’s where to get your five-a-day, so to speak…
The Hangover
Chloro-phyll your boots with The Little Yellow Door’s healthy, boozy offering. Combining The Botanist Gin with chlorophyll, this drink is literally called The Hangover and doesn’t take any prisoners. Want to rid yourself of your queasiness? Get yourself a hangover…
The brand spanking new version of the classic Notting Hill bar-that’s-not-a-bar has gone uber futuristic on us with a libation that harnesses an array of ingredients. The Botanist Gin couples with elderflower, egg whites and chlorophyll, all of which is served in a coupette with mint and chlorophyll perfume. And, while chlorophyll might induce all sorts of memories from chemistry classes gone wrong, it’s actually packed with various health pluses, including anti-ageing and toxin-busting benefits. What’s more, it’s used a natural mouthwash substitute so you can wave goodbye to that hangover pong… ew!
Hair of the dog has never tasted (or smelt) so good!
Where: The Little Yellow Door, 6-8 All Saints Road, Notting Hill, W11 1HH
Website: www.thelittleyellowdoor.com
Bart's
Venture to Bart’s in Chelsea and let the prohibition bar give you a little refresh with its Aloe Can You Go? cocktail. Apparently, we can go pretty low… when we embrace the dressing up box at this quirky speakeasy, resplendent in all its quirky wall art glory! The healthy cocktail in question entraps Seedlip Garden 108 non-alcoholic spirit, elderflower cordial, aloe vera juice, lime and sugar in its cup. It’s refreshing, summery and, sugar to one side, it’s pretty darn healthy too! Aloe vera juice aids with constipation, clear skin, liver function, heartburn relief and more. Aloe, aloe!
Where: Chelsea Cloisters, Sloane Avenue, SW3 3DW
Website: www.barts-london.com
Farmacy
Vegans, listen up! Because you’d be a buffoon not to tick this restaurant off your list. Quite literally a sanctuary for catering to all your plant-based needs, Farmacy is the brainchild of Camilla Fayed and is set on Westbourne Grove between Notting Hill and Bayswater.
The menu and concept was undeniably ahead of its game when Farmacy launched a few years ago, with a smorgasbord of seasonal, nutritional and sustainable flavours on offer. Fast forward to today and there’s no doubting the restaurant’s consistent popularity, with diners filling tables that sit wrapped around the centrepiece bar.
The restaurant really plays into the 21st century trope of experimental flavours and vegan food advancement, championing alternative and lesser-known flavours including CBD cocktails (which you simply must try) and an adaptogenic latte made with reishi, chaga, ho shu wu, maca, vanilla protein powder and coconut milk.
Where: 74-76 Westbourne Grove, Notting Hill, W2 5SH
Website: www.farmacylondon.com
Oh Hey Hippie Highball
Glorious Sloane country watering hole, Daylesford, is flooded with epic botanical cocktails including the delightful Hippie Highball which oozes green! Featured in the intriguing serve is iced cannabis tea, coconut rum, lime and strawberry syrup and it’s a safe bet for a health kick and some of your five-a-day. Yep, we are trying to justify drinking cocktails but, in our defence, there’s a cute renowned organic farm in the Cotswolds providing all sorts of delicious food and drink, so that’s healthy, right?
Exploring the ‘botanical cocktails without alcohol list’ will see you knock back a Matcha Cooler with matcha, apple juice, holy basil and sparkling water. Gee whizz, our mouths are watering!
Where: 76-82 Sloane Avenue, Brompton Cross, SW3 3DZ
Website: www.daylesford.com
Laki Kane
Laki Kane certainly has to be one of London’s most quirky cocktail bars, and o course a menu that follows suit! Putting a modern spin on the tiki bar experience, you simply must try the Fatal Attraction, minus the vodka! We’re not taking no for an answer, seriously! Unless, of course, you’re allergic to ingredients, in which case we’ll spare you the death sentence. It really is scrumptious; expect a blend of lychee, aloe vera, homemade grenadine and fresh lime and then sink in total dreaminess.
Where: 144-145 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1QY
Website: www.lakikane.com
The Millennial
We’re zooming into W London for the next cocktail, hello The Perception Bar! And we reckon we’re onto a winner with this one. Picture it: CBD oil, avocado, lime juice, agave, red chilli… oh, and Patrón Silver tequila but, like, aside from that last part it’s healthy, no?
CBD oil is in fact packed with a tapestry of excellent health benefits (which you can discover more about right here), and all the rest of the ingredients surely contribute to your five-a-day… or at least that’s what we’re telling ourselves. Packed into a glorious cocktail, aptly named The Millennial, you can enjoy this libation amongst the glossy interiors of the hotel.
Where: W London – Leicester Square, 10 Wardour Street, W1D 6QF
Website: www.theperceptionbar.com
It’s getting hot, hot, hot! So here are some wonderful outdoor spaces to enjoy a tipple or two…
