After doomscrolling through some of the more pessimistic corners of the internet and reading Facebook comments such as “Them childish d*ckheads doing dry jan will kill off London pubs once and for all. No surrender!” I decided it was both my journalistic and moral duty to find out if young Londoners really are staying home nursing a self-flagellatory glass of water. There was only one possible course of action- a pub crawl.
I concocted a route that would traverse a variety of North London watering holes, each with varying demographics and, for lack of a better word, ‘vibes’. I was expecting my crawl to be a rather morbid affair. But the reality I found was the complete opposite.
Stop One
5pm- The Prince George, Dalston
Random Google review: “Shabby-chic, hip hostelry”.
Straight out the gates, I’m hit with my first surprise of the night. I’m sixth in the queue to get on the pool table. Sixth behind people much younger, cooler, and better at pool than me. I passive-aggressively place my pound coin on the pool table and use the free time to interview other punters.
Some people tell me they’ve long abandoned their Dry Jan plans, others say they weren’t interested in it in the first place, but many are nobly soldiering on with it, caning non-alcs whilst watching their friends drink real beers, without a shred of jealousy. There are actually more young people (I’ll be generous and say under-35) than… not-so-young people here.
Figures from Alcohol Change UK showed that 41% of people in Greater London planned to take part in Dry January this year. But those figures don’t account for whether they’re going to the pub or not.
I finally take my place at the pool table. I am instantly humiliated. It’s time to move on.
Just following orders.
Stop Two
7:50pm (I told you I waited ages to play pool)- The Duke of Wellington, Haggerston
Random Google review: “Lovely back street pub, unpretentious with a great outside space”.
It’s worth noting that my crawl through North London happened to coincide with a day that both Arsenal and Tottenham were playing Champions League fixtures. I’m under no illusion that pubs may not have been quite so full on, say, Tuesday 6th January, the day it was -5 degrees. But today, the place is throbbing with North London’s finest. A fairly equitable mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are being ordered, with team booze perhaps clinching it in the 90th minute.
The bar staff barely have a free moment to speak to me, but eventually someone explains that after the initial post-Christmas slump, young people return to the pub in droves to spend time with friends that they haven’t seen over the holiday period. Some of them just opt for a bottle of Erdinger 0.0 instead of their usual order.
These guys made my job a lot harder. North London Forever.
Stop Three
8:30pm- The Army and Navy, Matthias Road
Random Google Review: “Traditional community pub with a newly refurbished beer garden”.
By pub three, I’m beginning to feel cautiously optimistic for the future of London’s locals. Perhaps it’s the Guinness beginning to take hold, but the articles I’d read about the capital’s youth swapping Carling for cacao rituals seem like a distant fever dream.
The weather’s taken a turn for the torrential, but one hardened pub garden-goer, Mike, tells me he’s been teetotal for over a year. He goes to the pub two or three times a week. “That sense of community… comradery really- that doesn’t change whether you’re drinking a 5% or 0% drink”. The only thing that puts Mike off a pub is if they have a limited selection of non-alcoholic drinks- “There’s only so many orange juices you can have when your mates are on the pints”.
Changes will of course need to be made to cater for this burgeoning demographic, (my local may have to expand on their current range of expired 330ml Heineken 0.0 bottles) but despite what you might read, a pub can retain its character even if it has to grit its teeth and stock a pretentious 0% craft NEIPA Milkshake Sour for a month.
Presented without comment.
Stop Four
9:10pm- Misc. Kebab
My review: Delicious.
Ahmed the kebab shop owner tells me that he does sell notably less kebabs in January. But that’s an article for another time.
Stop Five
9:45pm- The Mildmay Club, Newington Green
Random Google review: “Lovely old school club and venue with great staff and a community vibe”.
One staff member tells me they were closed during the quietest week of January. My heart begins to sink. But it turns out this was to make improvements to cater for their rapidly increasing membership, such as installing cask ale taps.
Not so long ago, this place almost had to shut its doors for good. Membership numbers dwindled to below 400 people. By the end of 2025, there were almost 4000 members. The majority of these new members? Young people.
If you can’t beath them, join them.
Stop Six
10:40pm- The Park Tavern, Finsbury Park
Random Google review: “Classic pub!”.
After the longest walk of the evening, I decide to cap off my night with a gentle half at my beloved local, The Park Tavern. The landlady tells me they’ve actually had a busier January than December. Tonight it’s quieter than the other pubs I’ve been to, but I know the bar staff and am on nodding terms with the majority of the customers there. There’s a sense of community here that can only be found in the pub. Any pub, every pub.
The next day, slightly bleary-eyed, I speak to Dr John Howat, a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He tells me “Young Londoners are more concerned about their mental health than any generation previously. But looking after your mental health doesn’t mean not going to the pub. In fact, whether you’re drinking or not, it really can help”. I for one certainly find it does.
All walks of life are welcome at the pub.
I’m not trying to negate the problems London pubs are facing. As one landlord told me, “Dry Jan is a doddle. F***-all Feb is when we start to worry”.
But let’s not call last orders before the pint’s been fully poured. 0% Fosters, fruit juice, pfeffernüsse stout- who cares what you’re drinking, so long as you do it at the pub.
Submitted Article
Headline
Short Headline
Standfirst
Published Article
HeadlineIs Dry January the final nail in the coffin for London’s struggling pubs?
Short Headline
StandfirstNo, actually. It may even be helping.
This is not the article I was expecting to write.
After doomscrolling through some of the more pessimistic corners of the internet and reading Facebook comments such as “Them childish d*ckheads doing dry jan will kill off London pubs once and for all. No surrender!” I decided it was both my journalistic and moral duty to find out if young Londoners really are staying home nursing a self-flagellatory glass of water. There was only one possible course of action- a pub crawl.
I concocted a route that would traverse a variety of North London watering holes, each with varying demographics and, for lack of a better word, ‘vibes’. I was expecting my crawl to be a rather morbid affair. But the reality I found was the complete opposite.
Stop One
5pm- The Prince George, Dalston
Random Google review: “Shabby-chic, hip hostelry”.
Straight out the gates, I’m hit with my first surprise of the night. I’m sixth in the queue to get on the pool table. Sixth behind people much younger, cooler, and better at pool than me. I passive-aggressively place my pound coin on the pool table and use the free time to interview other punters.
Some people tell me they’ve long abandoned their Dry Jan plans, others say they weren’t interested in it in the first place, but many are nobly soldiering on with it, caning non-alcs whilst watching their friends drink real beers, without a shred of jealousy. There are actually more young people (I’ll be generous and say under-35) than… not-so-young people here.
Figures from Alcohol Change UK showed that 41% of people in Greater London planned to take part in Dry January this year. But those figures don’t account for whether they’re going to the pub or not.
I finally take my place at the pool table. I am instantly humiliated. It’s time to move on.
Just following orders.
Stop Two
7:50pm (I told you I waited ages to play pool)- The Duke of Wellington, Haggerston
Random Google review: “Lovely back street pub, unpretentious with a great outside space”.
It’s worth noting that my crawl through North London happened to coincide with a day that both Arsenal and Tottenham were playing Champions League fixtures. I’m under no illusion that pubs may not have been quite so full on, say, Tuesday 6th January, the day it was -5 degrees. But today, the place is throbbing with North London’s finest. A fairly equitable mix of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks are being ordered, with team booze perhaps clinching it in the 90th minute.
The bar staff barely have a free moment to speak to me, but eventually someone explains that after the initial post-Christmas slump, young people return to the pub in droves to spend time with friends that they haven’t seen over the holiday period. Some of them just opt for a bottle of Erdinger 0.0 instead of their usual order.
These guys made my job a lot harder. North London Forever.
Stop Three
8:30pm- The Army and Navy, Matthias Road
Random Google Review: “Traditional community pub with a newly refurbished beer garden”.
By pub three, I’m beginning to feel cautiously optimistic for the future of London’s locals. Perhaps it’s the Guinness beginning to take hold, but the articles I’d read about the capital’s youth swapping Carling for cacao rituals seem like a distant fever dream.
The weather’s taken a turn for the torrential, but one hardened pub garden-goer, Mike, tells me he’s been teetotal for over a year. He goes to the pub two or three times a week. “That sense of community… comradery really- that doesn’t change whether you’re drinking a 5% or 0% drink”. The only thing that puts Mike off a pub is if they have a limited selection of non-alcoholic drinks- “There’s only so many orange juices you can have when your mates are on the pints”.
Changes will of course need to be made to cater for this burgeoning demographic, (my local may have to expand on their current range of expired 330ml Heineken 0.0 bottles) but despite what you might read, a pub can retain its character even if it has to grit its teeth and stock a pretentious 0% craft NEIPA Milkshake Sour for a month.
Presented without comment.
Stop Four
9:10pm- Misc. Kebab
My review: Delicious.
Ahmed the kebab shop owner tells me that he does sell notably less kebabs in January. But that’s an article for another time.
Stop Five
9:45pm- The Mildmay Club, Newington Green
Random Google review: “Lovely old school club and venue with great staff and a community vibe”.
One staff member tells me they were closed during the quietest week of January. My heart begins to sink. But it turns out this was to make improvements to cater for their rapidly increasing membership, such as installing cask ale taps.
Not so long ago, this place almost had to shut its doors for good. Membership numbers dwindled to below 400 people. By the end of 2025, there were almost 4000 members. The majority of these new members? Young people.
If you can’t beath them, join them.
Stop Six
10:40pm- The Park Tavern, Finsbury Park
Random Google review: “Classic pub!”.
After the longest walk of the evening, I decide to cap off my night with a gentle half at my beloved local, The Park Tavern. The landlady tells me they’ve actually had a busier January than December. Tonight it’s quieter than the other pubs I’ve been to, but I know the bar staff and am on nodding terms with the majority of the customers there. There’s a sense of community here that can only be found in the pub. Any pub, every pub.
The next day, slightly bleary-eyed, I speak to Dr John Howat, a researcher at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King’s College London. He tells me “Young Londoners are more concerned about their mental health than any generation previously. But looking after your mental health doesn’t mean not going to the pub. In fact, whether you’re drinking or not, it really can help”. I for one certainly find it does.
All walks of life are welcome at the pub.
I’m not trying to negate the problems London pubs are facing. As one landlord told me, “Dry Jan is a doddle. F***-all Feb is when we start to worry”.
But let’s not call last orders before the pint’s been fully poured. 0% Fosters, fruit juice, pfeffernüsse stout- who cares what you’re drinking, so long as you do it at the pub.
