It might not come in a funny bottle any more, but you can get soda water in every pub in the land.

Usually dispensed from the same "gun" that the syrup-based soft drinks are served out of (but also individual bottles in more pricey places) it's commonly available and usually used for making spritzers in the summer (white wine topped with soda) and vodka sodas, for people watching their calorie intake.

Another option for a non-beer drinker are the alcoholic ginger beers that are having a marketing push at the moment. Mind you, if you're on holiday, in a pub, you'll be having a good time no matter what you're drinking...

"you can get soda water in every pub in the land."

Yes. But the point being made was that "If you order a sodas you will get a "blank" look."

Which is sort of true: "a soda" in American means "a soft drink" in English. Ask for one without qualification and the assumption is you're trying to get a fizzy mineral water without paying for it.

When nytraveler referred to "sodas", I am pretty sure she meant Coke, Pepsi, etc, not the carbonated water sometimes added to whisky. Soda is the word used in some parts of the US for those drinks. Where I grew up we referred to them as "pop", another term that would probably get blank looks in the UK.

You type quicker than me, flanneruk!

I love ginger beer - think ginger ale with more ginger kick - and Fentimans has been my favorite since discovering it in the UK .. http://www.fentimans.com/soft_drinks

It's important to not that ginger beer comes in both alcoholic and non-alcoholic forms. Crabby's is the most famous alcoholic ginger beer (and tastes great with a shot of whisk[e]y added).

thanks flanner you got my point

Never really like those gun things, I've never seen them washed....

Try a Pimm's

A soda in many places in the US means a soft drink as well; and then there's "pop" on the west coast.

I am a bit confused by this comment from above:

"Gin, or any other spirit, is too expensive to drink in pubs,..."

As in how "too"????...does this mean overpriced or what?

I don't like beer or lager, but I very much like shandy, especially on a warm day. Not made with lager, though. Do try it, as well as the other suggestions.

I've looked at the Wikipedia page, but I'm still a little confused about Pimm's. Would you just order a "Pimm's", or do you need to specify what else you want in it?

Pimm's with lemonade (which is sprite in the UK). It comes usually topped with mint, strawberries, cucumber and/or assorted fruits.

If you order a "Pimm's" it will 99 times out of 100 come with all the trimmings; mint, strawberries, cucumber and sometimes a slice of orange and could be any possible combination of the above (plus lemonade of course).

If you ask for one and it's served without the usual accoutrements, it's a sign that the pub probably isn't a very good one.

One of the few drinks you can buy by the jug in pubs and a pretty good way to spend an evening.

Lemonade.

Needless to say there is high vol stuff that has never seen a lemon, there is branded lemonade, stuff called "cloudy" lemonade (which should have lemon bits in it) with and without sugar and even alcoholic lemonade which is lemonade with tots of nameless booze in it.

Pimms actually comes in a few varient bases (Vodka, gin etc) Gin is the most common, drunk cold with borage or cucumber and lemonade (concentration is the issue I find 50:50 is about right but in pubs you may get 10:90 if you are lucky) since you normally get a half or a whole pint the alcohol levels need to be watched.

I assume in dissolute London they add strawberries....

Except for cocktail bars, you need to tell the bartender what you want in the drink. They have gotten used to requests like a "Screwdriver" or a "greyhound", but it's best to ask for "vodka and orange" or "vodka and grapefruit".

Some of my favorite English girly girl drinks in pubs, at least during the early '80's were "vodka & black" which is vodka and ribina (black currant) or a snowball, which I'm sure they still have lying around in little bottles somewhere. Both on the sweet side, but never heard of either of these drinks outside of England.

Pimms is a summer drink, best served outdoors on a sunny afternoon. I don't think I would order one in the evening at a pub.

Just so others are aware in the US apple cider is non alcoholic - only hard cider contains alcoholic. Good to know wording in the UK is different.

I have tried to order wine in several random pubs and it has not been a success. But there are a lot of wines that I don't care especially care for. Can of course order wine in restaurants - but then usually only by bottle or half - in many the wines by the glass are not really drinkable (unless they specialize in a much larger offering).

What ever happened to the days when one would order a large pink gin in a London drinking establishment?


Thin

<<I am a bit confused by this comment from above:

"Gin, or any other spirit, is too expensive to drink in pubs,..."

As in how "too"????...does this mean overpriced or what?>>

I mean that a single gin & tonic will cost in the region of £3.50-£4.50 depending on the brand. That's around the cost of a pint, and you either use all the tonic and won't taste the gin at that strength, or you use a fraction of the tonic and it's gone in a few mouthfuls and you need a top up long before your drinking buddies. You need at least a double or triple to match what you'd pour at home, and that gets expensive.

I usually order cider because the wine glasses tend to be small and, as someone pointed out, my drink was long gone before my husband's pint. Ask if they have a good local cider (it's usually bottled).

I've never ordered Pimm's because I thought it always had gin, which I don't care for. Now that I know it can be vodka, I'll give it a try next time we visit the in-laws.