Drink Cheap in London? - TravelPUNK Backpacker College Student Budget Travel Message Boards!

kpccrysler · 02-22-2007, 08:55 AM

Im going to be studying abroad in London this summer and Im going to be partying on a very tight budget, pretty much whatever I can make between May and June working a hourly job, I leave on the 22nd of June

Anyway, how do you drink cheap in London?

Grocery store liquor/wine/beer for pregame?

Ive heard the average beer price in a London pub is more than 2.75 GBP?

Anyone have some good "get drunk cheap" tips?

Thank you in advance.

**Brookers13** · 02-22-2007, 09:01 AM

I would say definitely buy it at the grocery and pregame..heavily! Haha beer is massively expensive in London from my experience! But if you drink ahead of time you can get away with just nursing a couple pints at the pub

kpccrysler · 02-22-2007, 09:05 AM

thats what I was thinking.....let me ask you this, is London more of a beer town or is it common to take shots/ hard mixed drinks in the pubs and clubs?

I was thinking it may be cheaper to pregame and then just get one or two heavy drinks instead of the beer, and save money and calories . I like to get pretty glazed. ha

**LiveFreeorDie** · 02-22-2007, 01:58 PM

My impression of London pub culture is that it is very much one of binge drinking, particularly as closing time approaches because many pubs still close fairly early. Lots of beer plus quite a bit of shots. I didn't see a whole lot of mixed drinks being consumed (more in the clubs), but certainly they are an option. I think you will find, however, that the mixed drinks are even more expensive than beer. If you drink a beer with a high alcohol content, such as Stella, you may be better off than with a mixed drink, though it doesn't help your calories. Really, though, unless you are mixing a drink with diet coke or soda water, all the sugar in most mixers is just as bad as beer, if not worse. Stay away from some of the bitters as they tend to have lower alcohol content.

**joe7f** · 02-23-2007, 06:47 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

Stay away from some of the bitters as they tend to have lower alcohol content.

That is no reason to stay away from the bitters. A trip to London is not complete without a cask conditioned ale

--Joey

**micdans** · 02-23-2007, 09:56 PM

Tennants will do the trick. But experiencing it secondhand from friends, I would say no to that idea. Their company phrase is "brewers of strong beer."

**BigE** · 02-24-2007, 05:35 AM

Cask Condition Ale is a must in London. Just find Real Ale pubs and make a few rich friends in the upper class.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 02-25-2007, 10:52 AM

^Don't get me wrong, I love a good bitter and love London ales in general but the guy said he wanted to get drunk as cheaply as possible and bitters are not the best option. That's all.

foofiter · 02-25-2007, 06:02 PM

Simple drink a bottle of liqour from Tesco and go have 1-2 pints at the pub.

Foo

kpccrysler · 02-26-2007, 11:31 AM

what's Tesco? How much is a handle of Vodka in London? Or some other good grocery store liquors? And how much are the pints? Are they sold in 6 packs? Thx

**noke_travel** · 02-26-2007, 03:23 PM

tesco (along with sainbury's) is a chain grocery store that can be found throughout the uk. My advice would be to get liquor/beer/cider from an off license and pre-game before heading out. also, stay away from central london (especially soho) where the prices are the worst and cover charges abound.

if you really want to get drunk chav style, and not spend too much go buy a 2 litre bottle of of cider and drink in front of a mcdonalds or bus stop while yelling at anyone that walks by...

seriously though, a little creativity and budgeting you should be alright.
after all, pints are 20 oz. over there.

kpccrysler · 02-26-2007, 03:53 PM

Thanks man, that's what I was thinking, hitting the grocery stores for pregame and taking advantage of the absence of open container laws. where's the best place to do a pubcrawl? Do any pubs have cover charges, or is that only bars and dance clubs?

**noke_travel** · 02-26-2007, 05:37 PM

it really depends where you're living. there are enough pubs to do a proper pub crawl anywhere. the website www.fancyapint.co.uk has a great listing of many pubs in london. you can break them down by neighborhood or tube/train stop.

if you're looking for a hardcore crawl, check out http://www.thecirclelinepubcrawl.co.uk/ never done it but it seems like fun.

**LiveFreeorDie** · 02-27-2007, 05:47 AM

Quote:

Do any pubs have cover charges, or is that only bars and dance clubs?

Generally only clubs have cover charges. Pubs such as Dublin Castle in Camden Town (my fav London neighborhood) have a no cover pub in the front, and a rock club in the back that you pay to get into to see the bands. Enjoy!

kpccrysler · 02-27-2007, 08:43 AM

Nice, I will def. try that Circle Line Pub Crawl this summer. I saw a 750ml bottle of Tesco brand beer for 1.79 pounds, sounds like a pretty good brand. How are the grocery store brands of beer?

And what is your favorite pub in London that I must get drunk at before I leave? Name your top 3.

Thanks

**Brookers13** · 02-28-2007, 07:43 AM

are you really doing anything in london besides drinking

**indierock05** · 02-28-2007, 10:11 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by LiveFreeorDie

Generally only clubs have cover charges. Pubs such as Dublin Castle in Camden Town (my fav London neighborhood) have a no cover pub in the front, and a rock club in the back that you pay to get into to see the bands. Enjoy!

Totally agree, camden town is by far the best place for cheap food and drink, plus very ecclectic!

kpccrysler · 02-28-2007, 10:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Brookers13

are you really doing anything in london besides drinking

Hell yeah, Im studying abroad so I'll doing class on Monday and Wednesday and then field trips on Tuesday and Thursday, so I'll probably be doing a one week day drink night and then drinking Fri-Sun most likely.

Im looking forward to hitting the British musuem and the Natural History museum as well as seeing some British indie films.

**BigE** · 02-28-2007, 11:01 AM

When I go to London, I'm going to drink and go to the museums at the same time. The idea is to stay medicated and keep your wits about.

**noke_travel** · 02-28-2007, 12:33 PM

my favorite 3 pubs:
-the jolly gardener (on garrett road in wandsworth sw18 -take the train from waterloo to earlfield station) cool place, decent food, laid back crowd of locals, can get rowdy on weekend nights.

-the open page (once again, by earslfield station) decent priced drinks, lots of aussies and south africans, live music and the most beautiful bartender i've ever seen.

-the red lion (right by westminster tube stop, literally within 100 yards) the only place i like to drink in central london. right by big ben and parliament and just up the street from 10 downing. even though it's in a touristy area, has that quintessential english pub feel about it. supposedly it's where mp's go for lunch between sessions although i've never seen one. i was drinking there with some friends when there was a bomb scare at 10 downing. the police closed off the street and as a result we were not allowed to leave the pub for over an hour. not that i'm complaning...