I'd like to eat at Victoria & Albert's some day, but I'm just not a wine person. I'd feel weird ordering Diet Coke at one of the fanciest restaurants in the southeastern U.S.
Do they even have soft drinks at V&A?
There is plenty for people who do not consume wine.
And I'm not sure if you're anti-alcohol, so I'll offer this advice:
**A word of caution for anyone who consumes wine and/or the wine paring with their meal at V&A - because the meal is so lengthy, if you consume wine with each course at near or about the same rate as a 'typical' three-course meal - you may be consuming far more alcohol than you would ordinarily consume!!
V&A has a 'Water Menu'.
I prefer 'sparkling / with gas; other people prefer flat / without gas....then you get into whether the water is from a 'spring' and/or contains beneficial minerals....with or without a salty bite.....
By the way, the changes in courses come with changes in bread....while the butter changes too and is garnished with new tastes from often visible salt granules.
Here's what we do - we have a bottle of Champagne to start. This can likely accompany your amuse-bouche and first selected course (which is likely to be vegetarian or seafood). Save half the bottle of Champagne for dessert. If someone wants an additional glass or half-glass of wine with their meal, order as necessary.
You can certainly start with a cocktail/beer while you look at the menu. Then just stop drinking wine and then have water....or just start and stay with that Water Menu. We've been known to do this too....I may even have an unsweetened ice tea if I want a beverage with tannins (like come in red wine) to help cleanse my palate.
What's most important - focus on what it is that will make
YOU feel like you are enjoying the meal as you wish. If a Diet Coke is what makes you happy, enjoy that icy beverage.
But please, don't ask for ketchup or steak sauce - can we agree on that?
