Placebo at Leith Arches
The newest and coolest pop up AF bar in town! The brain child of the fabulous Nico of Discover Your Flare* - the soft launch was at the start of May 2024 and I was so happy to be able to help with the bar menu (even though I couldn't make the night due to a sick puppy!)
The menu includes drinks from some of my favourite brands including Talonmore, Jump Ship Brewing (on tap!!), Feragaia, You + I Kombucha and InTune CBD Drinks.
The pop up bar is the first Thursday of every month - follow Discover Your Flare* to keep up to date!
Shish
Shish is a Turkish Restaurant on Potterrow - not only is the food amazing, but they have a COMPLETELY dry bar! The drinks menu is 24 pages long and includes everything from alcohol free cocktails and mocktails (YES they are different!) to beers, wines and ciders. They even have mocktail shots and a 24k Gold sparkling wine!
Dishoom
We've probably all heard of Dishoom, but did you know they have a WHOLE SEPARATE menu for their alcohol free offer? The last time I was there, I picked up the drinks menu and the bartender actually asked me if I wanted to see the alcohol free menus - eh YES PLEASE!
My favourites are the Teetotal Espresso Martini and the Premier Padmini Negroni - they are about to launch a new menu though, so can't wait to give some more drinks a try!
Fazenda
Fazenda offer a sumptuous selection of Argentinian and Brazilian meats served directly to your table - as many times as you'd like! They also have a Market Table which boasts an array of charcuterie and continental cheeses, seafood, fresh salads and vegetables!
Their drinks menu is pretty good too! The soft drinks aren't your standard Fanta and Diet Coke, they include delicious flavours from Franklin & Sons and Frobishers. They have a good selection of alcohol free cocktails, including one of the BEST ones I have EVER had! The Honey Renaissance, which is in partnership with Cyrenians (£5 from each goes to the charity). It includes honey made by one of the Cyrenians projects, along with orange blossom, Caleno alcohol free rum, lavender syrup and a pipette of butterfly pea tea 💜
The Alchemist
The Alchemist now has 2 venues in Edinburgh, one on George Street and one in the St James Quarter. The have a selection of 8 fabulous no and low cocktails that have as much flare and fineness as any of their other drinks!
Alcohol free spirits they use include: Three Spirit, Lyres, Everleaf and Goodrays CBD drinks - highly recommended!
Hawksmoor
Photo by Cal Holland
Hawksmoor's bar manager Niall, has created these brand new drinks that aren't designed as non alc cocktails. They're cocktails in their own right! They have a balance of flavour, texture, finish, colour, name and the products that go into them area all equally considered!
The Blackbird
Photo's by Ernesta (@ernestanorr)
The Blackbird have partnered with Everleaf to bring us some beautiful cocktails (and guess what - they are one the first page of the menu!). Pictured above are Zero Cherry Spritz, Zero Espresso Martini and Zero Spicy Margarita!
Makars Mash
Makars Mash have the balance of everything just right! Alcohol and Non-Alcohol, Meat and Plants - and the have a Mushroom Emporium! Their alcohol free drinks are provided by the wonderful Andy Mee (The Alcohol Free Drinks Company) and are predominantly Scottish! Think Talonmore, Jump Ship Brewing, Bon Accord and Spirits of Virtue! I haven't actually visited this one myself, but I will be going as soon as I can!
Have you been anywhere recently that has a particularly good menu? Let me know in the comments section!
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3 comments
At last! I first gave up alcohol in 2018 and managed 3 years. Back then it was near on impossible to get an AF drink in a bar. My next journey into AF will be more manageable now.
Thank you for this .. I’m still new to the AF world and not yet been out. I’m going out to our local pub and their drinks menu has no AF offerings apart from Heineken 0. So I’m looking forward to trying your recommendations. Thank you ☺️
Thanks for the breakdown. It does seem,at long last, that the penny has dropped. A genuine market for adult low & no alcohol drinks exists but still requires professional marketing to establish itself and provide a forward thinking outlet a profitable market share.