What to Order When You're Not Drinking: Best NA Drinks at a Bar

Ordering a satisfying non-alcoholic drink at a bar used to mean settling for soda water with lime — that's changed significantly, and knowing how to navigate a modern bar menu helps you get a genuinely good option.

Check for a Dedicated Non-Alcoholic Section

Many modern bars and restaurants now include a dedicated non-alcoholic or "zero proof" section on their menu, often featuring genuinely crafted mocktails built with the same care as the alcoholic cocktail list — check for this before defaulting to soda water.

Ask If the Bar Can "Mocktail" a Cocktail You Already Like

If there's no dedicated non-alcoholic menu, ask your bartender whether they can make a non-alcoholic version of a cocktail you already enjoy — many bartenders are increasingly equipped with non-alcoholic spirit alternatives and can build a genuine mocktail version of a Margarita, Old Fashioned, or Negroni on request.

Order a Bitters-and-Soda

A genuinely simple, widely available option at almost any bar: a few dashes of bitters (Angostura is nearly universal) combined with soda water over ice — the bitters add real aromatic complexity that plain soda water lacks, without requiring the bar to have any specialty non-alcoholic products on hand.

Try a Shrub or Switchel If Available

Some more cocktail-focused bars offer shrubs (vinegar-based fruit syrups) or switchel (a ginger-vinegar drink) mixed with soda water — genuinely interesting, complex non-alcoholic options if a bar happens to stock these ingredients.

Don't Be Afraid to Ask What's Available

Bar staff increasingly expect and welcome non-alcoholic requests, and asking directly what non-alcoholic options they can make (beyond what's printed on the menu) often reveals more possibilities than the menu alone suggests.

The Bigger Shift

The growing "sober curious" movement has genuinely pushed many bars to take non-alcoholic drinking more seriously, meaning you're likely to find better options today than even a few years ago — it's worth actually asking rather than assuming a bar has nothing interesting to offer beyond soda water.