Cheers to Sobriety: Dallas’ Go-To Bars and Restaurants for Mocktails

In some cities — like Portland, Seattle and Denver — individuals spend their time mountain climbing, biking and having fun with the outside. Dallas will not be a type of cities. Dallas eats and Dallas drinks.

And, boy, can we imply drink. In October alone, Happiest Hour logged $1,144,420 in alcohol gross sales. Bottled Blonde trailed behind with $1,139,643 in alcohol gross sales. That’s simply two of the hundreds of restaurant and bar choices in Dallas.

However instances are altering. Throughout the U.S., adults are more and more saying no to booze. Dallas’ service trade is taking discover. Mocktails have begun making their approach onto many Dallas menus. A current examine by NielsenIQ discovered that the demand for nonalcoholic drinks is on the rise.

And whereas some Dallasites are reducing out cocktails for good, others are reducing again as a life-style or economical alternative. And truthfully, who would not when cocktails are costing simply as a lot because the meal?

“It is turn out to be a luxurious to drink or to socially drink constantly,” says Antonio Vargas, supervisor at Hugo’s Invitados, the place cocktails vary from $11 to $17. A few drinks can simply rack up a $40 plus tab with tip.

Blissful hours have turn out to be a drinker’s finest good friend. Dallasites are profiting from drink specials, or they merely aren’t ingesting, Vargas says.

However drinkers aren’t reducing again solely for financial causes. Many who choose to not drink are doing so for wellness.

“All people desires to dwell wholesome, look wholesome and really feel good,” Vargas says. “Everybody’s just a little bit extra acutely aware of what they’re placing of their our bodies as of late.”

The times of sugar-filled drinks akin to a Cuba Libre, Jack and Coke or pina coladas are gone, he says. Eaters need recent substances and alcohol is not a necessity.

Stevie Nuñez is aware of this all too effectively. Nuñez has labored in Dallas’ service trade since he was 18. For the final eight years, alcohol has been quintessential to his work and social life.

5 nights per week, Nuñez was ingesting eight to 10 cocktails together with his associates. Afterward, he’d seize a late-night chunk, sometimes quick meals. The alcohol and sugar consumption was taking a toll on his physique. By July 2022, He weighed 260 kilos. His girlfriend instructed he reduce on ingesting.

“I instructed her, ‘That is what I do, that is who I’m proper now, I simply can’t give up,’” Nuñez says. However he did.

On July 6, 2022, he gave up ingesting for seven weeks. Since then, he drinks solely sooner or later per week, sometimes Sundays in the course of the Dallas Cowboys video games. His outcomes have been astonishing.

“I’ve misplaced 60 kilos in 5 months,” Nuñez says. “Giving up ingesting and consuming unhealthy late is the principle purpose why I misplaced a lot weight quickly.”

Nuñez nonetheless visits Bishop Arts 5 nights per week, however he not orders a Purple Bull with vodka. His drink of alternative is a mocktail; water with a splash of cranberry. The mocktail permits him to really feel unrestricted.

“It’s psychological,” Nuñez says. “With mocktails, you are still reaching to go get a drink when you’re in a dialog and take a sip.”

Vargas and Nuñez say mocktails permit the sober-inclined to take part in all of the social elements of ingesting with out compromising sobriety. Because of nonalcoholic drinks, this life-style is more and more accessible in restaurant and bar settings.

“Between August 2021 and August 2022, whole greenback gross sales of nonalcoholic drinks within the U.S. stood at $395 million, displaying a year-on-year progress of 20.6%,” in accordance with the NielsenIQ report. Nonalcoholic beer gross sales are up 19.5%. Nonalcoholic wine is up 23.2%, and nonalcoholic spirits are up a staggering 88.4%.

Dallas eating places and bars do not get left within the mud. Mocktails are popping up on many North Texas menus. Right here’s a roundup of the place to get some stellar nonalcoholic drinks in enjoyable areas:

Anise

5630 Village Glen (The Village)

Anise is within the boutique Drey Resort contained in the residential and neighborhood hub often known as The Village. Anise has a patio out entrance and a wonderful bar with pan-Meditteranean influences. However attempt to get a seat at the back of the restaurant for a really stellar house. The Zero Proof menu has 4 drinks, together with a house-made model of an Arnold Palmer and an Underserved with rose petal tea, strawberry syrup and lemon.

Leela’s Wine Bar

1914 Greenville Ave.

This yr Leela’s Wine Bar is giving Dallas a mocktail for Christmas. Annually, Decrease Greenville’s Leela’s Wine Bar turns into a hub for Dallasites to get pleasure from vacation decor and sip on a cocktail or glass of wine. For 2022, Leela’s is adorned with glowing disco balls and snowflakes as a part of the disco wonderland theme. And this yr it launched a mocktail, Jingle Bell.

“The inclusion of enjoyable and scrumptious mocktails is significant for any cocktail menu,” Leela’s Wine Bar common supervisor Ashley Walsh says. “Increasingly persons are selecting to not eat alcohol, however that does not imply they need to miss out on an excellent expertise.”

Jingle Bell combines cranberry, pomegranate and orange blossom with Topo Chico to create a fizzy mocktail that transforms Leela’s into an inclusive sober-friendly vacation spot.

Double D’s

1404 N. Riverfront Blvd.

Dallas’ newest bar, Double D’s, had a smooth opening within the Design District on Thanksgiving Eve. The much-anticipated bar’s tagline is “all of the love,” which incorporates an expansive menu for all method of imbibers. The mocktail menu consists of The Bingo Bango, All people Loves the Sunshine and Brown Derby, all of which examine the bells and whistles of a cocktail, sans the alcohol. At $6 every, these are a steal.

Neighborhood Beer Co.

3110 Commonwealth Dr.

Dallas loves a brewery, however these spots aren’t precisely the primary place you’d go to for those who’re practising sobriety. If beer is your factor, however the alcohol content material isn’t, Neighborhood Beer Co. has you lined. Go for a 12-ounce pour of Nada. The Nada brew is full of the crisp citrusy chunk of an IPA with out the alcohol. It additionally doesn’t damage the waistline: With lower than 0.5% ABV, it has 5 grams of carbs and solely 25 energy.

Hugo’s Invitados

3699 McKinney Ave., No. 200
5240 N. O’Connor Blvd., No. 160, Irving

Diners gained’t see Rondel Zero, a nonalcoholic cava, on Hugo’s Invitados wine checklist, however don’t fret. The Mexican restaurant retains Rondel Zero available to diversify its cocktail menu and create an inclusive atmosphere. The bar blends recent squeezed lemonades or cold-pressed juices with the zero-proof glowing wine to create an elevated ingesting expertise that may rival a cocktail any day. GM  Antonio Vargas advises nondrinkers to ask a bartender to transform any cocktail on the menu right into a mocktail, and want granted.

Strangeways

2429 N. Fitzhugh Ave.

The venerable East Dallas bar Strangeways is a longtime favourite recognized for its laid-back vibe. They usually have a number of choices for many who need to hang around sober. Attempt a Cucumber Cooler, a Pineapple Upside Down, Malta malted beverage or any of the six rotating alcohol-free beer picks.

Miss Angeline’s

125 E. Oak St., Denton

Mocktails have been integral to Denton’s cocktail bar, Miss Angeline’s, since its inception. The bar opened in 2019 with 36 faucets. Cocktails and beer take up 30 of them. The opposite six are reserved for mocktails. These are usually not simply any mocktails: every has all of the bells and whistles of a cocktail with out the hangover.

Seize a French 86 or Cranberry Spritz, each made with Ritual Zero Proof. The French 86 combines Ritual Zero Proof gin different with raspberry syrup, lemon and sparking water. Cranberry Spritz is made with Ritual Zero Proof whisky different, cranberry juice, easy syrup and soda water.

Different mocktails use Seedlip Nonalcoholic Spirits. Seedlip Spice 94, Golden Boy Espresso chilly brew and cream make the EspressotiNo the right espresso martini different. Backyard Smash is made with cucumber, mint, lime and Seedlip Backyard 108. Seedlip Grove 42 is used for the PiNo Colada.

Thunderbird Station

3400 Commerce St.

You heard it right here first! A mocktail menu is within the works at Thunderbird Station.

“Thunderbird Station is engaged on a mocktail menu that might be able to launch Dec. 13 to mid-December,” proprietor Kim Finch says. “Our mocktail program might be simply as enjoyable, quirky and inventive as our signature cocktails you realize and love!”

Public College 214

3700 McKinney Ave., No. 148

The most effective factor concerning the mocktails at Public College 214 is that the menu is ever-changing, so when a season ends and a brand new one begins, the menu is up to date to mirror that point of yr. The Strawberry-Tangerine Refresher is obtainable year-round, and it has recent strawberries combined in with the ice, which imparts a candy berry style with each sip. When you’re wanting one thing extra conventional, the bartender can whip up a virgin mojito or recreate nearly any cocktail on the menu to make it nonalcoholic.

Niwa Japanese BBQ

2939 Foremost St. (Deep Ellum)

Grilling your personal meals on the desk makes for a enjoyable night time out itself, however when there are alternatives for alcohol-free drinks for those who’re not partaking in spirits, it definitely seals the deal. There’s not a separate mocktail menu, however Niwa will gladly make certainly one of their many cocktails nonalcoholic. A fan fave is the Lavender Fields, which has lavender-infused honey, grapefruit, lemon, and bubbles and is topped with a lemon peel. You possibly can additionally strive the house-made Matcha Lemonade as your second drink, which pairs completely with all the scrumptious meat Niwa has to supply.

Paradiso

308 N. Bishop Ave. (Bishop Arts District)

Paradiso creates its mocktails with freshly squeezed juices and house-made syrups, so once you’re attempting the Flight of the Bees, which has ginger beer, honey, and lemon, you realize it’s going to be good. One other favourite is the Silent Dove, which is served in an ice-filled Collins glass and is garnished with a slice of grapefruit and an edible pink carnation clipped to the rim with a small clothespin. Along with the plentiful mocktails, the environment presents some magic. From a gold-lined bar with vines hanging from lighting fixtures, to an enormous seating space lined with vegetation and timber exterior, Paradiso is the right paradise to sip on a drink with associates in tow.

The Folks’s Final Stand

5319 E. Mockingbird Lane, No. 210 (Mockingbird Station)

The bartenders at Folks’s Final Stand spend plenty of time concocting several types of cocktails every month, which implies every time you go to they’re prone to have new drinks to strive. Whereas this place doesn’t have a devoted mocktail menu, the crew can create nearly any drink on the cocktail menu sans liquor. Attempt the Pineapple Purple Sky with out the booze, which has freshly made hibiscus-pineapple-peach syrup, or the Palm Tree Goals, with spicy mango, if you’re wanting an additional kick to your sip. You may also create a mocktail of your personal by letting the bartenders know what you want, which makes this an ideal spot to check out your inventive talents.

XOXO Eating Room

3121 Ross Ave.

When you’re on the lookout for pink, pink, and extra pink, XO Eating Room is the place to seize a nonalcoholic beverage along with your friends. For one thing candy and fragrant, the Uptown Virgin has lime, recent strawberry and easy syrup infused with rosemary. For all the spicy lovers, chances are you’ll need to strive the Lil’ Papi, which has jalapeño, lime juice, pineapple and agave, with a juicy pineapple garnish on prime. This spot is open till 2 a.m. Thursday by way of Saturday, so for those who’re out with associates and are getting just a little drained, you possibly can go for the XO Espresso, which incorporates chilly brew, vanilla easy, half and half and cinnamon to get you thru the remainder of the night time. Gown up in your finest cocktail (mocktail) apparel and you should definitely make a reservation as a result of this place fills up rapidly. (Don’t overlook to remain late on the weekend to bounce to the DJ.)

Atípico

2301 N. Akard St. (The Union Dallas)

Atípico, the latest spot on this checklist, comes straight from Mexico Metropolis and opened in 2022 in The Union Dallas. Seven totally different mocktails can be found, with all kinds of taste selections. The must-try Cool Second has passionfruit, peppermint and membership soda sprinkled with cardamom, which offsets the tartness and sweetness of the drink. The Sof Rose is one other fan favourite, with lychee and coriander, topped with a recent crimson rose petal. Atípcio additionally helps native enterprise by utilizing Dallas-made El Cantinero mixers in a few of the drinks.