The best bars in Australia for non-alcoholic drinks

Heading out, but laying off the alcohol? Not a problem. Thanks to the growing popularity of zero%* alcohol beverages, the days of getting stuck with a boring soda and lime are over. Bartenders and pub owners across the country are adding seriously decent non-alcoholic* beers, wines and cocktails to their menus.

Whether you’re alcohol-free, pregnant, driving, curious, or just trying to drink less, there are brilliant alcohol alternatives at Australia’s best forward-thinking bars. And yes, that’s ‘alternatives’ in the plural, not just one zero%* beer or unoriginal mocktail. Many of Australia’s best bars for alcohol-free* drinks offer a dedicated range of options for those who are off the sauce – with some not selling much or any alcohol at all.

Brunswick Aces in Melbourne is the brainchild of a group of seven friends who wanted to be able to forgo a drink in a bar without feeling like outsiders. They made a non-alcoholic gin, shared it with their friends, and demand grew. Their distillery currently makes about 3,000 litres of juniper-forward non-alcoholic infusions a week, and is attached to Australia's first permanent non-alcoholic bar and bottle shop. The only alcoholic tipple on offer is a run-of-the-mill gin and tonic, in loving derision of ‘normal’ bars stocking just one option for the non-drinkers. Also in Melbourne, Fitzroy institution Black Pearl has upped its alcohol-free* drinks game with expert bartenders pouring exquisite non-alcoholic* options featuring little or no hard stuff.

Over in Sydney, Dean & Nancy on 22 slings playful twists on classic cocktails – sans alcohol – and a solid range of spirits from zero%* heavyweights Seedlip and Lyre’s. Maybe Sammy in the CBD shows how much you can do with cocktail flavours and concepts for those who choose to abstain, while the world’s first permanent no-waste bar, RE, offers Heaps Normal and Lyre’s cocktails in a setting where everything aims to minimise environmental impact in some way. The recently opened Seadrift Distillery in Sydney’s Northern Beaches operates So-Bar on Friday and Saturday evenings, a fully non-alcoholic venue where you can sample their award-winning spirits made purely from local botanicals and sea kelp.

Western Australia is not without its a fabulous venue flying the alcohol-free flag. The ever-popular Rockpool Bar & Grill combines an impressive non-alcoholic* cocktails and spirits list, with a sound beer selection. 

In Queensland, Yoko Dining has a No Booze Negroni, No Booze Seedlip Mule, Tropical Highball with mandarin, yuzu and passionfruit, yuzu soda, and two zero-alc* beers. All can be enjoyed at their 50-seat vinyl bar or overlooking the waterfront with izakaya-style Japanese snacks and drinks, and a sweets menu that runs to miso-caramel soft serve.

Forget about missing out and embrace opting in. Australia’s non-alcoholic* drinks movement is here to stay and these trailblazing bars are supporting it with non-boring drinks for the sober or sober-curious every step of the way.