Nashville’s having a spirit-free renaissance as of late. Forget the pedestrian sparkling water with a twist of lime or the snoozy Shirley Temple — nonalcoholic cocktails have stepped up their game all around the city. No matter what neighborhood you find yourself in, there’s bound to be a place offering complex and nuanced sans-spirit drinks that intrigue the palate without the pesky morning-after hangover. Below: a list of local restaurants and bars (including Nashville’s first booze-free bottle shop) offering interesting nonalcoholic drinks year-round.
Read MoreWhere to Find the Best Nonalcoholic Drink Menus in Nashville
Go bottoms up without the booze at these local cocktail bars and restaurants
The Fox Bar & Cocktail Club
This East Nashville haunt was named Eater Nashville’s bar of the year in 2023 and for good reason — the nonalcoholic options here are just as interesting as their boozy counterparts. The F-150 features a spiced fig gastrique, pomegranate molasses, seltzer, and tarragon, while the bright pink Bird of Paradise combines Dhos bittersweet, pineapple, sesame orgeat, and lime stock. You can find more, like the Cool in Nippon and the Count, on the menu.
Cafe Roze
Over at Julia Jaksic’s Cafe Roze in East Nashville, you can pair your brunch or dinner dishes with their spirit-free versions of Old Fashioneds, spritzes, and specialty drinks like the Lower Earth Orbit made with NA gin, Roze syrup, and orange bitters, and the Shade in Oaxaca with NA tequila, lime, grapefruit, and habanero bitters. All nonalcoholic drinks are priced at $13.
Audrey
Audrey, Sean Brock’s flagship restaurant in East Nashville, is where you’ll find Brock’s special collaboration with Drink Proxies — Proxies Audrey — for $15 a glass. But you’ll also find a mulled wine spritz made with Leitz pinot noir, fuji apple, black cardamom, and amaro soda, and the Bitter Bianco — a mix of Martini Floreale, Lyre’s Dry, Osmanthus oolong, and honeysuckle.
Noko
Eater Nashville’s best new restaurant of 2023 doesn’t disappoint with its nonalcoholic offerings. Non-imbibing guests can sip on this East Nashville spot’s menu of NA sippers including the Hero made with lychee, hibiscus, and lemon, the Porter Spritz with lemon, pineapple, and orange blossom, and an NA negroni from St. Agrestis out of Brooklyn. All of the nonalcoholic offerings on the menu are under $7.
Le Loup
Situated atop the Optimist in Germantown, Ford Fry’s Le Loup is a cozy nook for icy plates of oysters and compelling drinks — both alcoholic and non — to accompany them. On the menu: Lift To The Scaffold made with lemon, mint, cucumber, alfalfa, and tonic; Generique with watermelon cardamom shrub and club soda; Woodyn You, a mix of sudachi, sea buckthorn, cream, and seltzer; and the Four, a concoction of grapefruit, calpico, pineapple, ginger, and chili.
Jane's Hideaway
For every boozy drink on this East Nashville hang’s menu, you’ll find a nonalcoholic counterpart. There are six options to choose from, ranging from riffs on the espresso martini and the Old Fashioned to booze-free mixes using ingredients like pecan orgeat, truffle hot sauce, kaffir salt, and orange cardamom syrup. All nonalcoholic cocktails are $9 and under.
Tailor Nashville
South Asian American restaurant Tailor in Germantown offers spirit-free options to complement its dinner party-style menu. The a la carte menu features spirit-free options like a turmeric tonic or strawberry kombucha, but you can also opt for a spirit-free pairing that includes five beverages to accompany your dinner. Among the nonalcoholic pairings: a fruit tea made with black tea, orange, pineapple juice, and lemon; the Kashmiri Milk Punch with kashmiri pepper, aji rico, orange, cumin seed, and whole milk; and the Basmati Horchata with basmati rice milk, coconut cream, toasted almonds, roasted coconut flakes, cinnamon bark, and clove.
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Butcher & Bee
You can count on East Nashville’s Butcher & Bee to always have a seasonal “gazoz” on the menu — a sparkling water beverage infused with fruits, flowers, herbs, spices, ferments, and syrups. But starting January 8, you’ll also find a “Buzz Free” cocktail menu with drinks priced at $10 each. Themed after 20th-century novels, nonalcoholic drinks include the Phantom Of The Aperol with Giffard’s Aperitif, orange, lemon, spiced winter syrup, salt tincture, and soda water; Doctor ZhimarNo, a mix of Dr Zero Zero AmarNo, lime, aquafaba, and simple syrup; and the All The Pretty Choices made with Spiritless Jalisco 55, pineapple sage simple, smoked aleppo simple, lime, and a house tajin rim.
Harper's
For $13 each, Harper’s in SoBro is offering a cadre of nonalcoholic drinks to pair with its selection of steaks and raw bar items, including a cucumber fizz, the Pearadise Dream (prickly pear, cream of coconut, orgeat, mint, and citrus), the Jalisco Sunrise (strawberry, jalapeño, passion fruit, and lime), and the Arnoldo Palmer (Earl Grey tea, Sicilian lemonade, honey, and lemon juice).
The Joseph, a Luxury Collection Hotel, Nashville
Downtown’s the Joseph is featuring nonalcoholic sips at each of its three venues: Yolan, Four Walls, and Denim. Over at Italian hotspot Yolan you’ll find the Black and Grey (Earl Grey tea, blackberry, vanilla ) and the Strawbunkle Soda (strawberry-basil soda, half and half). Rooftop bar Denim features the Something Cozy (Lyre’s agave blanco, apple, pumpkin, fall-spiced honey, lemon) and the Harvest Select (Lyre’s dark cane, Lyre’s aperitif rosso, orange, vanilla bean cordial, lemon), while speakeasy Four Walls has the Go East, a mix of Seedlip Grove 42, sudachi, shiso, calpico, oolong cold brew, and seltzer.
Husk
Over at Husk, bar manager Adam Morgan is keeping it interesting with the Rutledge Hill restaurant’s nonalcoholic menu. You can wash down chef Ben Norton’s Southern dishes with the Voice of the Choir, a mix of hibiscus cinnamon shrub, tonic, and lime, or the Eyes Adjust with NA vermouth, verjus blanc, spiced pear shrub, and sea salt. Cap off the meal with a chilled coffee concoction — the Oatkast — that brings together java, oat orgeat, stinging nettle tea, grapefruit juice, and soda.
Hathorne
Hathorne was one of Nashville’s NA menu pioneers, and it continues to embrace its spirit-free sippers with a drink menu that features a virgin mai tai and mojito, cherry lime-aid, and mocktails like the Giovanni made with Lyre’s Italian Orange, London dry, and orange oil, the Rosanna with Spiritless Jalisco 55, strawberry, lime, and jalapeño, and the Harvey, a meal-ending digestif-style drink with Seedlip Spice, coffee, tonic, and caramel.
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Jasper's
If you find yourself wanting to skip the buzz during lunch or dinner, look to the “I’m Not Drinking Today” section of Jasper’s menu for non-alcoholic cocktails, specialty sodas, and a constantly growing list of non-alcoholic beers. Standouts include the Blackberry Beret (blackberry basil, lime, ginger beer, and soda), Jasper’s Balloon (orange, lime, soda, and a Luxardo cherry), and the Strawberry Bliss (strawberry, limon, demerara, and soda).
The 404 Kitchen
Gertie’s Bar, tucked inside the 404 Kitchen in the Gulch, typically leans heavily into its whiskey pours, but you’ll also find a solid line-up of nonalcoholic offerings that fit the bill when a glass of bourbon isn’t in the cards. Standouts include the Hop, Skip, and a Jump made with yuzu, orgeat, pineapple purée, and coconut water, the Shape Up or Ship Out with strawberry lemonade, cucumber, and sparkling water, and the Penny For Your Thoughts, a sweet and spicy mix of chai, vanilla, cinnamon, and cream.
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White Limozeen
Downtown’s ode to Dolly Parton, White Limozeen, has added more NA options to its menu. On deck: Prima Pave NA sparkling rose and Casamara Italian NA sodas, as well as a series of drinks that include the Left on Read (blood orange puree, vanilla syrup, lemon juice, grapefruit juice, and egg white), Princess Punch (grapefruit, pomegranate, lime, and club soda) and the Holiday in Hawaii — a virgin piña colada.
Sadie's
For $8, you can sidle up to the bar at Sadie’s in Hillsboro Village and indulge in a variety of nonalcoholic beverages that embrace tropical fruits, like the Pineapple Express made with pineapple soda, mint, lime juice, and almond orgeat, and the Pathos, a mix of passionfruit, hibiscus ginger beer, and lime. Rounding out the offerings are the Cherry Lemonade Sundrop (cherry purée, fresh lemon juice, and soda) and the Blueberry Butterfly (blueberry purée, lime juice, ginger, and ginger beer).
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Killjoy
Nashville’s first NA bottle shop is a bit tricky to find — it’s hidden behind the Loading Dock coffee shop in Wedgewood Houston. And while the space itself is tiny, owner Stephanie Styll has packed it with an impressively curated collection of NA spirits, wines, beer, and mixers. Check their Instagram page as they often host a variety of events that include NA tastings, book club meetings, group hikes, and dance parties.
M.L.Rose Craft Burger & Beer
Local burger chain M.L.Rose consistently offers a variety of NA beer options on its menu that change with the seasons. This winter, you’ll find both Athletic Lite and Free Wave Hazy IPA by Athletic Brewing Co., Mango Dragonfruit Sour by Untitled Art, and Original Sin White Widow by Original Sin Hard Cider out of Hudson Valley, New York.
Sinema
Sinema in Melrose has a robust seasonal menu of NA cocktails, beers, and wines available during all of the restaurant’s service hours, including the Mela Kaliki-Nada (NA dark cane rum, Dr. Zero Zero AmarNo, pineapple, demerara), the NA El Jefe (NA tequila, tomatillo, lime, and agave), and the NA Modern Times (NA whiskey, pumpkin, cinnamon, and lemon).