Non-Alcoholic Paloma Alternatives
Classic: tequila + grapefruit soda + lime
Build over ice with an NA tequila alternative, fresh lime, a pinch of salt, and quality grapefruit soda. Crisp, salty, faintly bitter. Perfect patio drinking.
Rather order one out?
10 verified venues have a real NA Paloma on the menu right now.
Brands we recommend
Pick one of these as your base and you're halfway there.
UK-made plant-based elixirs with botanical depth: Livener, Social Elixir, and Nightcap each target a different mood without alcohol.
Bottled non-alcoholic cocktails meant to be poured over ice. Curious No. 2 (NA Aperol Spritz) and No. 4 (NA Dark & Stormy) are the most-served.
Chicago-based, restaurant-favorite NA spirit line. Their Tequila and Whiskey alternatives are built to disappear into Margaritas and Old Fashioneds.
How to make a non-alcoholic Paloma at home
1 cocktail · about 3 minutes · ~60 calories
Want the full build — bartender’s notes, variations, and where to order one out? See the complete Virgin Paloma recipe →
Ingredients
- 2 oz non-alcoholic tequila alternative
- ½ oz fresh lime juice
- Small pinch of salt
- 4 oz grapefruit soda, well chilled
- Grapefruit wedge, for garnish
Steps
- Ice the glass. Fill a highball glass with ice (salt the rim first if you like).
- Add the base. Add the tequila alternative, lime juice, and pinch of salt.
- Top with grapefruit soda. Top with grapefruit soda and stir gently.
- Garnish and serve. Garnish with a grapefruit wedge.
Order a non-alcoholic Paloma at these venues
Bars that already pour the brands you need.
Soft Bar
Greenpoint
An all-day, fully alcohol-free cafe and cocktail bar in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, from "Summer House" star Carl Radke. Premium coffee and espresso by day; a full menu of zero-proof "soft cocktails" built on non-alcoholic spirits and functional ingredients by night.
Mockingbird
Park Slope
Mockingbird is Park Slope's first fully alcohol-free cocktail bar, serving thoughtfully crafted zero-proof cocktails alongside coffee, matcha, weekend brunch, and elevated bar bites at 213 7th Ave in Brooklyn.
Ocean Beach Cafe
Outer Richmond
Ocean Beach Cafe is an all-day cafe, fully alcohol-free bar and non-alcoholic bottle shop at 734 La Playa Street in the Outer Richmond, one block from Ocean Beach. It was opened by career bartender Joshua James, who bills it as San Francisco's first non-alcoholic bar, and it serves scratch-made food and Four Barrel coffee alongside craft zero-proof cocktails, chai and kava. The retail side stocks one of the largest selections of non-alcoholic beer, wine and spirits in the country. The cafe also runs Temperance Tastings, alcohol-free mixology classes, a private lounge called Temperance and a membership programme, Club AF. The San Francisco Standard has called it the granddaddy of the city's alcohol-free nightlife, and it is the anchor of non-alcoholic drinking in San Francisco.
Cheeky & Dry
Phinney Ridge
Cheeky & Dry is Seattle's first and only fully alcohol-free bottle shop, a 750-square-foot family-owned store at 6120 Phinney Ave N opened in November 2023 by Kirstin and Yura Vracko. Kirstin started it after her husband went to rehab for alcohol use and she stopped drinking in solidarity with him, looking for products that would carry her through the ritual of a drink at night — she has said she built the shop she wished existed. Its own rule is absolute: every bottle is 0.5% ABV or less. The catalogue runs to roughly 250 products across non-alcoholic spirits (gin, whiskey, agave, aperitivo), wines still and sparkling, beers, ready-to-drink cocktails, mixers and bitters, with brands including Pathfinder, Three Spirit, Little Saints, Parch, Aplos, Free Spirits, Leilo and Opius. There is a counter for tasting samples before you buy. NOTE FOR ANYONE AVOIDING ALL INTOXICANTS: we checked the full catalogue and found no THC at all, but it does stock kava products, one kava-and-kratom elixir, and one CBD coffee at 25mg per serving.
Rosette
Rainier Beach
Rosette is a small worker-owned bar and restaurant at 9262 57th Avenue S in Rainier Beach, opened in 2025 by members of the collective behind Jude's Old Town, Seattle's first worker-owned bar and restaurant, two doors down. It focuses on non-alcoholic cocktails, natural and biodynamic wine and small bites, and the room is petite — a rectangular space just under eleven feet wide. Worker-owner Mark Paschal's reason for building it is the clearest statement of the case we have found: for too long, people who don't drink alcohol have been treated as an afterthought in bar spaces, and at Rosette thoughtfully constructed non-alcoholic cocktails are meant to shine and offer a true bar experience without alcohol. The N/A Cocktails list is flat $15: In Bloom (Figlia Fiore, Lumette Bright Light, lemon, rose blossom, Woody's non-alcoholic sparkling), Minimal Intervention (DHOS vodka, lemon, strawberry-mint), Refined Prop Comic (Lumette LumRum, Ghia, lemon, orange-carrot) and Spirited Away (Free Spirits bourbon, Pathfinder, vermouth, bitters). PLEASE NOTE: a fifth, Pine for the Days, contains KAVA — a mildly sedative plant — under the same non-alcoholic heading. Happy hour 3–6pm; open Wednesday to Saturday.
Dray
South End
Dray is a 100% non-alcoholic bottle shop at 18 Union Park Street in Boston's South End, opened in late 2023 by founder Pat Dooling and reported at the time as the city's first dedicated alcohol-free retail store. Nothing in the shop contains meaningful alcohol: the range is built to mirror a conventional wine and spirits merchant, and Dray's own catalogue currently lists roughly 138 non-alcoholic beers, 83 non-alcoholic wines, 63 zero-proof spirits, 45 ready-to-drink cocktails and a further 19 mixers and accessories. Staff work as advisers rather than clerks, steering customers between categories, and the shop runs tastings and community events. It trades Tuesday to Sunday from noon to 8pm and is closed Mondays. A second Dray opened in Central Square, Cambridge.
About the non-alcoholic Paloma
A well-built NA Paloma mirrors the original's profile (classic: tequila + grapefruit soda + lime). Build over ice with an NA tequila alternative, fresh lime, a pinch of salt, and quality grapefruit soda. Crisp, salty, faintly bitter. Perfect patio drinking.
Browse our directory for bars that pour the recommended brands (Three Spirit, Curious Elixirs, Ritual Zero Proof). Featured venues include Soft Bar, Mockingbird, Ocean Beach Cafe.
Our top picks are Three Spirit, Curious Elixirs, Ritual Zero Proof. Each one is built to fit cleanly into the classic Paloma format.
Want one made for you?
Browse our directory for bars that actually pour these brands.
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