Kava Bars in Sacramento, CA
Alcohol-free by nature: kava bars pour the South Pacific root drink that fills a bar-shaped hole in a night out — social, late-open, and zero-proof. These are the Sacramento spots we've verified are open and pouring.
2 verified kava bars
- NA Program Strength: 5 of 5?
Root of Happiness Kava Bar's Midtown room opened in March 2023 in a warehouse space on the R Street Corridor, the newest of four Northern California locations run by Travis Lowin and Tyler Blythe, who started the company in Rancho Cordova around 2013. Nothing alcoholic is served. The bar prepares noble kava only, ground fresh and hand-prepared each day from fresh-frozen root sourced in Hawaii, Fiji and the company's own American farms, and serves it traditionally in shells alongside a house specialty coffee programme built on its Bula Blend and a list of functional botanical drinks and iced tonic pours. Kava is a psychoactive root drink from the South Pacific — alcohol-free, but sedating and intoxicating in its own right, which is why the bar serves it only to guests 18 and over with ID while keeping the coffee and botanical menu open to all ages. The room runs daily from 11am to 1am, with spray-painted street art across the walls, pink neon over the bar and regular live music.
- NA Program Strength: 5 of 5?
The Rancho Cordova room is where Root of Happiness began: Travis Lowin and Tyler Blythe opened it around 2013, which puts it ahead of the first kava bars in Berkeley and New York and makes it one of the older continuously operating kava bars in the continental United States. It is fully alcohol-free. The kava is noble root only, ground fresh and hand-prepared daily from fresh-frozen root sourced in Hawaii, Fiji and the company's own American farms, served traditionally in shells, with a specialty coffee list built on the house Bula Blend and a range of functional botanical drinks alongside. Kava is a psychoactive South Pacific root drink — no alcohol, but genuinely sedating — so the bar restricts it to guests 18 and over with ID while keeping coffee and botanicals open to all ages. Fifteen miles east of downtown Sacramento, it serves a suburban regular crowd rather than a night-out one, and runs 11am to 1am daily.
New to kava? Here's the two-minute version
Kava is the ground root of Piper methysticum whisked into water — the traditional social drink of Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga, where it has anchored gatherings for centuries. It contains no alcohol. The active compounds (kavalactones) are mildly relaxing: the usual description is a calm, easy sociability, with a clear head.
A kava bar works like a regular bar with the pressure removed. You order at the counter — a traditional shell, or a mixed kava drink if you want the training wheels — say "bula!", and drink. The taste is earthy and peppery, and a brief tongue-numbing tingle is part of the deal. Most bars are open late, which is exactly why they've become the after-dark backbone of the alcohol-free scene.
Sensible caveats: if you're pregnant, on medication, or have liver concerns, talk to a doctor before trying kava — and as with anything relaxing, go easy the first time.
Frequently asked about kava in Sacramento
Yes — we've verified 2 kava bars in Sacramento: Root of Happiness Kava Bar | Midtown, Root of Happiness Kava Bar | Rancho Cordova. Each listing shows the neighborhood and when we last confirmed it was open and pouring.
Kava is a traditional drink from the South Pacific, made from the ground root of the kava plant (Piper methysticum) mixed with water. It's naturally alcohol-free and mildly relaxing — regulars describe a calm, sociable ease rather than intoxication. Expect an earthy, peppery taste and a brief tongue-numbing tingle; that's normal.
For a lot of people, yes — kava bars fill the same social slot as a neighborhood bar: open late, regulars at the counter, nobody asking why you're not drinking. You get a social ritual and a mellow shift in mood without alcohol. If you take medications or have liver concerns, check with your doctor first, and skip kava if you're pregnant.
Start with a single traditional shell and drink it in one or two goes rather than sipping — the taste is earthy and most first-timers prefer it fast. Many bars also pour mixed kava drinks (with coconut, fruit, or chai flavors) that are gentler introductions. Staff at good kava bars are used to first-timers; say it's your first shell and they'll walk you through it.
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