Alcohol-Free Things to Do in Los Angeles

STATUS UNCERTAIN — CHECK BEFORE PLANNING AROUND THIS. Bar Nuda is Los Angeles's first Mexican-inspired non-alcoholic pop-up bar, a roving, fully zero-proof operation founded around 2023 by Pablo Murillo and Morris Ellis, owners of the agua fresca company Aguas Locas, with drinks by Bryant J. Orozco. Its cocktails are built on native herbs — Orozco has infused them with chuchupaxtle, also known as osha root — and it describes each drink as having a functional objective such as relaxation or concentration. Its last confirmed run was a Wednesday-to-Friday residency at a Venice café through the summer of 2025; we can find no dated evidence of an event since May 2025, its own site has no menu or events page, and the café that hosted it no longer lists it. Documented drinks include zero-proof cempasúchil carajillos, the Rosa Nuda (non-alcoholic tequila, bougainvillea, rose hips, lemon), the Magón (beets, ginger, hibiscus, grape) and United Ferments' Snow Chrysanthemum non-alcoholic wine. Follow its social channels for any revival rather than travelling on spec.

Free Spirited is a fully alcohol-free craft cocktail lounge and scratch kitchen in Alhambra, run by husband-and-wife Amber Pennington and Arleo De Guzman, and one of Southern California's first dedicated non-alcoholic bars. It opened in 2023 in a former Mexican restaurant. The current menu runs 26 cocktails across four sections — Health Conscious, Funky Flavors, Sweet Stuff and Caffeinated — and everything is $9, with tax and tip already included in the price, which is close to unheard of. A flight of up to four tasters is $5 each, and happy hour from 5 to 6 takes 20% off. The kitchen is entirely gluten-free and largely vegan. CORRECTION: we previously said the bar makes its own non-alcoholic spirits in-house. We could not source that anywhere and have removed it — what is true is that the drinks are built on unbranded house spirits named by character rather than brand (aloe herb, citrus rind, roasted grain, spiced molasses) plus its own FS bitters and vermouth. Open Wednesday to Sunday, 5–9pm, with free parking.

Bar Benjamin is a second-floor craft cocktail bar that opened in May 2025 above The Benjamin Hollywood on Melrose Avenue, from The Hundreds co-founder Ben Shenassafar with partners Jared Meisler and Kate Burr. The cocktail program — developed by Jason Lee (n/soto, Baroo) and beverage director Chad Austin — is known for elaborate, food-driven drinks, and the non-alcoholic list is a genuine priority rather than an afterthought: Austin, who is five years sober, builds the zero-proof cocktails with the same rigor as the full menu. Named NA drinks on the current menu include the Smiley Face (a mango-margarita riff with yellow bell pepper syrup, fermented mango, acid-adjusted pineapple, Wilderton Citrus Bitter, and Optimist Smoky), plus Aura Farm, Bangkok Dangerous, and Tepache Bird. The room is intimate and reservation-friendly, with walk-in bar seating.

Belles Beach House is a retro tiki restaurant and bar at 24 Windward Avenue, just off the Venice Boardwalk, opened in late 2021 by restaurateur Nick Mathers of the Wish You Were Here Group, who describes it as Hawaiian izakaya meets tiki bar. Eater named it one of the fifteen most beautiful restaurants in Los Angeles: it took over the former Larry's, with teak sliding doors and no enclosed walls on three sides, so the whole place feels like an open-air patio. Art is by the Venice artist Larry Bell. Its zero-proof section is one of the larger ones on the Westside — CORRECTION: nine items, not eight, spanning $7 to $14 rather than mostly $11. The three fruit-and-herb spritzes are $11 each (Watermelon Mint, Apple Ginger, Thai Basil Cucumber), the Palm Reader is $14, the Red Wing Spritz $14, fresh guava lemonade $9, pure coconut water $9, and an iced mango sencha green tea $7. NOTE: the Palm Reader contains Aplós Ease, which carries 100mg of lion's mane extract per serving — a non-psychoactive nootropic, but worth knowing. Open from noon, to 2am on Friday and Saturday, with DJs at weekends.

COMPLETE MENU CHANGE — WE HAVE REPLACED THIS LISTING'S DRINKS. Big Bar is the cocktail bar attached to Alcove Cafe at 1929 Hillhurst Avenue in Los Feliz, housed with the cafe in two historic bungalows with one of the larger patios on the east side. It opened on 8 October 2010 from Tom Trellis, who had opened Alcove itself in 2004. The cocktail programme has since been rebuilt entirely around a board-game theme, and none of the drinks we previously listed — Supernova, Tropic Thunder, The Apothecary, Pocket Full of Horses — remain. The current non-alcoholic section is headed "fun & games non-alcoholic cocktails", four drinks at $14, each named for a game: Can Chevy Come Over? (Red Rover) with Plaid Circus kimono dragon, dandelion, lime and corn silk kefir; Sister Sister (Twister) with Plaid Circus vespa rossa, Optimist Cali amaro, dogwood lemon oleo, celery and blueberry; Billie's Holiday (Cat's Cradle) with Seedlip Garden, catnip cream and vanilla bean; and Something Wicked (Ouija) with Pathfinder, sour Fuji apple, green almond orgeat and lemon. Non-alcoholic Best Day IPA and Fremont Dark are $8 each. Open from 8 or 9am daily.

Death & Co Los Angeles is the first West Coast location of the cocktail brand founded in New York's East Village on New Year's Eve 2006, and it opened in the Arts District of downtown Los Angeles at the end of 2019 from the Death & Co team of David Kaplan, Alex Day and Devon Tarby with Ravi DeRossi — the same group behind the Normandie Club, Bibo Ergo Sum and the Walker Inn. The main room runs a seasonal menu organised into six sections, from the lightest and most refreshing through the most spirituous, with zero-proof drinks treated as one of those sections rather than an appendix; a separate walk-up Standing Room bar operates Thursday to Saturday. The zero-proof list currently holds three built cocktails at $16–$18 on genuine non-alcoholic spirits including Seedlip, Ritual, Giffard and Wilderton, backed by non-alcoholic wine and beer from NON, Lyre's, Athletic and Suntory.

Melrose Umbrella Co. is a post-Prohibition-themed craft cocktail bar at 7465 Melrose Avenue in the Fairfax District, open since 2013 from owners Zach Patterson and Austin Melrose. The room is built from salvage: an 1890s fireplace facing an arched ceiling covered in New York City subway tile, and a massive 1920s wooden apothecary cabinet shipped from the East Coast and retrofitted as the back bar, with a string-lit heated patio behind. Its non-alcoholic offering is a genuine nine-item menu across two printed sections. Under "Non-Alcoholic Cocktails" sit five at $15: Not Even Smashed (Ritual zero-proof whiskey, blackberry, mint, lemon, elderflower tonic), the Pa-No-Ma (Ritual zero-proof tequila, prickly pear, green apple, ruby red grapefruit), the Keto Pepino (Ritual zero-proof gin, cucumber, lime, monkfruit, celery salt), The Valet (Pathfinder, Pentire Coastal Spritz, Seedlip Garden 108, orange), and a canned Piña Margarita or Negroni. Under "Non-Alcoholic Beers, Bubbles & Beyond" sit four cans at $7, including Athletic's Run Wild IPA and Deschutes' organic Kernza Golden. Open from noon, closed Mondays; reservations via Resy.

The Rendition Room is a 1930s-style speakeasy hidden in the basement of Vitello's, the Italian restaurant that has served Studio City's stretch of Tujunga Avenue since 1964, entered through a door disguised as a bookshelf. The intimate, low-lit room leans hard into Prohibition-era Hollywood atmosphere, and the dress code is enforced rather than suggested: business casual or cocktail attire, with jeans, ball caps, shorts, T-shirts, sandals and athletic wear refused at any time. Its non-alcoholic list is headed "Spirits Away" and runs six drinks at a flat $12, all built on fresh juices and scratch sours rather than bought-in zero-proof spirits: Nectar of the Gods (watermelon, cucumber, scratch sour, lemon, seltzer), Eve on Earth (white cranberry, grapefruit seltzer, scratch sour), Pearadisio (scratch sour, pear, seltzer), Cloud 9 (pineapple, lemon, coconut, mango), Fauxjito (lime, mint, seltzer) and Spa Water (cucumber, mint, lime seltzer). Per Resy, the bar recently extended its NA offerings upstairs to its Rat Pack-themed lounge, The Velvet Martini, citing demand from younger guests. Vitello's Italian food can be ordered in the speakeasy, which is cashless.

Apothéke LA is the West Coast outpost of New York's apothecary-themed Apothéke, at 1746 North Spring Street in Chinatown, opened in 2018 by founder Christopher Tierney after a two-year search for the right Los Angeles site. The room is a Biedermeier-revival fantasy — sconces made from scientific boiling flasks holding glowing herbal tinctures, ornate wooden furniture, velvet cushions and curtains, tufted wallpaper, and a glowing 40-inch marble bar at the centre. CORRECTION: we previously listed The Healer and The Baron's Cure as its non-alcoholic drinks. Neither is on the current zero-proof menu, and The Baron's Cure now appears on the regular list as a fully alcoholic cocktail built on milk-washed bourbon, cognac and overproof rum. What exists instead is a printed "Free-Spirited List" of eight drinks, made from house-made ingredients using organic produce, herbs and botanicals: four tea-based Elixirs built on ashwagandha, schisandra, dandelion root and milk thistle, and four Tonics on named non-alcoholic gin, tequila, vermouth and Pentire. No prices are printed. Open Thursday to Sunday evenings; sophisticated attire encouraged.

Thunderbolt is a neighborhood cocktail bar opened in 2019–2020 by Atlanta-born owner-bartender Mike Capoferri, at the meeting point of Historic Filipinotown, Echo Park, and Downtown LA. The concept is Deep South-inspired — Southern-rooted flavors, a Southern food menu, an extensive Madeira selection — paired with high-tech techniques like centrifuge clarification. It ranked No. 24 on North America's 50 Best Bars 2025 and won that program's Ketel One Sustainable Bar Award for waste reduction and ethical sourcing. The bar runs a small but genuine named non-alcoholic program: zero-proof options include the Pride of Oxnard, School Night, the Lychee Daiquiri, and the Thumper (which incorporates a rare NA milk-punch), and the staff will build custom alcohol-free drinks on request. The room is casual and bright, with an open patio and a pink-and-green palette.

De La Playa Records & Leisure is a fully alcohol-free hybrid record shop and community space in LA's Highland Park, opened in mid-2024 by three co-founders with roots in Long Beach and the Harbor area: John David Preap ("Bles"), Diego "Fuego" Guerrero, and Jon Paul Lourenço. The shop pairs thousands of vinyl records — hip hop, reggae, jazz, cumbia, salsa, funk, house — with a retail selection of 100-plus non-alcoholic beverages, including Greek- and Italian-style amaros, NA IPAs, de-alcoholized wines, and ready-to-drink cocktails. On weekends, the founders run "Bar Non," a made-to-order zero-proof cocktail stand on the patio (think an NA rum build with ube, cinnamon, maple, and black walnut, or a non-alcoholic Paloma with hopped grapefruit bitters), alongside guest DJ sets, listening parties, and vendor events. The founders deliberately chose to stay alcohol-free — one of LA's clearest dedicated-NA anchors.