Better Luck Tomorrow

Better Luck Tomorrow is a neighborhood cocktail bar in Houston's Heights, opened in summer 2017 by chef Justin Yu (of Oxheart) and veteran bar operator Bobby Heugel (of Anvil Bar & Refuge). Housed in the former Dry Creek Cafe at the corner of Yale Street and West 6th, the bar pairs a deliberately pared-down cocktail list with an unexpectedly ambitious bar-food menu — the double-meat patty melt among its best-known plates — across a dimly lit room where the bar itself is backlit in bright neon, plus two patios.

Alongside its spirited program, the bar maintains a genuine spirit-free list of roughly six zero-proof drinks priced around $9, developed by head bartender Sarah Crowl, who earned a reputation for creative non-alcoholic cocktails at Houston's Coltivare and Rosie Cannonball before continuing that practice at BLT. Featured spirit-free drinks include the Sin & Tonic, a non-alcoholic gin and tonic built on Seedlip Grove with yerba mate and grapefruit; the Phony-groni, made with Kentucky 74 zero-proof spirit; and the Jungle Birdie, a fruit-and-citrus riff garnished with an origami bird that Crowl folds by hand. Seasonal additions have included a cold-brew Old Fashioned, a turmeric-ginger-apricot toddy, and a hot chocolate enhanced with cinnamon, orange, and lingonberry cream.

Crowl has said the current lineup is only the beginning of the bar's non-alcoholic selections, describing drinks built with layers of flavors, textures, and aromas within the season, with or without alcohol. The bar treats its non-alcoholic drinks with the same care as its cocktails.