Brick & Mortar

Brick & Mortar occupies an upstairs room at 567 Massachusetts Avenue in Central Square, reached through an unmarked door next to Central Kitchen, and has been one of the anchors of Cambridge's cocktail scene for years. Alongside service it runs a programme of craft cocktail classes for groups, which is unusual for a bar of its size and has become part of its identity. Boston Magazine, in the guide to the city's best mocktails it updated in January 2026, wrote that this hip Cambridge bar, known especially for its adventurous cocktail menu and craft cocktail classes for groups, does not neglect its alcohol-free patrons — and noted that the zero-proof menu is stacked with a classic negroni and a jumbo strawberry-infused spritz. The bar prints the alcohol-free drinks as a named section of the standing menu, which is the practical difference between a real programme and a bartender's improvisation.

The three drinks on that section are all $15, the same order of price as the alcoholic cocktails, and each is described on the menu with the same detail. Less Than Zero is presented as a zero-alcohol spritz, combining Stappi Italian Red with Spirit of Milano non-alcoholic amaro, strawberry, fresh lime and grapefruit, served over ice. The Count Camillo is a zero-proof negroni named for Camillo Negroni himself, stirred from Landry London Dry non-alcoholic gin, Lyre's Italian Orange non-alcoholic aperitivo and non-alcoholic Lucano amaro and served over a large rock. Hong Kong Garden is the outlier, flagged on the menu as low-ABV rather than fully zero, and is shaken from a non-alcoholic ginger spirit with pineapple, lime and Peychaud's bitters over a large rock; Boston Magazine measured it at 0.2% ABV, lower than a typical kombucha, which is worth knowing for anyone avoiding alcohol strictly. The bar opens at 3pm Monday through Friday and 5pm on Saturday, running to midnight early in the week and 1am from Thursday, and is closed on Sundays.