Parlour

Parlour opened in 2013 in the North Loop, below its sister restaurant Borough, from the local group Jester Concepts. It was originally conceived as somewhere for people to wait for a table upstairs, and it long ago outgrew that role to become a destination in its own right — known for the cult-favourite Parlour Burger and for a classics-forward cocktail programme built on fresh-squeezed juice, house-made syrups and bitters. It is one of the North Loop's marquee cocktail rooms, open to 1am on Fridays and Saturdays.

The useful thing for a non-drinker is that Parlour keeps a dedicated Non-Alcoholic Cocktails section rather than a single token option, and applies the same botanical and bitter techniques there that it uses on the full bar. The NA Parlour Old Fashioned is built on a non-alcoholic bourbon and a non-alcoholic spiced spirit with piloncillo — the unrefined Mexican cane sugar — and bitters, which is a considerably more serious attempt at that drink than the usual sweetened substitute. There is a Phony Negroni carrying the juniper, citrus and floral notes the original needs, and a Gin & Apricot Sour built on non-alcoholic gin with honey, thyme, lemon, apricot jam and egg white. The Perfect Matcha combines a non-alcoholic botanical spirit with matcha cold brew, coconut purée and lemon, and a Cilantro Mojito rounds the list out with cilantro, ginger, lime and soda.

What that range means in practice is that the spirit-free list covers the four registers a real bar needs — spirituous and sweet, bitter, sour with texture, and long and refreshing. A guest who is not drinking can order across a whole evening at a bar known for its burgers and its classics without ever repeating themselves or ordering a soda, which at a venue of this profile is the entire point.