R&D

R&D opened in October 2018 at 1206 Frankford Avenue in Fishtown, in the space that previously held Root Restaurant & Wine Bar. It is run by Defined Hospitality — the group behind Suraya, Pizzeria Beddia, Condesa and Kalaya — with a cocktail programme originally built by Aaron Deary and now curated by bar manager Resa Mueller. It has won Philadelphia Magazine's Best of Philly for Best Cocktail Bar, which is the relevant context for what follows: this is a serious cocktail room, not a venue that specialises in non-alcoholic drinks.

Which is exactly why its zero-proof provision counts. R&D keeps a permanent spirit-free presence on the printed menu rather than a seasonal one, and Mueller refreshes those drinks alongside the rest of the list. Bartenders will also build custom non-alcoholic drinks on request — an offer that is only meaningful at a bar with the depth of house syrups, cordials and technique to improvise from, which this one has.

The named builds tell you the approach. The N/A Negroni and the N/A Penicillin both take famously spirit-defined classics and rebuild them: a Negroni is equal parts gin, vermouth and bitter aperitivo, so a zero-proof version has to find bitterness from somewhere else entirely; a Penicillin is a scotch drink built on honey, lemon and fresh ginger, where the ginger's heat can carry a version without the whisky. The N/A Spritz and a Virgin Piña Colada round out the list at the more refreshing end.

Mueller's own observation to the press is the most useful summary of why this matters: the industry has moved beyond the point ten years ago when walking into any bar meant a choice between orange, pineapple and cranberry juice. A Best of Philly cocktail bar keeping a standing zero-proof section is the proof of that shift.

Open from five in the evening, to midnight on Thursday and one in the morning on Friday and Saturday. Closed Sundays.