Red Rabbit

Red Rabbit is an uncomplicated Italian restaurant — pizza, pasta and oysters — from Luke Shimp, the restaurateur behind the Red Cow burger group. The original opened in 2016 in the Minneapolis North Loop; this Summit Hill location arrived in October 2018 at 788 Grand Avenue, in the former Wild Onion space, and in 2023 the concept was named to FSR Magazine's Top 50 Independent Restaurants.

The spirit-free section in its beverage book is one of the deepest attached to any restaurant in the Twin Cities, and unusually it is priced honestly — the simple builds cost $7 rather than being charged at cocktail rates for a glass of juice. At the top end sit proper spirit conversions: a Spirit-Free Old Fashioned built on Spiritless 74 non-alcoholic bourbon with demerara and non-alcoholic bitters, and a Spirit Free Martini using Abstinence non-alcoholic gin with a lemon twist. A martini is the hardest drink on any list to render without alcohol, because there is nothing to hide behind, and a restaurant offering one is making a statement about how seriously it takes the category. Below those the list runs a Ginger Spritz of non-alcoholic gin with ginger beer, honey and lemon; an Abstinence Spritz with non-alcoholic aperitivo and soda; a Lavender Revolution of lavender, lime and tonic; a Granata Pop combining non-alcoholic aperitif with cherry cola, grapefruit, lime and soda; and a Limore built on saffron, lemon and soda. A 400ml bottled St. Agrestis Phony Negroni and canned Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher complete it.

Eight named options spanning spirituous, bitter, floral and long is a genuine bar list rather than a courtesy, and Visit Saint Paul singles out this Grand Avenue location specifically for its "sizable selection of liquor-free beverages." Open Tuesday through Sunday, with weekend brunch.