Sexy Fish Manchester

Sexy Fish opened on Spinningfields Square in autumn 2023 inside the former Armani Emporium, a 200-plus-seat room designed as much as a bar as a restaurant. The interior is a spectacle in its own right, with large sea-creature sculptures by Damien Hirst and fish-shaped lamps designed by Frank Gehry, and the kitchen turns out Japanese-inspired sushi, sashimi, seafood and Robata-grilled fish and meat. The bar earned a pin in the inaugural Pinnacle Guide 2024, one of just 37 bars selected worldwide after an 18-month consultation process.

The reason it belongs on a non-alcoholic map is the Unity menu, launched in 2024. Rather than tacking a handful of mocktails onto the back of the list, Sexy Fish built 12 core serves that each appear as both an alcoholic and an alcohol-free drink, presented together on the same menu, plus six low-ABV options. As beverage lead Dominic North puts it, the team rejects the word 'mocktail' entirely, arguing it undermines the drinks; the alcohol-free builds use house-made tinctures and infusions rather than sugary shortcuts.

Named zero-proof serves include the Watermelon (£7), made with lemon, chilli, black olive and rosemary tonic, and the Cacao (£10), a coupe serve of Everleaf Marine, cacao dark chocolate, vanilla, merlot grape juice and bitters. A Manchester-exclusive Apple serve is offered in alcoholic, alcohol-free and low-ABV versions, and other core flavours on the list include Strawberry, Grapefruit, Honey and Sugar Snap Pea.

Open from noon until late seven days a week, it is a genuine special-occasion room where someone not drinking can order with the same seriousness as everyone else at the table.