Smithy on Henderson

Smithy sits on North Henderson Avenue and keeps deliberately narrow hours — weekends only, from mid-morning — which makes it a brunch-and-afternoon room rather than a bar. Its drink menu carries a Mocktails heading with three builds, all at the same price and all made from scratch rather than from a bottle of non-alcoholic spirit.

The most substantial is the Healer 0.0%, which layers pineapple juice with ginger, turmeric and honey, then Tazo Zen tea, lemon and ginger beer — a long, spiced, faintly medicinal drink that holds up over a meal in a way a fruit soda would not. The Cucumber Mint Cooler is the simplest of the three, cucumber and mint with lemon and simple syrup. The Melonade Basil combines watermelon, lime and basil with a foaming agent to give it the texture of a shaken sour, which is the trick that most reliably makes a zero-proof drink feel like a cocktail.

There are no non-alcoholic distillates here, which is why we grade it below the Ritual and Lyre's programmes nearby — this is fresh-ingredient bartending rather than spirit substitution. A practical warning: the weekday closure is unusual for a Henderson Avenue address and comes from the venue's own site, which we could not corroborate elsewhere, so confirm before travelling.