The Dandelion

The Dandelion occupies a corner of South 18th Street a block from Rittenhouse Square, and it is a Starr Restaurants take on the English country pub — several small rooms rather than one, patterned wallpaper, fireplaces, a menu running to fish and chips, shepherd's pie and a Sunday roast. It is a convincing version of the thing, and it is busy from lunch onwards.

The non-alcoholic offer is straightforward and it would be wrong to oversell it. There are no house-made spirit-free cocktails. What there is sits on the printed beer list, clearly labelled: Athletic Brewing's Upside Dawn golden ale at seven dollars, marked non-alcoholic, and St. Agrestis's Phony Negroni, the bottled alcohol-free bitter aperitif. Two options, both bought in rather than built.

We grade that a three rather than a four, and the reason is worth stating: a strong rating in this directory means a bar has done work — a named section, drinks constructed to order, an alcohol-free spirit used as a base. Stocking two good bottles is a lower bar than that, however good the bottles are.

What makes it worth listing anyway is the format, and specifically the pint glass. A pub is the single most difficult venue to attend without drinking, because the entire social architecture — rounds, the bar, the standing about — is built around the pint. Athletic's Upside Dawn served in the same glass as everyone else's beer solves that problem in a way no mocktail can, because nobody can tell and nobody asks. For someone newly not drinking, that anonymity is often worth more than a more elaborate drink would be.

The practical details help too. The kitchen runs all day rather than in sittings, so there is always food; the rooms are small enough to sit in for hours; and the hours run to eleven midweek, midnight on Friday and Saturday, with a ten o'clock weekend opening for breakfast.