The Fairmount

The Fairmount has been the Cedar Fairmount district's main evening room for years — a martini and wine bar on Fairmount Boulevard a few hundred metres from Zhug, drawing a mix of University Circle staff, Cleveland Heights regulars and people coming out of Severance Hall and the museums. The format is deliberately broad: a cocktail and martini list, craft beer, wine by the glass, and a kitchen turning out burgers and pizzas well into the night, with a dedicated late-night menu from 10pm daily. It is the kind of bar that works for a group that cannot agree on anything, which is precisely why its non-alcoholic options matter.

That list is short but properly built, and the general manager's explanation for it in Cleveland Magazine's 2026 mocktail guide is the plain one: people are becoming more health-conscious, and it is a nice option to be able to offer. The Little Green One at $10 is the drink to order — cilantro, lime, pineapple, mint and jalapeño lengthened with Fever-Tree tonic and served over a Tajín rim, so the heat, salt and quinine bitterness carry the drink the way tequila and salt would in a spicy margarita. It is savoury rather than sweet, which is the distinction that separates a genuine zero-proof build from a glass of juice, and it holds up across a whole evening rather than cloying after one. Two or three further non-alcoholic drinks sit alongside it and rotate.

Practically, the bar pairs well with Zhug for an east-side night out: dinner at one, a drink at the other, both walkable from the same Cedar Fairmount parking and both with something real on the menu for a guest who is not drinking. Published opening hours vary between listings, so call ahead if you are arriving early.