The Gladly

The Gladly has held its corner of the Biltmore since 2013, a New American restaurant with a whiskey bar attached — or arguably the reverse, given a back bar carrying more than 350 bottles. The kitchen has drawn James Beard recognition, and the room works equally as a dinner reservation and as a place to sit at the bar, which is the relevant distinction for anyone who wants a proper drink without the drink.

What earns it a listing is that the alcohol-free options are printed. There is a standing 'Zero Proof' section on the menu, not a verbal offer, and the builds run on named non-alcoholic spirits rather than juice and syrup. The Hellfire pairs Seedlip Grove 42 with blueberry puree, orgeat, citrus and ginger beer, finished with cracked black pepper that keeps it from going sweet. A Botanist Walks Into a Bar infuses Seedlip Garden with jalapeno and lengthens it with grapefruit oleo, lime and soda. Truth or Consequences is built on Lyre's Italian Orange with strawberry and grapefruit oleo — an aperitif shape rather than a dessert one. There is a Fauxjito for anyone who wants the obvious thing done properly.

Phoenix New Times has named the restaurant more than once when surveying where in the metro alcohol-free drinks actually appear on the menu, including its January 2024 round-up. Two practical notes. This is a restaurant first, so the format assumes a table and a meal, and the bar is busy at peak. And the whiskey list is the house identity — the zero-proof section is a well-built part of a menu whose centre of gravity is emphatically alcoholic, which is worth knowing if you would rather not spend an evening beside 350 bottles of bourbon. The patio is the easier seat on that score.