The Green Zone

The Green Zone began as a pop-up and became a permanent bi-level bar at 2226 18th Street NW in July 2018, in the middle of the Adams Morgan strip. Its founder, Chris Hassaan Francke, built it around Levantine and Iraqi flavours and around a point of view - the bar has never been shy about the politics implied by its name - and he sources accordingly, buying rare ingredients like sour grapes from Lebanese markets and visiting his Iraqi family in Lebanon. The recognition has been sustained rather than a single burst: a Tales of the Cocktail Spirited Awards regional top ten in 2019, Washington City Paper's Best New Bar staff pick, Garden & Gun's South's Best New Bars, Conde Nast Traveler's fifteen best bars in Washington, and Eater DC's list of the city's essential bars.

The non-alcoholic programme here is not an accommodation, and the reason is structural. The bar draws on a region where a great many people do not drink for religious reasons, so building a serious alcohol-free list is simply part of doing the concept honestly. In practice that means at least eight no-ABV options at any given time, and drinks that are their own thing rather than subtractions. The Royal Jallab is built on jallab - a syrup of carob, dates, grape molasses and rose water - and topped with pine nuts, raisins and pistachios, so it arrives as something to eat as much as drink. The zero-proof Garibaldi pairs Stappi Bitter Red Soda with fresh orange juice, which gets the bitterness a real Garibaldi needs. The Halal Spritz uses St. Agrestis's bottled Phony Negroni with orange blossom water and a lemon twist. The Zeroodeh Swizzle runs lime, cardamom and rose over crushed ice, and the Saudi Spritz is built on Vimto with lemon and ginger beer. Mint or cucumber lemonade comes frozen or on ice, alongside fresh-squeezed pomegranate and orange juice, and many of the bar's alcoholic drinks can be made virgin on request.

Practical notes. This is a late bar: closed Monday, then 5pm to 2am Tuesday through Thursday, 5pm to 3am on Friday, 2pm to 3am on Saturday and 2pm to 2am on Sunday - among the latest alcohol-free-friendly options in the city. The Washington Post has twice highlighted its alcohol-free cocktails, including in a roundup of spots with outstanding alcohol-free drinks.