Time Out Market Boston

Time Out Market Boston opened in the Fenway at 401 Park Drive as the American outpost of a format Time Out began in Lisbon: a food hall whose tenants are chosen by the magazine's own restaurant critics rather than let to whoever will pay, so the hall functions as a physical version of the city's editorial coverage. The Boston market runs a mix of kitchens from established local restaurants across a large open room, with two bars positioned at opposite ends, and its own description of the bars is that they pour unique, seasonal cocktails alongside a curated list of food-friendly wines and an all-star, all-local beer list, with plenty of non-alcoholic and low-alcohol options available. Because the market opens at 8:30am and runs to 10 or 11pm, the bars serve a much wider span of the day than a conventional cocktail bar, which is part of why the alcohol-free list is developed as seriously as it is.

That programme is the work of Meghan Murphy, the market's assistant general manager and mixologist, and is built around house-made syrups. The drinks rotate seasonally: Lavender Lights combines a lavender syrup with lemonade and a splash of soda, shaken and strained into a Collins glass over cubed ice, topped with sparkling water and garnished with lavender and a lemon wedge. The Vanilla Fig Cooler is built on Q Grapefruit Soda with fig-peppercorn and vanilla syrups. The Blackberry Ginger Fizz uses Q Ginger Beer topped with a blackberry-ginger syrup and lime juice. Winter Warm Spell is the most cocktail-like of the set, combining pineapple juice, coconut cream and lime with a jalapeno syrup and alcohol-free bitters. Earlier menus have carried No New Friends, made with turmeric and hibiscus teas, agave, lime and aquafaba, and The Razzle Dazzle, with blood orange, almond orgeat, cinnamon and ginger beer. Murphy's stated position is that there is no reason to miss out on the fun just due to alcohol, and the standing range backs that up: Sam Adams "Just The Haze", TOST rose, draft kombucha from Luluna of Pawtucket, Rhode Island, root beer, cream soda, Culture Pop and fountain soda.