A Minneapolis sober girl's top five recommendations for Dry January.

Because people who drink do not know what they are talking about.

Jan 08, 2025

Part of going out sober is the vibe.

Are you going to feel like you’re somewhere rowdy where everyone around you is smashed—or are you going to feel comfortable sober?

If you’re new to being sober at bars, my recommendation, usually, is stick to restaurant bars.

As a sober Diet Coke rural dive bar aficionado, it’s definitely an experience to be sober at 1:30am while everyone around you is spilling their Hamm’s and repeating themselves.

I think most N/A drink lists don’t think about how it feels to be sober in that space. The best N/A cocktail lists are often in very, very loud places where everyone is very, very drunk and the line is very, very long.

The drinks in many of these places are also citrus-y or sweet, which is nice for a moment. But if you’re drinking that all day, every day, you get canker sores (trust me).

I also try to understand how much they care about sober people (i.e. will they serve you alcohol on accident?), if the entire menu is balanced or all one note, and how the drinks pair with the actual food.

As your Professional Sober Friend who has very little room for drunken riffraff, I’m here to tell you my top five spots when I’m “going out drinking,” in alphabetical order. If you see me at the bar, say hi.

Demi

I have a very short list of N/A tasting menu pairings that actually pair. By very short, I mean it’s three restaurants long.

Most other restaurants with N/A pairings have okay drinks that go with the meal but don’t pair. Demi pairs. Wild in house concoctions like a tea based ginger-fennel drink or herb-forward cocktails are mixed in against N/A bottles that I’ve never had before (and that’s a feat).

I’ve now clocked over 90 N/A pairings over the past few years, and this one is world class. My favorite in the state by far, my second favorite in the country. It’s worth a visit for the pairing alone.

Herbst

Herbst has my favorite N/A accessible menu in the city, with distinct drinks that are not too sweet or citrus-y. They are named by their flavor profile: bitter, earthy, funky, etc. Each drinks come in a full, low, or no ABV option. Sometimes, my friends like mine better. The menu changes with the season and the drinks don’t blow out your palate.

I’m ordering the earthy and the mineral on the current menu, but honestly you can’t go wrong.

The bar is sexy and if you find yourself there at sunset, the red windows will tint the whole restaurant, making it feel romantic and other worldly. Good for date nights, solo reading, and chowing down on fried chicken, Herbst is one of my favorite spots to drink.

Marigold

You might think of Marigold as an N/A bottle shop—and it is. But they also have a bar. Whenever I go in, there always seems to be a pair of girl friends sitting there sipping drinks, talking about their lives, while the cutest shop dogs (pitbulls) walk up to you for pets.

Obviously, Marigold knows N/A bottles and it shows in their cocktails, all of which are stunning.

While you’re there, you should pick up the following: any of the Dry Wit bottles, Dr. Zero Zero Amarno, every girl’s favorite: a phony negroni, an N/A Pabst for the plot, and if you’re feeling wild and want to try my “love it or hate it” drink (I love it), De Soi’s Champignon Dreams.

More on my favorite bottles (most of which you can find here) next week.

Martina

Martina is the bar I “drank” at the most in 2024. With a range of fruity drinks to more herby ones to tea centered, this menu is well curated for people who like drinks of all kind. They also carry one of my personal favorite N/A beers that is hard to find up here: Brooklyn Brewery Special Effects.

I’m partial to their N/A vermouth, which they make in house. I order it straight up.

I love to get their N/A Amara cocktail poured over their salted caramel gelato from Little Bird—this is an off menu drink that Ayshia (formerly of Martina and now at Minari) dreamed up, and I can’t get enough. If you tell the bar you want the N/A Amara Float, they should know what you mean—and you better buckle up, because you’re about to have one of the best drinks of your life.

The Nook

Yes. You read that right. The Nook.

The Nook has N/A Budweiser and I am not too proud to tell you that I love it.

Bowling, N/A beer, and hot Cheeto dusted cheese curds is all I need for a perfect date night. They also have Heineken, Guinness, Lagunitas, Summit, Blue Powerade, and chocolate milk. It’s practically designed for past life dive bar drinkers who aren’t looking for any fuss. Don’t go here looking for an N/A cocktail or the hippest N/A IPA but do go here looking for dive bar vibes in a place that won’t let alcohol wind up in your hands.

In a world of hip burger joint after hip burger joint opening, this is my favorite burger: thick, consistent, with a bun that stands up to the toppings, and fries that slap. I’m a triple B burger kind of girl, which on Wednesday, you can get for $10.95—fries included.