|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
Low alcohol by volume (ABV) and nonalcoholic (NA) drinks are on the rise, and it’s not just a phase. While alcoholic drinks have historically played a social and financial role for restaurants, Peninsula eateries offer an expanding range of low-ABV beverages to pair with your next meal.
Alcohol consumption in the U.S. has been on a downward trend in recent years, with a record low 54% of adults reporting that they drink. Gen Z has even been dubbed the “sober generation,” showing less interest in alcohol than older counterparts. Coupled with shifting views on the health benefits of drinking, these changes signal an ongoing evolution in today’s drinking culture.
Here’s what Peninsula bar managers and restaurateurs have to say about the change.
What’s driving the trend
For some restaurants, rising demand for low-ABV drinks reflects a broader effort to create a more accessible and mindful dining experience.
Such is the case at Keke’s Breakfast Cafe in Sunnyvale. With more than 80 locations nationwide, Keke’s beverage program is rooted in brunch culture. While classic cocktails like espresso martinis and mimosas remain popular at the restaurant, interest in low-ABV options continues to grow.
“One of the biggest advantages of offering low-ABV drinks is that guests can try different drinks throughout a longer brunch or social meal without feeling like they’re overdoing it,” said Tyler Etter, general manager at Keke’s.
With brunch often a social gathering, Etter sees these drinks as a way for every diner to have the experience of ordering a cocktail or specialty drink, whether it’s an alcoholic or a zero-proof option. Recommended drink pairings include the cheesesteak omelet with a NA espresso martini, eggs Benedict with a NA bloody mary or the Scrambler Bowl with a morning mule made with fresh juice. Drinks range from $6-$8.
Other restaurants point to lifestyle shifts as the reason behind the growth of low-ABV menus. Amara, a Belmont Mediterranean restaurant founded by the team behind the once Michelin-starred Rasa, offers a range of NA drinks ($13-$15) designed to complement mezze and shared plates like Moroccan-style chicken or branzino.
The goal is to deliver a complete dining experience while acknowledging a growing moderation around alcohol, said bar manager Jorge Vargas.
“You can still have a great time with NA or low-ABV cocktails and treat your body well,” Vargas said.
When crafting drinks, Vargas begins with a flavor profile – fruity, umami, herbal or sparkling – then builds with nonalcoholic spirits or low-ABV ingredients like sherry, vermouth or aperitifs, along with housemade fruit and herb cordials.
The most popular mocktails at Amara include the UVA, featuring green grape, cucumber and mint, alongside the Kummathraa made with nonalcoholic spirit Seedlip Garden, acidified kiwi juice, thyme and soda water. The restaurant also offers a range of wines, spirits, cordials and full-proof cocktails.
Where low-ABV drinks are part of the ethos
Other eateries, like Twelvemonth in Burlingame, embed the ideals behind low-ABV and NA beverages into the restaurant’s ethos.
“At Twelvemonth, we felt that a plant-based restaurant naturally creates space for a more thoughtful, wellness-oriented beverage program,” said Mykola Symonenko, Twelvemonth’s bar director.
Twelvemonth offers an all-day menu of shared plates and entrees, plus weekend brunch, a late-night bar menu and a chef’s tasting menu with the option to add a wine pairing ($60) or zero-proof beverage pairing ($40). The restaurant invests heavily in technique and housemade ingredients, allowing the team to experiment and stand up to the challenge of crafting a great mocktail.
“Alcohol naturally provides body and helps carry aromas and flavors, so low-ABV cocktails often require more precision, layering and technique to feel complete and balanced,” Symonenko said.
With more than a dozen nonalcoholic options, including housemade kombucha and lemonades, the program emphasizes sustainability and California produce. Symonenko reaches for locally grown ingredients to create drinks, including lemongrass, rhubarb, currants and fresh herbs cultivated on-site. Other tools in their mocktail making arsenal include vermouths, amaro, low-proof liqueurs, juices and fermentation.
Drinks like the Tutti Frutti Spritz, Last Thyme and Virgin Vixen have become guest favorites, while spirit-free versions of classics like the Negroni and dirty martini aim to replicate the structure and experience of the originals. Nonalcoholic and low-ABV drinks are priced at $16 each.
A similar philosophy guides Mountain View’s Sushi Adachi, where restraint and ingredient integrity define both the omakase and the mocktail program. Seafood is sourced daily from Toyosu Market by veteran Tokyo sushi chef Yoshikazu Adachi, with an emphasis on seasonality and condition. On the beverage side, owner Eriko Nishizawa approaches flavor with equal care.
“In many ways, creating a great mocktail can be more challenging than making a traditional cocktail because there is no alcohol to hide behind,” Nishizawa said. “Every ingredient must earn its place.”
Five nonalcoholic drinks are currently offered, each rooted in Japanese flavors and tea culture, including matcha champagne, a seasonal fruit bellini and a hojicha ginger highball ($22-$24). The menu also features sparkling teas in flavors like salted raspberry and chamomile or toasted cinnamon and yuzu, available by the bottle ($90).
“These beverages offer complexity, aroma and structure that pair beautifully with sushi while remaining light and refreshing,” Nishizawa said.
Expanding the potential of low-ABV drinks
As the number of alcohol drinkers continues to shift, the low-ABV beverage category remains ripe for innovation among Peninsula bars and eateries.
“The sober-curious movement opened the door, but what’s kept people interested is that the drinks themselves have genuinely gotten better,” said Kevin Liu, marketing director at Tai Er.
With locations in San Mateo and at Valley Fair mall in Santa Clara, the fast-casual Sichuan restaurant offers six mocktails designed to complement its bold, spicy dishes. Ranging in price from $9-$10, options like the Coconut Breeze provide a cooling counterpoint to the more intense flavors on the menu, while the Blueberry Fizz holds up to wok-seared flavors. Others are tailored more specifically to the overall dining experience.
“The Matcha Jasmine Coconut Refresher is a completely different experience,” Liu said. “It’s aromatic and complex in a way that mirrors some of the qualities of Sichuan food and rewards slow sipping over a long, shared meal.”
Yeobo, Darling also infuses cultural touchpoints in its drink menu. The Menlo Park restaurant describes its food as a highly personal reinterpretation of Korean and Taiwanese classics. Owners Meichih and Michael Kim aim to balance being a neighborhood spot and a destination restaurant worth driving to, and they see a diverse beverage program as central to that vision.
“Our intention was to be as welcoming and accessible as possible,” Meichih Kim said. “Offering NA drinks alongside cocktails, sool and wines ensures there’s something for everyone.”
The beverage program is low-ABV by design and developed in collaboration with Bar Mood Taipei, ranked among the top 50 bars in Asia. With both low-ABV and NA options, the cocktail menu reflects the same personal, cultural lens as the food. Cocktails incorporate high-elevation Taiwanese teas, such as the soju-based low-ABV Natural Oasis cocktail with Jin Xuan oolong ($17) and NA guava spritz made with Four Seasons Spring tea ($16).
Korean ingredients like omija berries are present in the Omi-Cha mocktail ($15), known for their five distinct flavor notes: salty, sweet, sour, spicy and bitter. In a nod to Taiwanese culture, where hot tea is often sipped after a meal to cleanse the body, the restaurant serves premium oolongs along with decaffeinated buckwheat tea to end the meal on a lighter note.
The Kims see the low-ABV and NA beverage category as full of potential.
“We wanted NA and low-ABV to feel expansive rather than limiting,” Meichih Kim said. “They offer a dynamic range of ingredients and elevate the dining experience by giving guests something distinctive.”
Amara, 1015 Alameda de las Pulgas, Belmont; Instagram: @amararestaurants. Open Tuesday from 4-9 p.m., Wednesday and Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m., Sunday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8:30 p.m.
Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, 311 S. Mathilda Ave., Sunnyvale; Instagram: @kekesbreakfastcafe. Open daily from 7 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Sushi Adachi, 409 San Antonio Road, Suite 56, Mountain View; Instagram: @sushiadachi_bayarea. Open Wednesday to Friday with seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 8 p.m. and Saturday to Sunday with seatings at 5:30 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.
Tai Er Sichuan Cuisine, 98 E. 4th Ave., San Mateo; 650-398-2222; Instagram: @taier_bayarea. Open Monday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Twelvemonth, 330 Lorton Ave., Burlingame; 650-443-7111; Instagram: @twelvemonthburlingame. Open Sunday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 4-8 p.m., Tuesday to Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-8 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. and 5-9 p.m.
Yeobo, Darling, 827 Santa Cruz Ave., Menlo Park; 650-665-7799; Instagram: @yeobodarlingrestaurant. Open Tuesday to Thursday from 5-9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 5-9:30 p.m.
Dig into food news. Follow the Peninsula Foodist on Instagram and subscribe to the newsletter to get insights on the latest openings and closings, learn what the Foodist is excited about eating, read exclusive interviews and keep up on the trends affecting local restaurants.
