Low calorie non-alcoholic beverages to order in a bar

GloriaBJN

I'm a non-drinker but tired of sitting at home. Any favorite low cal drinks for non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic beverages when out at night? Thanks.

mtaratoot

My local tavern has kombucha on tap.

Tonic water with a dash of bitters and a squeeze of lime is a tasty treat, but it goes down tooooo good and has calories unless you get the sugar-free stuff, and what fun is THAT?

ploomka

I ask for a splash of some kind of juice in a club soda. I might do a splash of cranberry, lime, grenadine, orange, or pineapple. In a pinch, just a lime wedge and a cherry can spruce up a club soda. Make sure you tell the bar tender you really just want a tiny splash or you could end up with more sugar than you bargained for.

SafariGalNYC

Soda and splash of grapefruit. Soda and lime.

My fav is skinny mojitos- soda, fresh mint, lime .. sweetener optional.

@mtaratoot - I am jealous of that kombucha on tap!!

AnnPT77

I like plain soda water with bitters and a citrus wedge. Also, a lot of places are starting to offer "mocktails" - no alcohol cocktails. You could ask the bartender what the lowest-calorie mocktail options might be. Another option would be to ask for tomato juice or bloody mary mix without alcohol in it.

Sinisterbarbie1

Look at the alcoholic cocktails made with vodka or gin and ask them to make you a virgin version replacing the alcohol with some ginger beer or tonic or just sparkling water

avatiach

Great suggestions above. There’s always Diet Coke or ginger ale. Also, some bars have nonalcoholic beer.

GloriaBJN

Ugh. I went out last night and said "what do you have that has no alcohol and no calories, but not water? I was advised I could have diet free pop. I'm allergic to cola so diet 7 Up was seriously the only thing I could order. One selection is enough though. Ginger Beer? Does that have no calories or no alcohol? What about the spritzers?

mtaratoot

GloriaBJN wrote: »

Ugh. I went out last night and said "what do you have that has no alcohol and no calories, but not water? I was advised I could have diet free pop. I'm allergic to cola so diet 7 Up was seriously the only thing I could order. One selection is enough though. Ginger Beer? Does that have no calories or no alcohol? What about the spritzers?

They have club soda. You could ~try~ a club soda with two splashes of Angustora bitters and two squeezes of lime in a Collins glass. I don't know if it would be any good, and it would have SOME calories, but what about an ounce or two of bloody Mary mix topped with club soda. If you don't mind a few more calories, a garnish of stuffed olives sounds pretty good to me. There are other options. Do your homework BEFORE you go to the bar and order what you want rather than asking the barkeep what they recommend. And if the bartender takes the time to make you something, tip them the same as if you got a cocktail, a beer, or a glass of wine. Same amount of work, just probably a lot less expensive.

Ginger beer for sure has calories unless you get some that's sugar-free.

yirara

Maybe not quite so cool, but what about a big glass (yeah, not a cup but something to actually see the beverage in) of green tea with fresh lemon and some other fruits thrown in? Or rooibos if you like it. Want to be seen? What about a glass of low-fat milk? Brush up on your Clockwork Orange quote beforehand though.

Sinisterbarbie1

If you are asking for no calorie drinks you are not going to find much beyond club soda or tea/coffee or diet soda at most places. Even non alcoholic drinks generally have some calories, just usually a lot fewer than the alcoholic counterpart because you are having only the mixer. Unless someone concocts some drink composed of a bunch of juices that is calorie heavy. There are a lot of bartenders willing to make you an alcohol free drink beyond pouring a soda, but you can’t tie their hands completely by saying it has to be totally calorie free as well and not seltzer based.

And yes ginger beer is no alcohol but not no calorie. Since it is not very sweet it is pretty low calorie, a popular brand like fever tree is 38kcal /200ml. https://fever-tree.com/en_US/products/refreshingly-light-ginger-beer. Most bars that make moscow mules would have it. Ask for it with a squeeze of lime in a nice glass or in a mule mug.

ETA: i don;t drink alcohol and I lost 79 lbs over the last couple years still drinking non alcoholic drinks socially at bars and restaurants and at home every night. None of them were no-calorie, all of them were way lower calorie than even a glass of white wine. And I don’t drink sodas like coke and sprite and pepsi.

paperpudding

Where I live you can get diet versions of ginger beer which would have almost no calories, same as diet coke and co.

certainly in supermarkets - whether it is available at bars I dont know.

XxAngry_Pixi

I really like soda water with a splash of orange juice and a lime wedge. Really refreshing and looks a little fancy.

Rockmama1111

Another vote for club soda with a splash of any juice (I like cranberry) and a lemon or lime wedge. I log them as 30 calories if I get them when I’m out.

DebbsSeattle

Club soda, lime juice, vodka, no ice in a chimney. Have one switch to no vodka. 97 calories with vodka, basically zero calories without. Both versions look the same.

Other is gin and diet tonic (both zero calorie and 5 calorie tonic exist). Same thing…lime juice, no ice in a chimney. Switch to tonic only…looks the same. Benefit is that quinine in tonic is an anti-inflammatory. Mr.’s Doctor prescribed tonic with quinine for inflammation.

JGarfield77

A lot of bars this time of year are doing mocktails. But I've been unable to find any nutrition information for any of them. So god knows how much sugar is in them.

penguinmama87

GloriaBJN wrote: »

I'm a non-drinker but tired of sitting at home. Any favorite low cal drinks for non-alcoholic or low-alcoholic beverages when out at night? Thanks.

I'm almost completely a non drinker but have a very active social life, almost none of it in bars. Usually in people's homes, where some people drink but there's still a lot less pressure to do so, and it's a lot lot cheaper. I find most mocktails or "alcohol-adjacent" type drinks gross or way too sweet, and if I am at a bar I usually have water with lemon or diet pop (and tip anyway).

If you have a group of people you're usually getting together with when you go out, you could try suggesting your home or a different activity. Board or party games or cards, a book club. Libraries and rec centers (or churches etc if that's of interest) often host a variety of evening activities for free or very low cost for something different, and if you don't have people you're meeting that could be a way to meet new folks.

If you really like the bar scene but just don't want the alcohol or sugar, then disregard! But if I were in your shoes I'd just give up the bar!

mtaratoot

penguinmama87 wrote: »

<snip>

I'm almost completely a non drinker but have a very active social life, almost none of it in bars. Usually in people's homes, where some people drink but there's still a lot less pressure to do so, and it's a lot lot cheaper. I find most mocktails or "alcohol-adjacent" type drinks gross or way too sweet, and if I am at a bar I usually have water with lemon or diet pop (and tip anyway).

ABSOLUTELY! Always tip. You are being served. It's part of the program. I am doing a dry January that may extend beyond January. One time when I did a similar thing, I still went to my local to see my friends. At first I would bring sparkling water and ask them to put it in the cooler under the bar and serve them to me. I paid the establishment a dollar and the server a tip. They started buying their own fizzy water so I didn't have to bring it. Still a dollar plus a tip, but they felt good about being able to provide it for me.

westrich20940

Bitters (as others have suggested) are slept on man. They do contain alcohol but you use such a small amount that it is negligible.

It depends on what the bar has to offer that is NA really - I'm happy to see more bars having some stuff for NA peeps.

I particularly like Lagunitas Hoppy Refresher with orange bitters in it (and maybe a squeeze of fresh citrus)....delish, bubbly, feels like a nice cocktail. There might be good options since it's January and lots of people do Dry January. Or Damp Jan.

paperpudding

just before we get too carried away on tipping advice - we dont know what country OP is in.

Not everywhere does tipping like US does.

If OP is in a country like Australia or NZ, where tipping is not the done thing - all this tipping advice is irelevant.

back to what drink to order.......

mtaratoot

@paperpudding

Thanks for that. I think that's a better model anyway. Pay employees a living wage, and put the full price on the menu. Tipping in the US has gotten a little out of hand lately. I've seen tip jars places where there really isn't a service being rendered. I don't feel guilty about skipping that.

Seventeen thousand years ago, I delivered pizza for money. I observed that when I delivered to more wealthy homes, I would get a small tip or none. When I went to a more modest place, or student housing, I always got a nice tip. It may have been coins, but those folks realized how important those few bucks were.

paperpudding

well I guess tipping as a system is a debate in itself - beyond scope of this thread.

My intention was not to suggest that anywhere else has a better system - just to point out that tipping advice isnt really relevant if we dont know where OP is.

GloriaBJN

I tipped the server because I knew her. This tipping rule book, despite the fact that the server actually gets paid to do her job, has me staying home more than I should have to. Not everyone can afford the food plus tip. Being financially responsible goes both ways, and sometimes you need the money more than the server....outside of the U.S. Tipping has become an expectation, when tipping could realistically be expected when you ask for special service. I know servers that push service expecting the person to tip big. This really turns me off. There's no balance in the expectation equation. As often as not, I'll round off the payment.

penguinmama87

Sorry, didn't mean to derail! I just mentioned tipping offhand as a personal practice because it's the norm where I live and continuing to do so even if not consuming alcohol engenders a lot of goodwill with bartenders.

I would not advise contradicting norms wherever you are; continue to do what's considered polite when you go out, whatever it is, and be kind to service staff, because they're people too and often have to put up with a lot of nonsense.

serenecompassion2663

Non-Alcoholic Beer
Still has a small amount of alcohol in it.
My first AA Sponsor and her husband got drunk on the stuff after drinking it all night.