Skip The Cocktails And Try The Best Mocktails In Abu Dhabi Instead

Whether you’ve jumped on the Dry January bandwagon for a little post-festive season reset, you don’t drink at all, or you’re just looking for some tasty mocktail options to mix things up, we’ve got you covered. 

We might be biased, but we’re pretty spoiled for choice in Abu Dhabi: plenty of our favourite establishments serve up mocktails that are as good - if not better! - than their boozy counterparts. There are some of our favourites, but be sure to let us know if we’ve missed yours - we’ll road test them and add them to the list!

Dragon’s Tooth

Rosewood

Tucked away under the Rosewood, this speakeasy bar is the vibey little sister of Dai Pai Dong. It makes for the perfect before or after-dinner drink, but don’t let that put you off making Dragon’s Tooth itself your final destination: taking cues from the 1920s Shanghai Jazz movement, it has a tasty Asian-inspired bar menu and plenty of signature cocktails. 

Onto the mocktails (or aptly named refreshers), and we can’t go past the Passion Boba (AED39) - a combination of oolong tea, passionfruit and lime with plenty of boba. The flavour is sweet but not overpowering, and the pearls add a fun touch. Three other signature refreshers are on the menu, so there are plenty to work your way through during an evening out.

Open: daily | 6PM-1AM | until 2AM Friday & Saturday

Bookings: 02 813 5588

Taparelle

Manarat Al Saadiyat 

New kid on the block, we may have found our way back to Taparelle an embarrassingly large number of times since their doors opened at the end of 2024. Whether it’s a date night, a larger gathering with friends or even a place to grab a meal with the family without sacrificing ambiance and good food, Taparelle ticks all the boxes. The smell of woodfired pizza wafting across the al fresco tables is guaranteed to whet your appetite, but the menu has plenty of other excellent options if you aren’t in a pizza mood - seafood, pastas and share plates aplenty. 

The cocktails are a delight, but the mocktails are arguably the star of the show. Our favourite? The refreshing, decadent, creamy Aubin: a beautiful passionfruit concoction, topped with the whitest whip and a smattering of lime - a truly gorgeous drink, and there are plenty more where that came from.

Open: daily | 12PM-11PM

Bookings: +971 2 657 5832

Oii

Al Qana

Mocktails are far from an afterthought on the drinks menu at Oii: they’re the main event. This pretty Mediterranean restaurant has the tagline ‘serving joy’ and their mocktails certainly deliver on that promise. Twelve - yes, twelve - signature mocktails are on the menu, alongside some failsafe mojitos and we can’t pick a favourite. Bird’s Kiss (AED39) combines grapefruit, elderflower and butterfly pea tea for a fun infusion, Skopelos Vibes (AED39) is an aqua concoction of passionfruit, pineapple and ginger ale, while Porto (AED39) blends peach and strawberry for an under the radar winner. 

While the whole Al Qana precinct is dry, you wouldn’t notice it with tasty beverages like these. Want something to accompany your mocktails? Check out the fab BB+ menu at Oii - for just AED160 per person, enjoy three courses and a mocktail to wash it all down! 

Open: daily | 8AM - 12AM

Bookings: 02 628 2983

La Petite Maison (LPM)

The Galleria Al Maryah Island

We’re big fans of La Petite Maison for many reasons - divine food, charming staff, water views from their splendid terrace - but the fact they do a mean mocktail is also high on the list. Limonade Noire (AED60) - (yes, that’s black lemonade for the non-French speakers) combining rosemary-infused honey with verjuice, activated charcoal and stirred with soda water - is our go-to, but it keeps good company in a mocktail list 16 strong. 

Les Classiques (alcohol-free takes on classic cocktails like an espresso martini and bloody Mary) sit alongside Les Signatures: signature LPM concoctions that are delicately balanced and a pleasure to sip. They even have the calorie count listed, if you’re watching your alcohol intake AND saving extra calories for dessert: a Pomme-Basilic, green apple cordial with fragrant basil topped up with sparkling mineral water will cost you AED44 and just 47kcal. Now that’s a mocktail we can get around! 

Open: daily | 12PM - 1AM | from 12.30PM on weekends

Bookings: 02 692 9600