Zero-proof bar&tasting room
Poured between, never watered down.
Shrubs, ferments, cold-brewed teas and bitter tonics, measured to the quarter ounce and stirred like they matter. No spirits in the building. Nothing to sleep off.
- Bar
- Tue–Sun, just walk in
- Table
- Thu–Sun, five pours, booked
- Where
- Halfway across the Glasswright Span
½ oz What we pour
Four families, stacked by weight.
Every drink on the bar is built from the same four families. Light ones float, heavy ones sink, and the good drinks sit somewhere between.
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Layer one lightest
Shrubs
Fruit, sugar and cider vinegar, left three weeks to settle. Rhubarb, quince, black currant, whatever the market has too much of. Sharp enough to wake your tongue up.
In the glass Rhubarb Span $11
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Layer two lively
Ferments
Tepache, water kefir and plum kvass, brewed behind the bar in tall jars you can watch working. Lively, faintly funky, never sweet.
In the glass Low Bridge $10
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Layer three round
Cold teas
Oolong, lapsang and chamomile, brewed cold overnight so they come out round instead of tannic. The body of most of our drinks.
In the glass The Temperate $12
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Layer four heaviest
Bitters & tonics
Gentian, cinchona bark and bitter orange, pulled into glycerin rather than spirit. The backbone that makes a drink taste grown-up.
In the glass Quinine Hour $11
1 oz Try it here
Balance a pour
Two dials, one glass. Slide toward what you’re in the mood for and the glass fills the way the drink would. We’ll point you to the nearest thing on tonight’s menu.
Nearest on tonight’s menu
The Temperate $12
Cold-brew oolong, apricot shrub, bitter orange.
Dead center. Of course it is.
Tonight’s nine, placed by taste. Pick one to pour it.
At the bar, just say two words, one from each dial. That’s the whole ordering system.
2 oz The tasting table
Five pours, in the order they’d settle.
One long table at the window, over the water. Eight seats, ninety minutes, five small pours from the lightest to the deepest, with the person who made them explaining how.
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I
Rinse
Verjus, soda, a thread of cucumber.
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II
Sharp
Quince shrub, sorrel, soda.
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III
Lively
Water kefir, elderflower, lemon peel.
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IV
Round
Cold-brew oolong, apricot, salt.
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V
Deep
Gentian, cacao husk, black cherry.
- When
- Thu–Sat 7:30 pmSun 3 pm
- How long
- Ninety minutes
- Each pour
- 2½ ozwith bread and pickles
- Per seat
- $38up to eight seats
- Whole table
- $280all eight, any sitting
2½ oz Find us
Halfway across the Glasswright Span.
The Span is the footbridge between Cullet Quay and the old Weir Market. We’re the narrow shop in the middle with the green door and a lens in the window.
It used to be a lens grinder’s. We kept the long oak counter, the brass foot rail and the round window, which bends the evening light onto the bar top in slow green and amber pools.
3 Glasswright Span
Merrowgate
| Mon | Closed |
|---|---|
| Tue–Thu | 5–11 pm |
| Fri–Sat | 3 pm–midnight |
| Sun | 1–8 pm |
Level entry from the Cullet Quay side. The Weir Market side has a short flight of stone steps. Dogs welcome at the counter; water bowls by the door.
3 oz Before you come
Questions, then a seat.
Is there really no alcohol?
No spirits, wine or beer in the building. Our kombucha, tepache and kvass are fermented here and carry trace alcohol under half a percent. They’re marked trace on the menu, and we’ll swap them for anything else without a word.
So it’s sweet juice, then?
No. Most of the menu leans sour or bitter on purpose. If you want sweet, say so, and we’ll make it balanced sweet rather than syrup.
Do I need to book?
Not for the bar. It’s walk-in only, first come at the counter. Only the tasting table is booked.
Can I bring children?
Before 8 pm, yes. There’s a short list of small sodas for them and a stool that fits.
Allergies, sugar, caffeine?
Every drink is written up behind the bar with its full recipe; ask for the card. We can halve the sugar in most drinks without losing the balance, and every tea drink can be made with a caffeine-free base.
Can I take anything home?
Shrubs and bitters in 8 oz bottles, $14 each, and loose tea in tins, $9. Ask at the counter; the recipe cards are free.
Book the tasting table
Five pours, ninety minutes, eight seats. We’ll write back to confirm within a day.