Cambridge non-alcoholic bar that celebrates mocktails with fresh ingredients

The season of uninhibited drinking and eating has been replaced with the period of aspirations – that sweet, hopeful time after goals have been set and before we have had the chance to fall short of them. According to Statista, the eighth most common New Year's resolution set in the UK ahead of 2025 was to cut down on alcohol.

From 410 respondents aged between 18 and 80 surveyed between October and November 2024, 21 percent said they wanted to reduce their drinking. The third most common response, after exercising more and saving more money, was to eat a healthier diet – with 45 percent of participants choosing this.

One spot in Cambridge can help with both drinking less and eating more healthily, making it a perfect hangout in January. Golpo Bengal Café and Restaurant on Hills Road has a non-alcoholic bar of creative cocktails, premium zero-percent spirits, and non-alcoholic wines and beers.

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Lunchtime customers are also offered a menu that includes vegetable-packed options such as salads, while those attempting 'veganuary' can ask for any of the vegetarian dishes to be made vegan.

Sugary mixers are out and aromatic herbs are in

If you've ever had a mocktail then you know they aren't all created equal. It is hard to sip on more than one if it's full of sugary mixers. Golpo makes sure you'll feel refreshed with their non-alcoholic drinks and instead uses aromatic herbs and fresh fruit.

Ziaur Choudhrey, co-owner of Golpo, said: "We are trying to promote Bengali cuisine, with home-style cooking in a restaurant atmosphere.

"The other thing we concentrate on is the sober bar, which is a big part of our identity. We do not use any sugary mixers in our non-alcoholic cocktails, but instead use fresh ingredients and premium non-alcoholic spirits.

Ziaur explained that the idea for the bar was inspired by the cafes and restaurants in Bangladesh and India, which do not typically serve alcohol, alongside the younger generation's move away from alcohol in the UK and the lack of non-alcoholic bars in Cambridgeshire.

"Alternative to Costa"

The restaurant runs as a café between its opening at midday and 5pm, inviting customers to sit with a non-alcoholic drink or a cup of chai, which is brewed by the restaurant over at least two hours.

Ziaur describes it as an "alternative to Costa", and people are welcome to work on their laptops or order from the lunch menu. After 5pm, Golpo operates as an Indian restaurant.

Dishes of aubergine masala and slow-cooked mutton curry can be enjoyed with non-alcoholic concoctions of fresh fruits, aromatic herbs, exotic spices and zero-percent spirits. Customers can bring their own alcoholic beer or wine, at a cost of £1 per person.

Golpo Bengal Café and Restaurant is open between midday and 10pm every day except Saturday, when its closing time is 10.30pm.