Would you eat at a restaurant that didn't serve alcohol?

[Yearn]

If a restaurant served only soft drinks and alcohol-free beers/wines/cocktails would you eat there on an evening? Even on a Friday/Saturday night. No BYOB either.

YABU - Yes, I would eat there even on a weekend night.
YANBU - No, I wouldn't eat there on an evening.

alcohol free suits me.

Just not interested in it.

TBH I probably wouldn't notice. I don't like alcoholic drinks with a meal.

Would depend on the type of restaurant and the occasion I was likely to use it for. My local Indian went totally alc-free for a while and this did make me more likely to choose somewhere else.

we don't even drink with christmas lunch so no difference to us

I wouldn’t be concerned. But I don’t dine alone. Dh likes a drink. There’s a big flaw in this vote if you’re trying to get meaningful data.

Yes. Our favourite Indian restaurant is strictly Muslim so no alcohol served and no BYOB. Food is fantastic so no problem sacrificing a glass of wine.

Yes, I'd love it.

But I don't drink and find it uncomfortable to be around people who do (due to previous alcohol addiction)

I'm also laughing at the idea of Lebanon being an 'alcohol free culture' 😂 Whilst I'm sure they exists, I can't think of a Lebanese person I've met who doesn't drink!

I would but DH wouldn't.

I would with my husband and kids because I am a recovering alcoholic but I honestly don’t know many groups of friends that would all be happy to have no alcohol. Even my parents wouldn’t go there.

lunch no problem
Dinner - no.
Recently (pre Covid) I’ve found these are usually lunch spots (cafes) experimenting with expansion or small family concerns not yet fully sorted out or refused licence for whatever reason. Neither a good sign.
Food often expensive for what it is to balance loss of profit from alcohol. Frequently don’t last long (pre Covid).

Wouldn’t bother me. I think younger people are slightly less bothered about needing alcohol all the time so know of a few evening venues that get on fine as they are a place for a mix of people to meet without the drunken atmosphere of a normal restaurant/pub.

@Lobakgo

I'm also laughing at the idea of Lebanon being an 'alcohol free culture' 😂 Whilst I'm sure they exists, I can't think of a Lebanese person I've met who doesn't drink!

@Lobakgo have you ever been to The Lebanon? what's it like? i've always wondered.

misses point of thread

Yes of course. I don’t order alcohol every time I go out for dinner anyway.

I wouldn't choose to go there for dinner, but if someone else wanted to go there and/or had booked it, I wouldn't refuse to go. I don't know how to vote for that.

Nope never. We experienced this for a period of time last year in Wales, when Welsh gov ruled it illegal for any hospitality venue to serve alcohol!! I want a lovely glass of wine with a nice dinner, not a coke!

Yes, I'd just get wasted in the pub first..... joking, don't worry.

I think the problem with alcohol free is that you're reducing your potential clientele. For a start, you'd be unlikely to get bookings for group tables/ celebratory meals etc.because it's unlikely that within that group there is a majority you don't want to drink. I have several friends who don't drink and none mind going to a restaurant where other people are drinking. On the other hand there are people who do drink who would either not go to an unlicensed restaurant at all OR would be indifferent between it and a licensed one, so unless your food compensates for that (i.e. is substantially better than other restaurants with similar cuisine) I think it's probably not a great business strategy.

A restaurant is about the food, not the alcohol, surely...

@jamandmarmalade21 I haven't (and sadly won't be going for the following foreseeable given the current situation), I just work with a lot of Lebanese people!

Also, to answer the actual question - I'd happily go out to a restaurant without alcohol, although if it was super expensive / high end I'd probably want the option.

A restaurant is about the food, not the alcohol, surely...

Well I'd say it's about both tbh- ie the whole experience. The problem is that if there's no alcohol a lot of people who would typically drink wine with a meal would just have water instead (I know v few adults who would drink a sweet drink with a meal). You can't refuse to serve tap water so if they ask for that you're just lost a massive amount of sales and margin.

I've never been to a restaurant that didn't serve alcohol but actually id really like it

Of course why wouldn't you ?
I am not teetotal but would worry that no alcohol was a problem for one meal.

*A restaurant is about the food, not the alcohol, surely...

Well I'd say it's about both tbh- ie the whole experience. The problem is that if there's no alcohol a lot of people who would typically drink wine with a meal would just have water instead (I know v few adults who would drink a sweet drink with a meal). You can't refuse to serve tap water so if they ask for that you're just lost a massive amount of sales and margin*

We went out for lunch yesterday, nobody drank alcohol, I had a coffee, DH had a virgin cocktail, DS had orange juice, DMIL had a diet coke. Then we all drank water with the meal.

Depends what kind of restaurant. In an Indian, I drink lassi and frankly, there is no alcohol that I feel goes particularly well with Indian food. Ditto Chinese food.

If I went out for some kind of gourmet food, I’d very much prefer there to be alcohol. I wouldn’t absolutely rule it out because for me, it is really all about the food, but it would certainly be a different experience without wine.