Pregnant in PDX // My Favorite Mocktails

Happy Thursday everyone, the weekend is almost here!

I decided that I’m going to start a new series of posts here on my blog called “Pregnant in PDX” where I’ll showcase some of my favorite discoveries right here in Portland for mamas-to-be! I’ve really enjoyed my pregnancy so far, and so I thought this might be a fun way to share some of my favorite places with you. (Any suggestions for specific posts you might like to see, let me know!)

It’s been a pretty hot summer here in Portland, and the weather hasn’t totally cooled down quite yet (it’s supposed to be 90 degrees here this weekend!) so I’m still in somewhat of a summer mood myself. But one of the hardest things about being pregnant in the summer (at least for me) is not being able to indulge in a glass of chilled white wine or a cold beer on a hot day. I typically stick to water when we go out to restaurants these days, but after awhile, that starts to get a little old. Here are a few places I’ve tried recently that have some wonderful non-alcoholic options!

Located in the Pearl District, Mediterranean Exploration Company is a great new addition to the Portland dining scene that opened this summer. They have a few ‘no proof’ options, including this absolutely delicious elderflower Austrian soda! The waiter brought the syrup and the soda water in two separate glasses, which made it feel extra special. It was really delicious and refreshing!

Another great option when it comes to house made soda is modern alpine favorite Gruner!
They actually use housemade syrups for their sodas and they had quite a few interesting flavors available – I got the strawberry hibiscus soda and really liked it!

When my friends were visiting from out of town, we tried out the group of micro-restaurants over on NE 24th and Sandy and that’s when I discovered The Sudra! I’m not personally a huge fan of Indian food so I can’t vouch for their food menu, but I did order a drink (The Bandit Queen) from their mocktail menu and it looks like they have a bunch of great non-alcoholic options.

The adorable downtown restaurant, The Picnic House, has some delicious food options but when I went, I met a friend and sat at the bar and the bartender whipped up a made to order mocktail for me! I don’t know exactly what was in it beyond cherries, but it was really good and it was nice to have someone who was knowledgeable about cocktails actually put effort into making a drink for me!

Over on SE Division, Andy Ricker has three popular restaurants and they all offer a bunch of great non-alcoholic drink options, including my favorite, the Naam Manao. This ultra refreshing limemade is wonderful on a hot day…or for just chasing some of those famous fish sauce wings!

Those are a just a small sample of some of the great non-alcoholic drinks available here in Portland! Plus, lots of restaurants that have inventive cocktail menus will likely be able to make a good mocktail for you; if they don’t have non-alcoholic drinks listed on their menu specifically, you can often just find a cocktail you like and ask them to make a virgin version for you and most places will be happy to oblige. I’m definitely open to suggestions though, so let me know what mocktails here in Portland I need to try out next…cheers!