For foodies who don’t (or can’t) drink alcohol, it’s always nice when a restaurant’s drink menu isn’t limited to just a variety of wine, beer, and cocktails.

There are actually quite a few Durham restaurants offering fun and delicious non-alcoholic alternatives from mocktails to milkshakes so that non-drinkers don’t have to settle for a boring soda. Below, we share ten of our favorites.

*The original version of this article first appeared in the September 2018 issue of Durham Magazine.

For the delicious recreation of childhood classics, like Shirley Temples and Orange Julius, visit Jack Tar and the Colonel’s Daughter. “There’s a slew of copycat recipes around the Web, so we played around with a few of them to figure out what we did/didn’t like and cobbled together a version that really spoke to our memories of getting an Orange Julius at the mall when we were kids,” shares owner, Gray Brooks. “Although I imagine what we came up with is probably better, since it tastes good to me now as a grown up.”

At Viceroy, we enjoy the Masala Chai Lattes as well as the creamy and smooth Lassis (a sweet or savory Indian drink made from a yogurt, water, spices and fruit). Flavors change out regularly, but they currently feature a summer coconut chia lassi. In past seasons, we’ve enjoyed the fun pink-colored beet lassi.

There’s fruit juice and then there’s Aguas Frescas, and really, there’s no comparison. Aguas Frescas are made with fresh fruit, flowers and seeds, blended with sugar and water. Popular in Mexico, you can find them at a few Durham restaurants.

If you look behind the register at El Chapin, you will see a brightly colored variety of Aguas Frescas lining the wall. They rotate flavors often and there are so many to try. The watermelon one I enjoyed during a recent lunch tasted just like I had stuck a straw straight into a fresh watermelon!

The Palace International offers a stellar Nairobian punch: a secret blend of tropical juices, but some of the easily identifiable flavors are pineapple, orange, and passion fruit juice.

For coffee lovers, The Durham Hotel offers a coffee soda made with cold-pressed brew coffee mixed with sugar, vanilla bean, sparkling water and crushed ice.

Many cocktail bars offer creative mocktails regularly, or will create one if you ask. Some of our favorites can be found at Alley Twenty Six, which highlights a new non-alcoholic cocktail on the menu on a rotating basis—the choice is dependent on the season and what ingredients are available. This summer, they feature a “summer at the beach” inspired Coconut Pineapple Shrub, which includes coconut, pineapple, apple cider vinegar, lime and soda water. Past favorites have included the Grapefruit Blueberry Shrub, a shrub with local blueberries courtesy of Eastern Carolina Organic (ECO), and the Temperant Tiki, a non-alcoholic riff on a tiki cocktail.

One of my favorite drinks to enjoy on a hot afternoon (usually after doing yard work!) is a milkshake from NuvoTaco. They offer the straightforward flavors of vanilla, chocolate (Hershey’s) and Oreo cookie, but the most popular flavor is the Mexican chocolate, either regular or spicy (where they add a dash of cayenne). A close second is the roasted plantain flavor, which takes on the flavor profile of roasted marshmallow. For those in the know, the manager recommends a mix of both Mexican chocolate and plantain.

They also offer seasonal milkshake varieties like pumpkin pie during the holidays, which has pumpkin pie filling, shortbread cookie crumbs, a touch of horchata (cinnamon rice milk) and cayenne. And this past Girl Scout cookie season they offered Thin Mint and Carmel Delight, which they will be bringing back next year.

Over the years, Dashi’s house made ginger ale has only gotten better as they’ve tweaked the recipe to better pair with the restaurant’s dishes. “It was a bit more vanilla/cream soda focused, and we took a lot of the sweetness out to bring out the ginger,” says one of the owners, Rochelle Johnson. “It’s a great option for an alcohol-free lunch to pair with our ramen!”

They also have a housemade shrub: 1/1 vinegar and sugar, with a rotating fruit juice. Their current shrub is grapefruit; in the past, featuring flavors like watermelon and strawberry.

House-made sodas were first introduced at Old Havana, and became one of customers’ favorites. “Citrus juices are central to Cuban cuisine and drinks—they’re plentiful in the tropical climate and so refreshing—and they form the core of Copa’s house-made sodas,” co-owner Elizabeth Turnbull explains. “Pineapple, of course, is another staple of the Cuban kitchen and makes an excellent soda. These are juices we also use in our craft cocktails, so we keep the rotation fresh and plentiful by using them in different ways.”

In keeping with their farm-to-table values, they plan to introduce seasonal flavors, such as blackberry shrub made from berries foraged on their farm. The herbs and flowers grown at Terra Sacra will make appearances in the flavored syrups and garnishes.