With more people turning to low- and non-alcoholic options in restaurants and bars, Aulis London — Simon Rogan’s 12-seat Michelin-starred chef’s table in Soho — offers a non-alcoholic pairing that pushes boundaries and enhances the guest experience. Using ingredients from Simon’s Our Farm in the Lake District and trusted UK growers, the team creates thoughtful pairings using the same precision and creativity as the dishes they accompany.
Having the creative freedom to use produce from Our Farm — cooking, roasting, and sous-viding it in different ways — has brought the non-alcoholic pairing to life. Techniques typically employed in food or cocktail menus are applied to build zero-proof drinks that pair seamlessly with the tasting menu.
One standout took around a month to develop and involved a research trip to top bars in Paris. The drink is known simply as ‘Strawberry.’
It complements a dessert featuring Malwina strawberries from Our Farm, served with hay custard, candied buckwheat, bee pollen cake, and lemon verbena ice cream. To complete the pairing, leftover strawberries from the dessert are fermented into a Milky Oolong tea kombucha. For those unfamiliar, Milky Oolong is a fragrant Taiwanese tea with rich notes of milk, cream, and butter.
After refermenting, the kombucha is blended with Rooibos tea from South Africa, which adds warmth and spice. The drink is then layered with grape juice — also from Our Farm — and clarified using agar to create a vibrant red hue. It’s served tableside in a small martini glass, topped with a foam made from yoghurt, lemon verbena trimmings, and strawberry mint, and finished with a dehydrated strawberry.
The result is a showstopping drink that embodies creativity, sustainability, and flavor — and proves that non-alcoholic pairings can be just as exciting as traditional wine selections.
