Sai Ying Pun’s best-kept secret no longer, Mostly Harmless plays to the strengths of its founder, Ezra Star, a celebrated mixologist formerly of Boston-based Drink. In early 2025, a liquor licence issue prompted a full pivot: Mostly Harmless became a 100 per cent non-alcoholic bar, launching the Mostly Harmless 0.042 programme. Far from a compromise, the change became a showcase for the team’s creativity. Using kitchen techniques like sous-vide, infusion, fermentation and house-made vinegars, they replicated the texture, body and complexity of traditional cocktails – without the alcohol. The results were drinks that feel as substantial as their spirited counterparts. Alcohol is now back on the menu, those licence issues sorted, but the drinks – whether with or without alcohol – are anyway seen as just a means to an end. “We’re serving people, not drinks,” commented Star at the time of the surprise pivot.

‍