New to the hospitality business, Hetal and Dhruma Shah started Sipeos last year as an “online shop of adult non-alcoholic drinks.” As of last month, Sipeos has since expanded into a cafe and bar with a full menu of low-ABV and non-alcoholic cocktails. The Shahs both temporarily left their careers in the tech and biotech industries to take stock of their lives before they landed on the concept for their online company. While Dhruma has since returned to the biotech industry, Hetal, a former operations VP at both Cleo and Postmates, oversees the daily operations at the new cafe in Walnut Creek’s Broadway Plaza. The cafe’s interior decor is a collection of inoffensive neutral colors ranging from beige to blonde to tan. By contrast, the green color scheme inside True Food Kitchen next door is almost immoderately lush and jungle-like. I stopped by because Sipeos doesn’t have its own restroom. True Food kindly allows Sipeos customers to use theirs. The couple hired the San Francisco design studio, ROY, to refurbish the space formerly occupied by Cocola Bakery. Wildseed’s executive chef, Blair Warsham, curated the plant-forward menu. And they worked with West Bev Consulting to shape the beverage program. West Bev recently posted a note about the collaboration, “We are so proud of the work we did with @sipeos.co to develop this beverage menu that centers deliciousness and de-centers alcohol.” One of Hetal’s favorite non-alcoholic cocktails is the New-Groni. “I used to love gin. In the New-Groni, we’re using a gin alternative that gives you a very similar bitter taste,” he said in a phone interview. He also recommends the Espresso Marti-No. “It’s one of our low-ABV cocktails, so slightly lower in alcohol by volume percentage,” he said. “It gives you the experience of having a coffee-based cocktail.” Hetal and Dhruma Shah hired the San Francisco design studio, ROY, to refurbish the space formerly occupied by Cocola Bakery. (Photo by Hardy Wilson) I tried the Cosmopolitano, a busy, dark pink concoction that mixed raspberry syrup and elderflower with two non-alcoholic substitutes. A bittersweet aperitivo blend of grapefruit, orange blossom and aromatic herbs, and a liqueur described as containing “notes of bitter orange, cinnamon, clove and rhubarb.” I can’t say one ingredient stood out more than the rest. The end result was frothy and sweet, and as thick to drink as pear or apricot nectar. The Pica Pica, a mock margarita or a green Bloody Mary, reminded me of an agua fresca, or two agua frescas combined together in one glass. The non-alcoholic substitute contained a mashup of ingredients that canceled each other out rather than arriving as a recognizable or coherent set of flavors on the taste buds. Blood orange and lemongrass together with Japanese Sancho peppercorn, ginger and mandarin orange? The drink really doesn’t make sense on paper or on the palate, but it would temper a spicy plate of enchiladas or huevos rancheros. The Sipeos menu itself is a minimalist’s take on light snacking fare, and still a work in progress. A mezze plate, small or large, offers several dips to choose from. Of the braised beets, white-bean hummus and the whipped feta, the latter fluffy white dip, made with tangerine burnt honey and fermented chili oil, emerged as the clear victor. The large platter comes with pitted green olives, a flatbread cut into round-edged triangles and a small bowl filled with pretty, multicolored crudités. The flatbread is also served as a pinsa with toppings. If I hadn’t had an extraordinary pinsa the night before at an Italian restaurant with a wood-fired oven, I probably would have written that Sipeos’ version was fine, if unexceptional. But the Italian pinsa dough was sublime—light, airy, crackling open with crisp bubbles—and topped with fresh prosciutto, mozzarella, arugula and the brightest pesto sauce I’ve ever tasted. In comparison, the zhug pesto was a negligible addition to the top of a dense dough that was overworked and undercooked. Lastly, the fennel and citrus salad is a disappointing misnomer. It was made as a chopped-lettuce salad with minimal amounts of fennel, citrus and avocado. Sipeos Café & Bar, Broadway Plaza, 126 Broadway Lane, Walnut Creek. Open every day from 11am to 9pm. 925.546.2300. IG:@sipeos.co. sipeos.com.