Downstairs at Betty’s

Head down the stairs on Charlotte Lane and you'll find yourself in the kind of place that feels like Edinburgh's open secret—dimly lit, packed with the sort of people who care about their drinks but don't make a fuss about it. The space has that subterranean intimacy that makes you want to linger over a carefully made cocktail, the kind where the bartender remembers what you ordered last time. It's the New Town's answer to proper cocktail culture without the pretension that sometimes comes with it.