The Understudy

Walk past the theatre crowds on Upper Ground and you'll find The Understudy doing what good pubs do best: serving proper drinks without any fuss. It's got that lived-in feel—the kind of place where the bar staff know regulars by name and the mix of theatre-goers, local workers, and actual humans feels genuinely organic rather than curated. The vibe sits somewhere between cosy and buzzy depending on when you roll in; catch it right and there's real energy, but it never feels forced or overcrowded. Their drinks list is taken seriously without being pretentious, and food-wise they're not trying to reinvent anything—just doing the fundamentals well.