Such a fun and cool place. Definitely different from anywhere else I've gone to. The vibe is very prohibition-era and the cocktails are top notch. read more

Betty Lou's library is not your average cocktail bar. It's an awesome escape from our modern time into the prohibition era. A group of us made a reservation and we got our password to enter the bar. The bar has no sign outside! Super secret haha you pick up the phone in the lobby and give the password and the bookshelf opens and out comes the host giving you details on the house rules etc. Amazing decor accompanied by vintage funiture and a delicious cocktail menu. My friends and I ordered all different cocktails so we can try them all. My favourites were the old fashioned, jane erye and anais nin. I highly recommend this place! It's such an amazing concept and a whole different experience. I love cocktails and these were made to perfection! read more

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Stellar place! Make resos in advance or drop in and see if there's room. I'd suggest making a reso on weekends. The inside blew my mind! Love the dark, basement and prohibition vibes. Cocktail list is full with something for everyone. They're also strong! I'd recommend the Bull Run Old Fashioned (yes it's $19, but you'll likely only have time for 2 cocktails in the 2hour maximum length stay so just live a little!) The decor is on point. The cocktail list name also on point. The servers are on their A game. All in all a fantastic place to spend some time over the weekend with close friends. I'll let you find your way in! read more

What a unique venue. Had an amazing night with my man last night, celebrating our anniversary. The staff truly goes above and beyond to bring the speakeasy to life. Absolutely love the jazz and the artistic vibe. Highly recommended. read more

Betty Lou's Library - A special toast to a great man. - Speakeasies Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

We had a great time drinks were good and the burlesque show on Wednesday was awesome! Great dancers and entertaining! The wait on drinks are a bit on the long side but we were expecting that as it's posted outside before you enter :) the chocolate brownie amazing! read more

Checked out this underground bar for burlesque night and jazz night. It's nice, sophisticated place for a night out. The drinks are great but grab some dinner before heading here as they only offer light snacks such as fruits and crackers. Also, make sure to book a reservation for the special nights as they are usually booked a couple weeks in advance. read more

On my visit to Calgary, I had an opportunity to visit this speakeasy bar. Its a good idea to call and reserve as you will get a password to get in. Its a speakeasy afterall. Service was good, the old granddad was pretty decent and they had a local artist for live music on a tuesday night. Overall it delivered on expectation and a good friendly service overall. Definitely recommend! read more

Very cozy and comfortable atmosphere. Dim lighting and comfortable low seating, all very quite sensual and great for catching up over some very delicious cocktails. Fantastic date night too! read more

Excellent cocktails and mocktails! Cocktails are a bit pricey. We loved the live music the night we visited. read more

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Great Atmosphere, Great Cocktails a bit rushed .. food was out of the package but still worth it for the cocktails

I LOVE THIS PLACE! We definitely need to reserve earlier online through Yelp next time so that we can get the password experience, however, we checked it out for date night several weeks ago and we were pleasantly surprised. We happened upon jazz night, which happens every 2 week's I believe and the atmosphere in there is incredible. It's definitely way different than most place in Calgary! The cocktails we had were fantastic as well, and we would go back just for those! This is one of those gems that I hope sticks around for years to come, and a definite must go to take guests from out of town. read more

Betty Lou's Library - Speakeasies Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

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This is the coolest place I've been to in Calgary. You definitely need to make reservations in advance and can't expect to get in on a weekend without them. Their drinks are so fabulous! The setup is just indescribable. This makes an excellent date place for a few drinks after dinner, or a great location for a group get together (max 6 comfortably). Our servers were the sweetest and ensured we were well taken care of. There was no point where you needed to hunt someone down. They were sociable and well versed on drink options based on your description of what types of drinks you like. Beware if you're getting an Uber, they'll think you're supposed to be picked up at the front of the building, so walk around to avoid missing them:) read more

I've been twice now and both times I really enjoyed it. Cocktails are amazing and the Jazz band was excellent!! Will definitely go back again and I highly recommend this establishment. read more

Awesome place, had a great time. Great service and cool atmosphere. Definitely will be going back.

We were in Calgary for a short weekend and absolutely loved our experience at Betty Lou's! The cocktails were fantastic and although they said they would take a while, we had our drinks in what felt like only 5 minutes! Such a great vibe inside and I loved the concept. There were some patrons who weren't "speaking easy" and were definitely a little rowdy, but it was still a fantastic night nonetheless! If you love a smoked out cocktail, they have one on the menu that will blow your socks off! read more

What a great experience! Service is great and their servers are very knowledgeable on the cocktails served there. The special cocktails were delicious and wish to have them back at home. read more

My favorite cocktail bar. I love the atmosphere and drink selections. Its always a fun night out.

My sister and I went to jazz night at the library this evening, and everything was on point from the second we crossed the red velvet rope and through the bookcase. The atmosphere is elegantly dark, and the music perfectly complimented the vintage decor. Our bartender Ru took excellent care of us as we sat at the bar, never intruding but always present when we needed him. Since my sister was driving she wanted a mocktail, and after asking for a few of her favourite flavours he came back with a drink we nicknamed "Happiness in a cup". Would definitely recommend, great for friends or dates alike! read more

Betty Lou's Library - Drinks at the bar - Speakeasies Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

We finally checked this place out. Very cool concept! Love the phone with the password and the secretiveness of it all. It's super tiny and the chairs are all antique. The decor is very cool. But really other than that...it's not amazing or anything. The drinks are ok, but nothing to write home about and there's barely anything on the menu to nibble on. I think we were there too early for and dancers. Also found it annoying that each table is given a time limit of like 90 minutes and the waitress continually reminded us of this which was really annoying. There's numerous other rules that they have posted on the wall one of which is a dress code but I saw a girl at the bar wearing a Mickey Mouse hoodie so maybe the rules only apply to some people. Anyways, it's a cool place but def won't be high on my list to return. read more

I was so excited for this night, but what a disappointment! The wait to get inside was about 20 minutes. No idea why, once we got in it was completely dead. The bartender broke a glass and so we got to watch acrobatic vacuuming for another 20 minutes. The grilled cheese I ordered looked like a McDonald's sandwich reheated on a George Forman Panini Press. It was also cold and disgusting. The drinks were fine, just ridiculously overpriced for what you got. 22 dollars for mid-brand bourbon?? We finished our night at another spot and the experience was so much better. Don't waste your time on this hole. read more

Novel concept, great cocktails and awesome throwback vibe... but it was overshadowed by a strict and rudely enforced 2 hour limit on your stay. Upon ordering a second round of pricy drinks, our waitress informed us that "you only have 40 minutes left on your reservation ". We were considering ordering a charcuterie board to nibble on with our drinks but this turned us off the whole experience. We consumed our last drink in a hurry (they do take a long time to make!) and were promptly ushered out. read more

I have been to Betty Lou's for more than 4 times. It s a great place for small groups or couples. It was my first experience of probation times. Strongly recommend to try their delicious cocktails and experience the ambiance. read more

Amazing. Please don't change a thing. Fabulous drinks, delicious bites, impeccable service from start to finish. Thank you! read more

I love an excuse to make an occasion out of something and Betty Lou's is certainly a place to bring thematic elements to life. ie Get dolled up and indulge in what the space is trying to present to you- a speakeasy. The Good: The space is an eclectic mismatch that stays in theme. The service is wonderfully attentive. The focal point is definitely the bar, where all your finely crafted cocktails come to bear. Seriously, this is what you're here for so order from the cocktail menu and try out some flavours you wouldn't shake together at home! The Not-so-Good: There's a humble assortment of hors d'oeuvres which could use a lot of work- I ordered the hummus (VERY bland) and Gouda Medley (not worth it for the price). Alas, this is a speakeasy...so it would be unfair to weigh my review too heavily on their plates. It is also quite loud in here, which is surprising given how exclusive Betty Lou's is hyped up to be. My friends and I were literally yelling our conversation to one another! All in all, I wouldnt recommend Betty Lou's for an intimate gathering as it is rather loud inside. However, this is certainly a great place to get dressed up for a fun night of fancy drinks with girlfriends. Betty Lou's offers a thematic experience you can't find anywhere else in Calgary, so it doesn't have to try too hard to win my approval. Once or twice is enough, though. read more

A cute place for drinks. Can't say it's exactly comfortable but it's a different experience and can be fun. Their cheese plates are quite awful ... the drinks are great though! read more

The atmosphere is exactly what a speakeasy should be. Small, exclusive, dark, jazz music and live music, bar tenders cocktails, and a feel of class. I absolutely love finding these little gems in cities. read more

Betty Lou's Library - Speakeasies Near Me - Calgary, Alberta

It doesn't get any better than this. Staff, drinks, decor, live jazz - everything is incredible & of the highest quality. You'll feel like you've gone back in time! A must visit for anyone in Calgary, no matter if you're visiting or a long time resident. Treat yourself & you won't regret it! read more

This spot was the best night out ever! From the fact that you have to call and get a password, to the bookcase opening up, to the cool prohibition era vibe, right to the end where your 2 hour time slot is over, this is an experience like no other. :) read more

What a fun experience! Everything from entering Betty Lou's, to the decor, servers and bartenders! The drinks were amazing and the food was delicious! read more

What an amazing experience. Staff was warm and friendly and even suggested things that the bartenders could make that weren't on the menu. We only came for drinks but next time will try the food. The music they had on was so amazing and really added to the overall vibe. Will absolutely return to this gem. read more

We didn't enjoy the atmosphere at all. Over rated. Poor drinks, poor service. Live music would make this place way better. read more

Neat atmosphere. Had a $24 cocktail. Was repeatedly told they had a reservation at our table which was a bit ov. Neat atmosphere

Betty Lou's is always memorable and the perfect atmosphere for a night cap to start the night off. I love the era of the 1900's that it is based off of so much. Thank you for all the memories over the years! read more

Unfortunately, very disappointing experience. We sat at the bar to begin evening, as our table was not ready despite the place being half full. Nonetheless, whatever. I ordered the $20 old fashioned, looking forward to the "smoked glass" which wasn't at all smoked. It was about as typical old fashioned as you'd expect at a Boston pizza, or anywhere else. Moving on, thirty minutes past our reso, we finally got a table. Two chairs arms lengths facing two other parties. Was rather tight. My wife and I sat there for 15 minutes, and could not get a server to take a drink order, or anything. Despite trying to flag them down too. We finally just said that's enough, requested the bill, went for dinner and drinks elsewhere. Very poor experience. read more

Perfect cocktail selection and the ambiance can't be beat. Went on jazz night and it was amazing! Will be back to this hidden gem again for sure! The staff were very courteous and knew their stuff. read more

Super cool little spot. Amazingly delicious cocktails and live music. It's great for a special occasion or when you need to treat yourself!

Betty Lous cocktails never disappoint. This is still my favourite cocktail bar in Calgary. I am disappointed by the their Gin & Tonic me years getting smaller. But I'm thankful the bar staff are still willing to make off menu versions for me :) read more

Not what it used to be after Covid.. It seems like it's a place to learn how to dance burlesque style, more talking than dancing maybe 15 minutes of dancing in 2 1/2 hours while we were there. I felt like we were annoyed with all the talking . The cover charge went up and the dancing was NOTHING like it was before and we had been 8 times before. The atmosphere still good but not very fun. Won't Likely return. Was so disappointed with how little the dancing and interaction they had. They took people and told them how to dance and kept promoting their dancing class. Not what we went for. Miss the old burlesque show. read more

Fiancè and I loved this place. We loved how it was tucked away and the fact that we needed a password to get in was pretty cool. Once in, staff is super friendly and knowledgable on drinks. I loved each one that I got. My fiancè didnt quite like the Manhattan (but that's on him lol) but was easily swayed with the other selections. This place felt very exclusive, we liked that we could hear each other speak and music choice was to theme and tasteful. Pricing was extremely reasonable, you get a couple ounces per drink so after 2-3 you're feeling pretty good. We have made the decision that this will be our "spot" from now on every time we visit Calgary! read more

I'm a sucker for a good speakeasy so needless to say when we visited Calgary it wasn't a question that we needed to find one! I appreciate that not only is it easy to make a reservation online, but the password you need is found in your reservation email itself. It was a bit hard to find the actual bar itself as it's not on too many building directories and if you enter the wrong door you're kind of wandering around the building. But, eventually we did find it in the lower level with directions just to the library. We came early so it wasn't crowded at all and there were just a few groups of women, but the vibe is fantastic with old-school couches, chandeliers and mood lighting. Their theme is carried throughout with the exposed brick and curtains covering windows and colorful lightbulbs. The one thing I found a little bit strange was that I didn't actually see any books. It was too dark to read anyway but seeing a bunch seeing books up on shelves would have carry that theme throughout a little bit more and made the name ring true. Now to the DRINKS: they were absolutely amazing!! The first one I ordered was right off the menu and it was a sweet bourbon drink that had a surprising amount if alcohol (2.9 oz) but didn't taste like that at all! For my second one, I decided to see if they can make a real whiskey sour even though it wasn't a menu. I appreciated that it was no problem whatsoever and the whiskey sour was absolutely fantastic. We didn't try the food here but when It came out to other people it looked good. lots of things like meat and cheese boards and other items that are good for sharing. If you're on vacation in Calgary, I would definitely say hit up the speakeasy just know that the drinks are about $15 a piece which really tends to be the going rate. A fun start to any evening out! read more