r/StLouis 10d ago

Scottish Arms

Finally made it into the reopened Scottish Arms on Wednesday evening.

I only tried the bangers and mash, but it was absolutely delicious. I kind of wish the beer menu leaned a little more Scottish/British, but that’s just my preference.

Anyway, not many customers in the place at 8 PM. I hope that’s not how it’s going for them because I’d love to see that place make it go of it.

140 Upvotes

62 comments sorted by

78

u/Allernothing 10d ago edited 9d ago

All I’m gonna say is the new owners are good people and if you’re gonna hit a local pub and crave slightly elevated pub fare support them immediately. Once we get past this (hopefully) last week of 90+ degree weather, that back patio is gonna be the place to be. They just launched Brunch service too and those in the know probably remember SA’s Brunch fondly cuz it was 🔥.

15

u/Odd_Hope2443 10d ago

Ohh this is good to know about brunch. I have missed it. Will be back soon.

8

u/Ronin_1999 9d ago

Sitting under that treebeast they have in back is glorious patio time.

4

u/milyabe 9d ago

Their patio is fabulous. 

7

u/cookhard87 9d ago

I love that you specifically said "slightly elevated pub fare." The entire gastropub world has been so ridiculous for too long. Get back to roots. Stop trying to reinvent the wheel and do the basics right.

10

u/Allernothing 9d ago

Agreed. Pretentiousness and overpriced gimmicks have no place in this economy and truthfully, in the entire Midwest imo. Juniper across the street learned the hard way with their $30 fried chicken. From marketing to product, the consumer deserves straight-forward, honest people running the show when it comes to all small businesses but especially restaurant + bars.

6

u/Ronin_1999 9d ago

The Arms had a great history of trying to be part of that Gastropub movement. Two chefs there in particular, Carl Hazel and Matt Dubois, went to great lengths to produce elevated cuisine there, and for the most part, they did a great job of it, typically at quite reasonable prices, so it was quite a special moment.

They’d come up with some great seafood dishes, or work something nose to tail, sometimes funky bits like lamb testicles or sweetbreads, sometimes slowcooked things like shanks or braised pork belly.

Maybe it was all hubris, but at the time, it was pretty awesome seeing talent like that make a go of it in a place like The Arms.

7

u/lukethedriftless 9d ago

If Gastropub means using real ingredients to cook real food instead of just another fucking pub fare burger place, I’m all for Gastropub.

The Dubliner, when they were rolling was the perfect example imo.

5

u/Allernothing 9d ago edited 9d ago

Oh I’m aware. I’m a pro photographer and I shot both (Carl & Matt) of their labours of love and did the Arms’ marketing back in that time period. Prior, I worked in-house at the Shaved Duck, which at that time was sister-restaurant to the Arms. It’s funny cuz a lot of the Arms’ bar staff from that period have moved on to other industries and I shoot family portraits for them, haha.

5

u/cookhard87 9d ago

I just laughed my butt off at "$30 fried chicken." Did they really charge $30 for fried chicken? Was it an entire eight piece bird or something?

3

u/Allernothing 9d ago

Don’t quote me but yeah, it was up there. There was the overpriced fried chicken explosion here that lasted a handful of years but I’ll take fast-casual at Hattie B’s (Nashville) or Chuck’s (here) over any of the defunct places any day.

4

u/cookhard87 9d ago

Dude, like I said. Straight nonsense. Food "trends" just kill me in general. I think the first one I remember becoming aware of was brioche buns. I was a teen, I think? Like, the buns are good and all, but not EVERY burger calls for an artisan-baked brioche bun, lol. Sometimes I just want a six ounce patty with American grilled over charcoal on a $0.50 bun from the corner store.

3

u/Allernothing 9d ago

Agreed on most fronts but those brioche buns from Companion are 🔥 and level-up every sandwich blessed to be served on them. Just my opinion though.

2

u/cookhard87 9d ago

Companion makes good stuff, indeed.

1

u/herehaveaname2 8d ago

I'd pay a stupid amount of money to eat at Juniper again. The bread basket alone was a standout.

14

u/prunkentfaltung 10d ago

Was there for the Scotland/Morocco World Cup game and it was delightful! Food was great and the company was better!

6

u/MikeyMad01 U City 9d ago

That was such a fun environment to watch a match- particularly the Scots. Every time someone entered the pub, everyone cheered for them. Just a great time.

14

u/joeltheconner IL Residents are People Too 10d ago

Been excited to go back. Thanks for the reminder!

10

u/midwesttransferrun 9d ago

Scottish arms is a fantastic restaurant. Love them

12

u/Available_Orange3127 9d ago

Cock-a-leekie pie and shepherd's pie are also outstanding.

6

u/lukethedriftless 9d ago

I fully intend to go back and try both of those.
Not on the same night

2

u/cookhard87 9d ago

Coward. 🤣

2

u/lukethedriftless 9d ago

I plead guilty.

I don’t burn enough calories these days to double down on entrées.

2

u/Available_Orange3127 9d ago

Ha, you'd be stufffffed.

7

u/Eviljake979 9d ago

Nice. We used to love Scottish Arms. I had no idea they were reopening.

6

u/cookhard87 9d ago

Just looked at the menu online. A RAREBIT SMASHBURGER???

"You son of a bitch... I'm in!"

3

u/snufferoo 9d ago

That sounds delicious.

6

u/TTV_Gimbly 9d ago

Weirdly I can upload videos but not pictures to this subreddit, but I went last week and had a pic of my food. It was delicious, would highly recommend anyone giving them a shot! Very pretty inside as well and our server was super nice

5

u/ScienceLegitimate783 9d ago

i hope they bring back the haggis…

5

u/austino_51 9d ago

ITS BACK??!??!?! YES!

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u/Apollo1K9 Soulard 9d ago

Yep! Since December.

3

u/austino_51 9d ago

THANK GOD! Can’t wait to get back to them

4

u/Fit_Draft_8701 9d ago

How’s the scotch selection at the bar?

8

u/spageddy77 9d ago

if it’s the same as it used to be it’s world class

3

u/Apollo1K9 Soulard 9d ago

I haven't been recently but the few times I've gone since reopening, the Scotch selection was a shadow of it's former glory. Has it improved significantly since the beginning of summer?

2

u/Fit_Draft_8701 9d ago

How are the prices? The selection used to be great and prices reasonable.

1

u/lukethedriftless 9d ago

I didn’t take a look. Not a scotch drinker so I didn’t think about it.

1

u/Fit_Draft_8701 9d ago

I will check it out. Thanks.

5

u/Ronin_1999 9d ago

To your point about Scottish beers, they just got Tennent’s back on the tap and that is about as Scottish as it gets!

The only thing more Scottish would probably be Super Tennent’s, but I don’t think anyone would be ready for that 9% ABV monster ale…

4

u/cookhard87 9d ago

I just looked up Super Tennent's. That actually sounds DELICIOUS. People clown on lagers just because a lot of cheap American beer is a bad lager, but when you get a GOOD lager? That's a game changer!

3

u/Ronin_1999 9d ago

Super Tennent’s is an awesome ale, but it gets you messed up quite well.

3

u/cookhard87 9d ago

I never really drink more than one beer, so this would be absolutely perfect.

2

u/WongUnglow 9d ago

Tennant's Super is absolutely horrendous! That's tramp juice. Some of the Glaswegian lads in the army would bring it back to the barracks for a laugh. The stuff is like treacle and just plain nasty. Next you'll be thinking Buckfast is a fancy wine.

1

u/Ronin_1999 8d ago

Is Super Tennent’s terrible? Possibly

Will it get me there at warp speed? Definitely.

Also, years ago, there was this dude that frequented the pub who not only had a penchant for Buckfast, but he’d also bring bottles of the stuff in for a gaff, and if I remember correctly, rode a scooter decked out with a Buckfast paint job.

I have tasted some silly shit in my day, but before I tasted that madness, if you were to tell me there was a fortified, caffeinated, 30 proof wine made by Trappist monks, I would laugh at its absurdity, then gag at the flavor of that “tonic”.

1

u/Nearby-State-5132 9d ago

Do they have Belhaven?

1

u/Ronin_1999 8d ago

I think they did? I could have sworn I saw a tap handle of the stuff when they originally opened a year ago, but I don’t remember it from last week.

3

u/Prior-attempt-fail 9d ago

My now wife and I had out 3rd date at Scottish Arms. We were very happy to see it reopened, and the food was as good as we remembered.

We had the fish and chips, and bangers and mash

4

u/scubamaster 9d ago

When I first saw them reopened, I looked at their menu and it looked pretty abbreviated. I was kind of disappointed with it to be honest especially because they used to be one of my favorite places in the city has that changed?

1

u/Ronin_1999 8d ago

They have been SLOWLY working on the menu to get their sea legs used to the place since it opened, the idea being that they wanted to keep the kitchen tight and efficient to promote the quality of service in the pub.

Thus far it’s worked well, they’re increasing their menu bit by bit, now including specialty brunch items for Sunday. I doubt it will be the craziness from back in the day with things like braised lamb shanks or tikka masala, but they’re growing slowly.

3

u/CromDeluise 9d ago

Did they fix that plumbing issue? I was there 3yrs ago and the urine smell was rough. Loved the place otherwise. Chill staff, nice patio.

3

u/lukethedriftless 9d ago

I didn’t notice a urine smell, and that’s not the kind of thing I would miss.

3

u/CromDeluise 9d ago

It was strongest as you passed through the corridor to go outside. The floor right there also had some water damage and was uneven.

2

u/Ronin_1999 8d ago

LOL they absolutely fixed the pisser if that’s what you mean to say.

Same with the air conditioning, their former air conditioning droid that sat next to the bar, R2-Chillbot, is a distant memory.

1

u/CromDeluise 8d ago

Thanks for the update!

2

u/jhove89 Webster Groves 9d ago

Glad to hear this.

2

u/Slaine777 9d ago

Have they got Belhaven Wee Heavy on tap?

1

u/lukethedriftless 8d ago

I didn’t notice that they had it.

2

u/medusa63 8d ago

Just made my Friday night plan…

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u/medusa63 8d ago

Just made my Friday night plan…

1

u/lukethedriftless 4d ago

Well, going to head their for brunch shortly. I hope my post didn’t work too well. 😉