The Scottish Arms - St. Louis, MO

When you think of the culinary scene in St. Louis, Missouri, most people often think of the great Italian food on The Hill.  Perhaps even the great barbecue in town may come to mind as well.  Certainly most would not think of traditional English and Scottish cuisine.  Tucked away just west of the Saint Louis University campus on the west side of downtown, is a traditional pub serving great dishes and great beer.  And unlike so many of the "pubs" in America that are owned and operated by "Yanks" who like the idea of a pub and go do their research, this pub is owned by an expert.  Straight from Aberdeen, Scotland, the owner grew up knowing what traditional pub food was firsthand and now shares it with the St. Louis community.

Admittedly, I had been searching for some traditional pub grub for a long time and it's not easy to find.  The weather was near perfection on the day of my visit so I sat outside on the back patio.  We were greeted by our server and the authenticity continued as our server was born and raised in London, England.  She knew the menu, could vouch for its authenticity, and her accent made it seem like we were in jolly ole England. 

I began my journey with a pint of Filler's London Porter.  Served warm in traditional fashion, it had a smoky, sweet flavor that made it very enjoyable on a cool summer evening.  We ordered the Highland Gathering appetizer sampler and settled in to enjoy.

Highland Gathering Sampler

The sampler offered a full selection of traditional fare.  the Scotch eggs were hands down my favorite.  Hard-boiled eggs wrapped in haggis and tolled in breadcrumbs before being deep fried.  The velvety texture of egg yolks was so well balanced against the crispy outer coating and savory meat.  What a great balance of textures and the honey, dijon mustard sauce was a great dipper.

The platter also featured haggis fritters.  Similar to the Scottish eggs, the haggis fritter is a ball of haggis meat coated in breadcrumbs, deep fried, and made to dip in a sweet, whiskey sauce.  I will admit that this was my least favorite part of the dish, simply because haggis is not a favorite of mine yet I was adventurous enough to try it.  the meat was well seasoned and perfectly fragile inside.

Baby Birdies came next.  Minced, seasoned beef was tucked away  inside of puff pastry.  These were great little treats.  A crispy, flaky crust with juicy meat inside.  How could you go wrong?

Last but not least, the plate featured smoked salmon with capers on crustini.  the crispy, crunch of the bread, the saltiness of the capers and the smoky flavors of the velvety salmon all melted together into one delicious bite.  I love salmon and especially smoked salmon.  So this was a pleasant pre-entree treat.

For my entree, I refilled my pint of London Porter and ordered up the fish and chips.  You can't get much more traditional than that.  My co-worker ordered Bangers and Mash and Squeek.  My fish and chips arrived piping hot with a huge haddock filet tucked inside of an ale batter.  The batter was crispy and the fish inside was soft and juicy.  The best part was that the dish wasn't greasy at all.  The sign of a great, traditional dish of fish and chips.  The lemon caper dipping sauce was tart and refreshing, while I also had the malt vinegar I wanted add that extra bit of tartness.

Fish and Chips

My co-workers entree arrived and it looked equally scrumptious.  He had a large portion of potatoes surrounded by two handmade sausages and a few fresh carrots.  We traded samples and the sausage was well spiced and juicy, while the potatoes were firm yet fully cooked.

Bangers N Squeek

The food at The Scottish Arms is authentic and the servers know their stuff.  The males on staff wear kilts and the beer is served traditionally and compliments the meals.  Food is affordable given the portions.  The entrees we had were $13 each and we were there for happy hour so the beers were $1 off each pint.  The Scottish Arms exceeded my expectations in nearly every way and aside from all of their traditional fare, they have a great farm fresh menu comprised of dishes that rotate based on the locally sourced, farm fresh ingredients that are available.