I am really shocked by some of the negative reviews! I first came to this pub two years ago and have been back several times since. Everytime I have absolutely loved the food and the atmosphere of the place. I have never had a mediocre meal here!

If you want a quaint and cosy pub, serving high quality, traditional British food then The Scarsdale is for you! Tip: get to the pub around 12 on a Sunday if you want a table in the bar!

Well having just returned from the Scarsdale having read the previous good reviews I was SO disappointed by the food they served. I cannot understand how these old establishments cannot get a Sunday roast right. The meat was very very grey and overdone. The roast potatoes were rubbish and the yorkshire puddings were out of a packet as was the gravy. I do not recommend eating at this place and it infuriates me that pubs in our day and age cannot get the Sunday Roast right.

Scarsdale is the best pub I know in London, and I know plenty.

Staff there was always friendly, since the very first time I stepped in the pub two years ago.

But a pub is not only made by its staff. So, let me say that Scarsdale also has a wonderful garden, good food and good beer. It's a place where you can drink the original Dutch Grolsch beer with that nice, old fashioned lid ( don't confuse this beer with the little one found in supermarkets. That one is brewed here and it's rubbish).

It's a beatiful pub, inside and outside, and they love dogs over there. They even have a bowl of water in the garden just for the dogs.

Scarsdale is a very relaxed place and it is a very good experience to be there. If you seat outside in the garden you will be in one of the very few pubs in London where you can actually talk to people without being bothered by rubbish music, as there is no music outside.

I read the reviews here and am not surprised about so many negative reviews. They tell nothing about Scarsdale. They only tell about whoever wrote them. Scarsdale is not a place where you will find people howling and drinking themselves to death. It is a civilized pub for civilized people.

I visited this pub yesterday lunchtime (20/11/2010) for a couple of drinks and lunch before going to watch an afternoon concert at the Royal Albert Hall with a friend.

I had read the bad reviews on this site before going I hasten to add.

Well I am amazed at the bad reviews. This pub was excellent. My friend and I both commented on how good the London Pride was. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful and in fact couldn't do enough for you, in fact one girl had a little dance celebrating an Arsenal goal.

The food was also very good. Well presented, hot and very nice. The mashed potato was real mash and the mixed platter of vegetables I had were perfectly cooked and the steak and ale pie was also very good with a individual side portion of gravy which I thought was a nice touch. Not overly expensive considering the area it is housed in. The other meals I saw coming out all looked equally as good.

If you are thinking of going to this pub please ignore the bad reviews as in my opinion they aren't warranted. I will be going back the next time I am in the area. It is a nice decent London pub in nice surroundings and you won't be dissapointed on either the food nor the beer.

I stumbled upon this site by mistake, I worked at the Scarsdale back in 1995. I was amused to read all the very negative reviews about the hotel, well these reviews are so true, the hotel staff and the whole establishment, had a real "why bother " attitude about it. Such a shame as it is such a great building. I must add the locals (inheritance children) were very entertaining at how simple and sheltered they are from the real world.

Discriminatory Establishment
On a rainy and cold 22/12/09 with my wife, daughter and her husband and two children entered the Scarsdale for a casual dinner. Scarsdale management turned us away claiming the dining room was closed and the bar was closed to children. I am a frequent business traveler to the UK & Europe and my wife and I had visited the Scarsdale many years ago for business and pleasure and very much enjoyed the experience. We gathered outside in the heavy rain to grab a taxi when a couple with two young children entered the pub and disappeared into the back of the pub. I followed and found them seated and ordering dinner. A short discussion with “red faced” management then invited us to come in for dinner. I refused. Needless to say all of my US and European friends and colleagues will hear about my experiences and this discriminatory establishment will never again enjoy the revenue of my presence or that of my friends.

What happened? 5 years ago this was a lovely pub. I was back in the area today and took some friends, telling them how much they would love it.

We sat outside in the beer garden and the sun was shining. We were hungry and we all ordered a steak sandwich Sadly not one person a the table could eat more than 2 bites - literally.

It was dogs meat. It was absolutely vile....and everyone at the table agreed. I went inside to use the loos - it was dark, singly, dirty and the staff were annoyed to be interrupted for service.

We did mention to the over bearing waitress who cleared the plates that it wasn't great and she said it must have been a 'bad batch'.

A bad batch of employees - starting with the chef and everyone else they have employed in the last 5 years. How sad - because it really did used to be one of best pubs in London.

Best pub ever. First time there and made to feel like a local.

Some guy with a dodgy beard behind the bar but made me feel very welcome.

Good beer, great atmosphere will definitely going back.

Unfortunately for such idyllic circumstances, the staff are unbelievably rude, service is poor and food is below average.

Not recommended.

Dreadful managers! Why are they left in charge?? I'd booked a table for several friends and when I arrived I was told that no booking had been made and accused of making it up. The manager was rude and aggressive to me, shouting at me that I was lying! We ended up in The Britannia Pub close-by, lovely food and great service. Avoid The Scarsdale at all costs!!!!!

Appalling staff attitude.

I was so offended by the female apparently in charge, who actually harangued me while I was hoping to place an order, that I left in disgust. When I infered to the chap at the till that I was leaving as she was so rude he shrugged indifferently.

They clearly couldn't cope with the 'pressure' of a moderately busy Saturday lunchtime. When I saw the other diners' food and the loos I was glad I'd decided to leave.

Anniemac

Amazingly rude management. What the hell are they doing in charge of a dream license like the Scarsdale?
And their "sod you" attitude filters down through the rest of the staff.
Please, please get rid of them!

The food is great...but that's only if you can get a table. There are two sections to the Scarsdale, the rear restaurant and the bar area where you can also have lunch/dinner. However, they do not open the rear restaurant area during the day, nor can you reserve a table in the bar area.

Therefore, if you decide to eat lunch there, you may be seriously disappointed, especially if you've organized a group of hungry people to meet you there...and there's nowhere to sit so out you're out on the street! We asked why they wouldn't open the rear area...and they said they couldn't set the tables again for dinner.

Pardon???????????? Putting down paper serviettes and cutlery twice in one day???!!!!!! Not only are they upsetting regulars, they're losing thousands everyday in potentially serving additional people for lunch. I think they're making very poor decisions there as it's a lovely pub with fantastic food. Please open the rear area in the day?...or let us reserve for lunch!!!!!

The Scarsdale is a terrible pub. The food is awful and the staff and manager are unbelievably rude. I would not recommend it to anyone.

This place has it all:

Bar staff who have english as 4th possibly 5th Language: Check
Barman who are just kerazzzy guys who will take 15 mins talking to their mates before bothering to serve you: Check
Take your food order then work out 20 mins later they havent got it or your 2nd chocie: check

Its a pub for goodness sake, so up themselves they do not stock ketchup so you cant have it with your steak. You can have a fig roullade though. So thats nice.

My husband and I reside in NYC, yet visit London, my home away from home, regularly, and make it a point to stop in at the Scarsdale at every visit. To date, we have not been disappointed.

The Scarsdale Pub is smart-casual with a cozy atmosphere, that's alive and bustling with people, which means it does get a bit loud, but that's what makes it so much fun! We found the food and hospitality rather wonderful and comforting!

Yes, reservation is advised.

The Scarsdale is a nice old pub I have known for thirty years however, I was kept waiting at the bar whilst one of the bar staff spoke for a few moments with my drink in their hand. I asked could I have my drink, and could they take the inventory later (using the word inventory as a figure of speech). When I went to the bar to order my dessert I was refused service on the grounds that I had been rude to the staff, this was told to me by the duty manager. I left the Scarsdale later with an attempt to explain to the barman that I had intended no offence; his response was to walk around the bar as if to confront me. Is this great customer service?

If you want to meet a friend for a drink - and literally just that. This is the place to go. Not the place for people watching, music, ambience - this is just for good old drinking and talking. The staff are friendly, and the food is good. It is better in Summer when you can sit outside - but the open fire also makes it a good winter pub. Somehow the wine here makes for a more drunken evening than elsewhere (yet to figure how) but the real treat about this place are the large tables where couples and groups will ask to share. In a city that is now so frosty - this is a place where you will nearly always strike up a conversation with a stranger without the fear they are trying to pick you up. Old fashioned and my choice for a weekday drink. Or five.