The Scottish Arms is back behind its bar at 8 S. Sarah St. in the Central West End, pouring scotch and European beers in a room that still looks almost exactly like it did before the pub closed after nearly 20 years in business in July 2024. The dark wood, antique mirrors, vintage chandeliers and a back bar imported from Italy remain intact, and so does founder Alistair “Ally” Nisbet's original menu of scotch eggs, fish and chips and shepherd's pie.
The reopening, which happened in December 2025, was spearheaded by hospitality veteran Marla Hare-Griffin, according to Ladue News. Hare-Griffin worked with 20-year Hi-Pointe managing partner Lisa Andris and former Austin bar owner Fritz Beer to bring the pub back, per the same outlet's reporting from July 2024 detailing the closure and the acquisition group's formation, as reported by Sauce Magazine. “We're honored to keep it going,” Hare-Griffin said of the team's effort to preserve the pub.
Nisbet opened The Scottish Arms in May 2005 and ran it for nearly two decades before the July 2024 closure, when a planned ownership sale fell through, Sauce Magazine reported. General Manager Michael Cline had been with the pub since its opening day through that closure. Nisbet's original recipes carried over into the reopened version of the pub, giving longtime regulars a familiar plate of scotch eggs, fish and chips and shepherd's pie alongside the classic bar's dark wood and antique mirrors.
New Dishes Join the Old Favorites
The kitchen under the reopened ownership added a masala chicken sandwich, a smashburger topped with rarebit sauce and beer-onion jam, and pork sausage rolls, according to Ladue News. Hare-Griffin worked with kitchen lead Mike Szymanski on the expanded menu and consulted Civil Life head soup maker Kaleigh Brundick as part of the culinary planning. Salads, shrimp skewers and polenta cakes round out a menu that now blends Nisbet's traditional pub fare with newer additions.
The beverage program still leans into the pub's Scottish identity, offering European beers, scotch and Scottish gins. The Scottish Gin and Tonic is made with Botanist gin, Big O ginger liqueur and elderflower tonic, and garnished with rosemary, orange peel and a cranberry, per Ladue News. The pub is still described as the only Scottish pub in the St. Louis region, a distinction that dates back to when it first built its reputation serving Beef Wellington bites alongside scotch eggs and fish and chips, according to Sauce Magazine's July 2024 report.
A Landlord's Role in Keeping the Lights On
Real estate developer Pete Rothschild, who owns the historic building at 8 S. Sarah St., worked directly with the incoming ownership team to facilitate the transition and keep the venue active, Sauce Magazine reported. Nisbet, who previously operated South City barbecue spot The Shaved Duck before it closed following a severe freeze in late 2022 and later reopened under new owners, agreed to stay attached to The Scottish Arms as a consultant to help guide the transition.
The pub's brief absence came amid a stretch of commercial turnover along the Sarah Street corridor, where nearby businesses Sunday Best and Quarrelsome Coffee both closed within the same 12-month span, according to KSDK. City officials noted the cluster of closures caused brief neighborhood concern before new concepts began arriving.
Still St. Louis' Soccer Pub of Choice
Beyond the kitchen, The Scottish Arms has long served as one of St. Louis's primary soccer-viewing public houses, regularly packing in fans for Premier League matches, international fixtures and World Cup tournaments, according to Hooligan Soccer. That role, paired with the reopened pub's secluded patio, has helped it settle back into its old spot in the Central West End's food and drink scene. Hoodline previously featured its refreshed courtyard among the city's notable outdoor spaces this year, following the reopening.
