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The Verulam Arms, St Albans Central, St. Albans
St. Albans
AL3 4QE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 5½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about The Verulam Arms
They have dropped the 'Foragers' moniker now, but it is still very much a gastro pub. Even though my visit was Sunday lunchtime I was pleased not to see those annoying 'reserved' signs on every table that some pubs put out to deter those only drinking. Two handpumps with Tribute and Landlord at £4.50.
I get the impression they don't do a great deal of food business but may be busy weekend evenings with the 'cocktail crowd'
On 9th January 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Foragers at The Verulam Arms
One of a number of back street pubs in this part of town, the Verulam Arms has set itself apart from the crowd by defecting into the world of upmarket gastro pubs. In this case, the venture is known as ‘Foragers’ and, as the name implies, they specialise in food and beer made using foraged ingredients. It seems like the sort of daft marketing move that would do well given the fads of today, but there were only two other people in when I visited on a Bank Holiday Monday afternoon. You enter into a lop-sided U-shaped room with exposed floorboards and a similarly shaped tongue and groove panelled bar counter to the rear. The entire pub has been furnished with very fancy looking chairs and scrubbed tables, with no other forms of seating available. This makes the place feel both upmarket and formal, neither of which are really conducive to relaxing over a few pints. There is a neutral colour scheme throughout and a small but plain fireplace to the left, but thankfully there is some etched glass in the windows that helps give the place a bit of character and sense of history. The decor is heavily themed around the idea of foraging and includes pheasant feathers, dried herbs, jars full of sea shells and hops, an ivy-lined bar canopy and a set of mounted antlers with a load of grass tangled up in them. Boards around the room detailed upcoming foraging events, so you can presumably source the food you intend them to cook for you! To the rear there is a sunken beer garden with a fair bit of seating.
The pub has its own brewery out the back somewhere and they specialise in beers using unusual foraged ingredients. Options on this visit included Foragers Mediocria Firma and Slingshot, Squawk Oat Pale Ale and a house cider. My pint of Slingshot claimed to be brewed with Douglas Fir needles and I can confirm that it did indeed taste as though I’d fallen face first in the forest. The pint was also served unpleasantly warm, which made getting through it quite a chore and I was rather amazed, as I sat there slowly supping, to find that no other customers came to the pub the whole time I was there.
Considering I probably visited this pub at an ideal time, when it wasn’t rammed with diners, I still came away feeling that his place didn’t really offer much for the casual drinker beyond the prospect of trying some potentially grim experimental beer. I could imagine enjoying a nice meal here – it’s the sort of place you’d gladly bring the family along to – but I’ll definitely be chopping it from future crawls.
On 14th November 2017
- rating: 5
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Foragers at The Verulam Arms
The Verulam Arms is a decent looking back street corner pub,there were no signs of Foragers on its signage.
Once inside the bar faces in a single U shaped room which is bare boarded,the seating is normal tables and chairs,the left side of the room was set for diners,none in on my Saturday dinner visit.
The pub advertises foraging trips with the next one up Scotland,all very strange in my eyes.
The pub brews its beers which all seemed pretty weird to me with their pump clips looking strange with leafs and the like on them,i had a drink of Slingshot,which was alright,but not really to my taste,the other real ales noted were Meroicria,Saint Cloak and Grindcobbe.
The pub was busy with locals.
I thought this was a very strange pub.
Pub visited 24/6/2017
On 10th September 2017
- rating: 6
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Foragers at The Verulam Arms
Backstreet gastropub, with emphasis on local and ‘foraged’ food. U-shaped interior, stripped wood floor, chunky scrubbed wood tables, third-length pea green panelling, nice cornicing. Antlers on the windows a somewhat unusual décor item. Three ales; Adnams Ghost Ship, Tring Kokaluku a house beer (which apparently produces un-hopped Medieval style ales) and a proper cider. As mentioned below, also a decent set of keg offerings. Not realizing that the house beer was a genuine brew rather than a dodgy rebadge (wish they'd been better at pushing this at PoS), I had the Adnams which was fair. Perhaps not much of a pub experience but worth a look in order to sample the homebrew.
On 19th September 2015
- rating: 6
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Foragers at Verulam Arms
This pub was a little too on the gastro side of things for me, either it works or it doesn't, and it didn't for me so I didnt linger long here, a quick half an Adnams Ghost Ship was sufficient.Unlikely to make a repeat visit.
On 28th July 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Foragers at Verulam Arms
A bit of a mixed bag I thought, on face value a decent street corner local boozer but it has also a theme of being some kind of upmarket trendy foody place based on earthy ingredients sourced in natural ways with a hunter/gatherer ethos. A board advertises "Foraging Walks" and there are framed posters of fungi and the suchlike.
If you look at the place purely as a pub it's not bad. Four handpumps, Adnam's Ghost Ship, Tring Kotuku, house beer Grindcobbe (with an unusual carved wooded clip) and a scrumpy cider from Wales, who's name I couldn't see properly. A few fancy keg offerings from the likes of Camden, Titanic and a wheat, Maisel's Weissbier. Boarded floor, some etched glass, olive green wainscoting, scrubbed tables with mismatched chairs, a nice fireplace with a mirror over. A feature was a carved wood stag's head.....I doubt the politics in here would permit a stuffed one.
Fancy menu at fancy prices, I didn't see anyone eating but it was around 4.30 in the afternoon. A bit of a short measure but not worth arguing about, strange to get a pint in a goblet glass I thought. I can't really make my mind up about here, as a pub it is ok but the undercurrent of it trying to be something else that it possibly isn't I find difficult. I'll probably never go in again so I must judge on this visit, I'll try and be fair.
On 18th July 2015
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Foragers at Verulam Arms
Liked this pub a lot.Nice clean tidy fresh looking.Friendly staff.Good beers selection.Couple of cask beers inc their own brewed on site Foragers-mediocria firma which was very good.
On 28th February 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alesonly . left this review about The Foragers at Verulam Arms
I was in here yesterday with my Brothers and Farther in Law On a regular Pub Crawl of the area. As already said the place looks more like a licenced café than a pub. Its not very cosy or welcoming and its badly laid out nearly every table was set for food making it feel even more like a café. The bare wood floor and stripped out interior Don't make it feel any better. I found the staff very offish and unwelcoming added to the fact the few other customer that were in all sat around the bar making it difficult too get severed and were giving you evil eyes just for making them move. Between the four of us we tried all the Ales on Tap plus the Old Rosie Cider which were OK but there was nothing outstanding. I don't think we will be putting this on our regular Pub Crawl as there are much better Pubs nearby.
On 18th November 2011
- rating: 4
[User has posted 132 recommendations about 105 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about Verulam Arms
This pub re-opened last Sunday and was pretty busy at lunchtime, certainly in relation to nearby pubs. This had in the past been a decent traditional pub but when it was purchased from Punch a couple of years ago it got the gastro treatment and the venture didn't last long before it failed and the pub closed. The current owners look to be following a similar business model, with their USP being that the menu is largely sourced from locally available produce. This has led to the pub being doubled-named as The Foragers at The Verulam Arms. I can't say I'm in favour of this practice, a couple of other places in St Albans have done it and I see no good reason. It is however pleasing to see that it has re-opened as a pub/restaurant rather than being turned into housing, as was the fear. The bar is well stocked with wines and spirits and there are three handpumps. Youngs Ordinary and Bombardier were on and I was told that the intention is that the third will be used for a local micro beer, possibly from the Verulam Brewery (no relation to the pub) This seems positive news for real ale drinkers but there's not a great deal of room inside making me feel that diners and drinkers won't sit comfortably alongside each other. The premises has had a lick of paint and is very clean, the decor was quite plain but no doubt will take on character over time. I've added a web link although it is currently under development.
On 25th November 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about Verulam Arms
Built 1n 1820’s, the Veralum (the Roman name for St Albans – useless info ed) originally opened as a hotel but became a pub in 1853. Sadly it would appear that its days are now over as it has recently shut and is destined to be turned into housing. Whilst it was never an essential part of my occasional St Albans pub crawl, I did pay a couple of visits. The first time I was put off by its slightly upmarket ambience and gastro leanings and paid little more than glance through the door before venturing elsewhere. My most recent visit only occurred because the Farriers Arms opposite refused to allow us in at a few minutes to 11 whilst the Veralum was far more accommodating.
On the whole I found it quite a dull place with the now routine modern décor of shades of grey, bare floors and stripped back furnishings. The L-shaped interior was a bit cramped although finding a seat wasn’t hard at that time of night. 3 of the 4 pumps were operational with Black Sheep Best, London Pride, Buntingford Highwayman IPA, the latter being a new one on me. By St Albans standards, the pub was not much above average judging by my last visit but it did once have an excellent reputation and cropped up in the occasional Good Beer Guide. There are far worse pubs around that are more deserving of the axe and the Veralum’s demise should sound a warning bell to a few of its neighbours.
On 6th August 2010
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]