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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
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Detail Pages
The Scolt Head, N1
N1
N1 4HT
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Scolt Head
Situated on a apex plot between two residential roads.The front beer garden ,hidden behind ivy and trimmed bushes is very popular with the young professionals and their offspring in good weather in this trendy part of N1.The pub itself has some character and original features as mentioned by PSM below,with the serving bar in a front section,to the left is marked as the Gun Hill bar ,with mainly metal furniture it looked more of an overlow area ,while to the right is a wait to be seated dining area.To the left of the entrance is a brick faced real fireplace and Sky Sports flatscreen above ,sensibly on mute with the Test match on.
Just two ales avalable on my trip,Crouch Vale Brewers Gold and St Austell Proper Job (tangy ,not right NBSS 1.5). Even my heated baquette was dry and slightly burnt at the edges and the dippy serving crew were more interested in their gossiping.The vibe maybe laid back but shouldn't be comatose.The visit should have been so much better,but a "can't be bothered " attitude can ruin a pubs reputation.Jog on by.
On 4th June 2022
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Scolt Head
This is a nice wedge-shaped pub nestled into the crook of a road junction, with the ‘thin end of the wedge’ cut-off to form a pleasant patio garden area with a high hedge border. Entering through the garden, you find yourself in the main bar area which is bare boarded and has the servery on the opposite wall. The bar has a dark wood counter and attractive matching bar back with some etched glass mirrors, an integral clock, a collection of ceramic jugs and the rather unique feature of various framed crisp packets. Bench and chair seating fills the front part of the room and includes on large table covered with a William Morris style tablecloth. The walls are half panelled and there are leaded windows and a brick fireplace, which all add a bit of charm to the place and give it more of a traditional feel than you might otherwise expect. A large instrument panel of indeterminate origin stands next to the entrance, providing some quirky visual distraction. Moving further back, there is a dining area through to the right, which is carpeted and has lots of formally set tables and chairs, another fireplace and lots of old photos on the walls. The rear left space looks like some sort of function room with a huge pull-down screen showing some live football, lots more tables and chairs and muted lighting, perhaps to enhance the view of the screen. There were vases of fresh flowers on most tables, colourful bunting hung from the ceiling beams and pop tunes played quietly in the background.
I noted three cask ales on the handpulls – Yardbird Pale Ale, St Austell Proper Job and Crouch Vale Brewers Gold. The latter was a very reasonable £3.70 a pint and in pretty decent shape, served to me by a pretty surly barman who was the only downer in a pub that seemed to have quite a nice, friendly vibe to it. A decent selection of craft keg beers was also apparent on the long fonts running around the bar.
I wasn’t really expecting to find anything much to write home about in these gentrified back streets, but I thought this was a very nice pub with some good beer, comfortable seating and an interesting interior that has mixed traditional and contemporary in an effective manner.
On 11th February 2020
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Scolt Head
Quite an impressive façade, although you only see the top peeking above the tall evergreen hedges on two sides of the triangular front patio garden as you approach. Once inside, the square bar has bare floorboards and a mix of furniture, with further seating / dining areas to one side and at the back. Some original features survive, such as several green-bordered windows, and for reasons unknown, there are old electrical panels with lots of dials on each side of the main entrance. I found two of three handpumps in use, offering Greene King Yardbird and Proper Job (£4.00), with a reversed Crouch Vale Brewers Gold clip also noted.
On 2nd January 2020
- rating: 6
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about The Scolt Head
The Scolt Head is a fairly large pub that is in a fairly posh looking area.
There is a nice outside seating area to the front of the pub,once inside there is a decent sized single room which has two areas with the right side set at a slight angle angle,the room is bare boarded,the seating normal tables and chairs,there is also a separate room to the rear left.
There were three real ales on the bar,i had a drink of Trumans Runner which went down well,the other beers were Crouch Vale Brewers Gold and GK IPA.
Food was being served and the pub was quite busy on my Saturday afternoon visit.
I thought this was a decent enough pub to have a drink in.
Pub visited 11/6/2016
On 31st July 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about The Scolt Head
Situated between The Hunter S and The Talbot and easily the superior of the two, this is a large corner pub with leafy garden, formerly The Sussex Arms and now named after a small island off the north Norfolk coast. The interior is large and stripped out, the only clue to the pub's original identity being the green banded Charrington's windows. There are quite a few knick-knacks knocking about in here and furniture is very mixed and eclectic. The rear is seemingly more geared towards dining, though this isn't a gastropub.
There's a lively young professional crowd in here and there was a rear room where live swing music was playing whilst those in attendance were dancing along. Sport seems to be a bit of a thing here and the pub has its own football team.
The ale range is unimaginative and hasn't changed since Steve C's review from September 2010: Greene King's IPA, Truman's Runner and Crouch Vale's Brewer's Gold at just £1.80 a half and good it was too.
This seems to be a fun pub, made all the better with a 7-day midnight licence, but the presence of live sport means I'm unlikely return when a match is on.
On 11th June 2016
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Scolt Head
Exactly the same beers on as mentioned below except the Trumans Runner was turned round,the Brewers Gold was in good form though.It was rammed solid on my Saturday afternoon visit as the Tottenham V Arsenal game was in full flow on the TV screen.A large main room most of which is for drinking with the rear part set out for dining.I couldn't take in to much of the interior simply because of the mass of humanity crammed in wall to wall but it seems a decent enough pub and the bar staff were coping well with the demands placed on them. I would look in again should I be passing this way again.
On 5th March 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Rex Rattus left this review about The Scolt Head
GKIPA, Crouch Vale Brewer’s Gold, and Truman’s Runner (£1.70 a half) were available here. One-sheet menus were on the tables when I visited on Wednesday afternoon, but the food wasn’t cheap, with possibly the best bet being the cheeseburger and chips at £10.50.
It’s fairly large inside, with a basic bar area as you enter through the main doors, furnished with a few plain wooden tables and chairs plus a couple of sofas. Another room on the right has all tables laid for diners, and a third room is reached through some doors on the left. I didn’t bother to investigate this room as there looked to be some kind of meeting going on around one of the large tables. I plonked myself in the main bar, as near as I could get to the very welcome coal fire on the go in the large fireplace. Things of note in here were the old green-banded Charrington windows, the old wooden bar back, and rather bizarrely the two large Cyborg-esque banks of oil meters standing sentry duty on either side of the doors.
The furnishings seem to be for functionality rather than comfort, but it’s generally comfortable enough. Despite the dining area on the right, the bar area at the front was quite pubby and it felt right just having a drink in here. The Runner I had was in good nick, and they had made a real effort to make the place warm and welcoming on a cold, wet and blustery day. This is probably one of the better pubs in the area.
On 22nd February 2014
- rating: 7
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve C left this review about The Scolt Head
This place was by far the busiest pub on my crawl of the area on Thursday night last week and the railed in triangular seating area at the front of the pub was heaving. I managed to fight my way through the crowds to gain access to the busy bar area where I was confronted with a large selection of premium draught products and three ales in the form of Trumans Runner, Greene King IPA and Crouch Vale Brewers Gold. I decided to have a pint of trusty Guinness which was well served by a very busy, but friendly barman. The food served in here is of the gastro type and there is a space to the right of the bar that was being used as a dining area. During the week the kitchen is open from midday until 3pm and 18:30 until 22:00 and on Saturdays from midday until 16:30 and 18:30 until 22:00 and from midday until 16:30 and 18:30 until 21:00 on Sundays. I didn’t take up the chance to eat during my visit, but I did see a few plates going out and the food did look very good.
At the rear of the pub there is a third section that has a pool table, jukebox and projector screen for showing football on Sky Sports. This area was also very busy so I only popped my head in for a quick look before finishing my beer under the jumbrella outside the front of the pub.
Although the twenty-something Islington set aren’t really my choice drinking companions I did enjoy it in here and would recommend it to others.
On 17th September 2010
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5231 recommendations about 5199 pubs]