I live basically next door, so that might color my review, but as far as bars to live next door to, I don't know if I could find a better one. The food is always a reasonable price, and you get a stack of it. Drinks are reasonably priced as well, and the blackboard always has drink specials, which are usually pretty tasty.
They also have massive beer tubes, so if you are into novelty drinking, that's a good time too.
I usually get the chicken fingers, and I've yet to find a bar that gives me as many chicken fingers as this one, and the taste is great too. The BBQ ones are my favorite.
They have trivia on Sundays too.
So I used to go here so often my friends thought I had my mail forwarded here.
Pretty solid local with really good food. Â If you need to catch a game and some grubs and suds this is the spot. Â But come early. Â This place is very popular with the 5 o'clock crowd and have a tendency to fill up quick during playoff games (hello Bruins Hawks game 1).
A few people have complained about the beer selection but I find it pretty diverse. Â If you are looking for the latest and greatest IPA on draft you may be bummed out.
The vibe was young and energetic. Foods were phenomenal YUM. I ordered turkey clubs, which were well seasoned. Their Cajun chicken breast sandwiches might be the best in town, very spicy and tasty. I would have given them 4 stars if the service was more attentive.
It was Friday night and little crowded; even our waitress was nice but it seemed that we had to wait for a long time to get beers, not to mention a glass of water. Some of my groups went to bar to get drinks since it took forever. She did mention FB, tables or social networks and we were like..."....okay, hmm, where were our  foods and drinks?" We were sober enough to have our priority served first.
Dependable local bar with solid food, good beer selection, and excellent service. The waitstaff is always extremely friendly.
The ambiance is dark and subdued. They really ham up the social network movie aspect, but its not to any detriment, and is a nice bit of trivia for new comers.
Great for when you want a quiet drink and guaranteed seat on normal nights.
Good crowd for sporting events, especially playoff games. Lots of TV's and an excellent sound system.
Did you know the opening scene from That Facebook Movie was filmed at The Thirsty Scholar? If you didn't, you will, as soon as you step within 50ft of this pub. I came in for a drink and a bite on a Thursday night and the bar was pleasantly quiet. The TVs had the game on mute, and the range of vodkas was a nice sight. My drink was great (vodka tonic with cran $7). The BBQ chicken fingers I ordered were slathered in sauce, making the breading instantly soggy, and which then completely fell off the chicken. This may be because the chicken fingers are "homemade". Not sure.
Anyway, final verdict: would come here again for drinks if it's not packed with That Facebook Movie aholes. I'll have to try their other apps, but the chicken fingers did not wow me in any way.
I have positive associations with this place -- it was a regular spot we used to visit in groups when I went to school near here, but also a good place to meet old friends for quieter conversations. Â It's got a nice atmosphere to it, dark wood but spacious, and good selection.
"Thirsty" is a solid bar, generally plenty of room, but it seems to exist in its own unique time zone. Â It can be empty on a Friday night, and then you'll walk by on a Tuesday afternoon and people are spilling out the door. Â
The major downside is that the bar's not really convenient to anything -- Inman Square doesn't have a T stop, and even by Inman standards the Thirsty Scholar is a bit out of the way.
This is a great little local pub. The food is pretty solid though I can only really speak for the burgers. The sweet potato fries are awesome! Their bloody mary's are also pretty great; lots of kick.
Sunday night trivia is great and one of the easiest to hear the announcer that I've found around town, since the venue is so small. But the atmosphere is great and there are tv's everywhere!
I somehow wandered in here, after years of just biking by, on the night of the opening ceremony for London 2012. Â Epic choice.
The food was great. Â I had Bangers and Mash--the best I've had in the city. Â My girlfriend had the Mac-n-Cheese. Â Probably also the best I've had in the city (sorry Trinas, sorry Charlies!). Â Curry fries were delicious and very authentic.
For beers, given that it's a british pub and it was opening night, I had a boddingtons and a guiness. Â WOW. Â So fresh. Â Best boddington's I've had since being in London.
If you like to watch TV, there are TV's everywhere. Â BUT, the atmosphere is such that TV watching isn't your only option or overly oppressive. Â The place is really nice inside.
Also, that movie "The Social Network", which I really liked, was filmed in here so...oh wait, who cares.
Check it out.
Location is pretty accesible walk from Inman Sq, Harvard or even Central Square. The busses are annoying to use, but if you live in the area its a great bar to go to!
Come here for the killer atmosphere. I usually come here during games because I loved being boo'd as a NY fan... but it riles me up! I love the apps here, their potato skins, nachos, and calamari. They have wonderful bar food. During the weekdays, depending on their specials they have deals like $5 martinis, and similar amazing-ness. The bartenders are great, and make their drinks strong. Bang for your buck for sure. Their dinner food is delicious, they make a mean burger, not the best in town, but its fairly good. I've heard good things about their salads and sandwiches from friends who I've eaten with. Their close-knit bar feel is the one thing I love. One thing to note: 50cents for each item you take-out! Not that its a huge cost, but I've never heard of that before.
Come early to grab a table before the game or during happy hour! Enjoy :)
I'm dehydrated, parched, and there's a really heavy nonfiction book in my bag which just topped the NY Times Best of the Year list. Â Where else to go for lunch but The Thirsty Scholar?
Located just a couple of blocks from Inman Square, it's easy to get to and a bit infamous now that it has been featured in The Social Network. Thirsty Scholar meet The Thirsty Scholar.
While we may have similar attributes, we have our subtle differences, too. I like my salad dressing put on the top of the salad, then quickly tossed (or served on the side), not in a massive, murky pond of oil and vinegar sitting on the bottom of the bowl. This is the first indication that everything is huge around here.
Clearly, the mammoth amount of salad dressing has gone into the salad bowl before my warm spinach salad, which makes the dregs of the dish very saturated. The bowl is enormous and could easily feed two as a side dish, but I had it as my meal. I did order mine with no bacon. And no goat cheese. And yes, they charged the same amount, $9, despite pulling out the two featured players. Just a quibble, but it's annoying.
Lots and lots of beer, chicken and meat dishes for the very hungry, but I am usually dieting and looking for lighter fare.
The next time I come back, I ignore the diet and order sweet potato fries for my lunch. They are served in a Mount Everest looking mound, piping hot and crispy, but at $7, they are costly. They are dry, salty and starchy, perfect for a carb infusion overload. A third time I gravitate to the veggie burger which is just huge and served on an equally huge bun. I tasted more bread than burger.
They offer fish and chips, bangers and mash, nachos, sandwiches and paninis for my non dieting companions....a nice assortment of comfort food, really.
The atmosphere is dark and pubby, with an old, familiar feeling. Service is casual and informal, which in a way, suits this place.
They have a horrible web site, which I can recommend avoiding. If you go to it, turn the volume all the way down, please.
Note that I have only been here for lunch. And it is very quiet at lunch. It is also very dark, so if you are also a thirsty scholar, bring a reading lamp or sit near the window. Happy reading.
For someone who enjoys pubs, pub food, pub booze, pub atmosphere, etc etc, I was sadly disappointed with my experience at The Thirsty Scholar. Â It's considered a fave by one of my good friends. Â She lives around the corner from there and does Sunday trivia regularly. Â According to her, it's generally a great place to hang out, grab a beer, and enjoy good company. Â But since this review is based on my experience, I'm sad to say that this place will only eek 2 stars out of me. Â
We went for dinner and I just wasn't all that impressed. Â I got a pulled pork sandwich and fries. Â The pulled pork itself was great, but the roll literally didn't hold up. Â The entire bottom half of it was disintegrated into a soggy mess before the plate hit the table (wound up eating it with a fork). Â Generous portion though - I wound up having to box up half the sandwich. Â The fries were alright, but not worth taking home.
Here's the issue with this place - the service was SOOOOO SLOW. Â It was a Friday night, but it wasn't busy by a long shot. Â They appeared to be well-staffed. Â So I really don't understand why everything took so long. Â From coming over to take our drink order, to coming back to take our food order (it had to be at least 15 minutes in between), to refilling our drinks (yea, basically didn't happen - the one time it did was after I waved my arms around like a maniac because my mouth was crazy dry and I just couldn't wait anymore), to bringing the check. Â While I was there to spend time catching up with my friend, we didn't expect dinner to take over 2 hours. Â Like I said, I got a pulled pork sandwich, she got an order of sweet potato fries, I was drinking water and she had soda. Â It really was a very simple event altogether. Â
Had I wound up there on a crappy date, I would have had to do a fake emergency date escape and this place would have gotten only 1 star and a disaster story review to go with it. Â Just sayin...
There's nothing amazing or horrible about this bar. Â The dark wood everywhere looks nice, and the service is attentive. Â I just... can't quite get into it.
If you're a sports fan, which I'm not, this is a great place on a Sunday night! Â More like a neighborhood pub than a mega sports bar, you can have a conversation with your friends while watching the game... and actually hear each other.
Used to come here years back. Yes it's the same bar where the Facebook movie was filmed. The bartenders are the same and still remember me. The k effect :)
It's a great Irish bar with the warm cozy feel large selection of beers and drinks. They serve comfort food and it's always packed. Highly recommended for it's warmth and friendly staff. Nothing has changed here in years. It's a classic place and students spend your time here especially if you live close by. This should be your neighborhood bar.
I love this place. Â My friends and I come here for Stump Trivia just about every Sunday. Â The prizes range from shirts or hats and i think first place may get a free meal but don't quote me call first. Â
The food is great in my opinion and the service is fantastic. Â We have always gotten very very good service except for one day when there was change in shifts but things happen. Â
New on the Menu: Â Cream Chesse & Crab Dip. Â SO GOOD. Â
I am not a beer drinker so i am of no help there buy my friends enjoy blueberry beer, the sip i took was pretty good not too much of a beer taste.
Hey Thirsty Scholar!
Did you know we share a wall together? Maybe this makes our relationship more intimate than the average patron, I don't know. I do know this--over the past few months I've heard but a peep coming from you on the other side of that wall. A testament to your low-key vibe? Or is our shared wall really that thick? Either way, it pleases me. Any noise complaints from my side of the wall? Maybe some yelling during Giants games? If so, I'm sorry. Good walls make good neighbors.
You probably don't know this, but, despite our shared wall, it actually took me a few months to wander the 10 steps over to your front door to grab a drink. I did it for football. I'm glad that's why I did it. You love football almost as much as I do--and for the same reasons! I love your plentiful TVs, and the fact that you never feel like a sports bar. Even my girlfriend likes watching games with you (and she hates football).
Your surprisingly good beer list makes me smile. The fact that you're rarely crowded is a big plus. Your sweet potato tater tots put me over the edge. Certain days--and I'm still not 100% sure when--you have specials like $3 burgers and cheap wings. I know you've had them on Mondays in the past. Is it every Monday? I should knock on our wall and ask.
Sometimes, mostly on weekend nights, your customers make the corner of my living room smell like cigarettes. I know this isn't really your fault, and I know your patrons have nowhere else to toke besides the sidewalk in front of your door. But it's still a minor issue... nothing a free drink won't remedy.
You guys only get 1 star because the waitress forgot to put the order in for our app- then blamed the kitchen, no big deal- we just canceled the app.. THEN, we get the bill...$144 for 3 people! We were charged for extra rounds- she charged us for 20 oz beers, but they ran out and she served us 12 oz. and double charged us for a couple rounds. When we disputed the bill with her- she said "well I took the appetizer off your bill" Oh- the one we never got and subsequently canceled? WOW.
Anyway- she said we had to go find the mgr ourselves to dispute the bill!! He was no where to be found. Â The kicker is- GRATUITY was included for our party of 3 and it wasn't mentioned!
So- although we have spent many Pat's games as loyal Thirsty Scholar patrons- we hang up our hats and move on to more honest pastures. To that waitress who swindled...hope you get caught.
I went here last night (Thursday) with my sister and cousin. Â As we came in it was a little unclear if we should wait to be seated or seat ourselves. Â We sat ourselves and picked a table somewhat near the entrance. Â This was a mistake as a gust of cold air came through each time someone entered. Â (Our bad).
Our waitress wasn't very good. Â She came over 3-4 times and asked if we were ready to order while we were still obviously looking at our menus. Â I ordered the Pub Fries with Curry Sauce as an appetizer and the Beef Stew as my main course.
When our food arrived my sister and cousin got their entrees and I only got my fries. Â Firstly, I was expecting my fries as an appetizer, but no big deal. Â Then I asked about my beef stew and the waitress actually began to argue with me, stating that I had never ordered it! Â (I remember pointing at the menu and asking for the stew) She said "Well I'll have to place another order now," and stared at me. Â I said "Ok, then place it." Â I was really trying to be nice, but she was so incredibly rude. Â
It took a long time before I received my stew and my sister and cousin were just about finished. Â In my experience when the waitstaff makes a mistake, your entree should arrive quickly. Â In addition, stew is typically made ahead of time so it shouldn't take long to serve. Â
My cousin was still working on her plate when our waitress picked it up. Â She must have seen my cousin's face because she said "oh, are you finished?" Â and gave the plate back.
As for the food itself, it was ok. Â The fries were cooked perfectly, but my curry sauce wasn't worth the extra $2 they charge you for it. Â (The curry sauce at Solas on Boylston is amazing!) Â The beef stew was also just ok. Â The meat was a bit tough and the stew itself was thin. Â IMO the beef stew at Au Bon Pain is better.
The Thirsty Scholar used to be one of the best bars around. Â Laid-back atmosphere with a nice dark-wood Irish pub vibe, great beer selection and an amazing jukebox full of Britpop and Irish rock. Â The food was always ok at best, but it was never the draw.
The beer selection is still decent, but you see less of the unusual brews they used to offer. Â The jukebox was converted over to one of those internet ones years ago, and as a result there's always some idiot playing Bon Jovi or Jimmy Buffett whereas in the past your choices were limited to a bunch of cool British bands or a shitload of U2 and Van Morrison.
Over the years, the Scholar has been transformed into a local sports bar, full of huge TV's playing sporting events nobody cares about. Â Let's all go down to the pub and watch some.... poker? Â A couple of TV's are fine, but a place like this that's obviously been fashioned to resemble a semi-authentic Irish bar (complete with a snug) is done a dis-service when you make it look like the Joshua Tree. Â
Apparently the scholars are still thirsty, but thanks to this bar, the yah-dudes of the neighborhood have had their thirst quenched.
The Thirsty has long been a go to for group sessions of sports watching for obvious reasons (it doesn't suck, beers are cheap-ish, there's food, and a ton of televisions), so we chose it as the congregation point for opening night against the Yankees.
What a disappointment. Â Thirsty Scholar, I am ashamed of you!
Our waitress was nice enough but completely unsuited for her job (didn't know the price of the beer or what NESN was, etc.). Â Additionally, they had the game on but wouldn't turn on the sound because trivia was going on. Â So we were treated to a yelling MC and channel changes. Â Needless to say, we booked it for an alternate location.
I should have checked their site and I usually like the Thirsty so I don't to rag on them too hard but really? Â It's opening day against the Yankees and you're a sports bar. Â Come on.
Everything closes pretty early on weekdays in Cambridge. Bars usually close around 1-2am. After that, you won't find liquor stores or bars that stay open. I initially wanted to go to People's Republik - but of course, it was closed. After wandering around a bit, asking random people and stores where we might find any place that's open.. we found ourselves at the Thirsty Scholar.
They were 20 minutes away from closing, but my friend talked to the bartender and explained that 1.) We had just been through a traumatizing experience - we were held up at the subway station waiting for firefighters and an ambulance in Cambridge when a girl jumped down onto the tracks.. (It was really quite awful.) 2.) I was visiting from Indonesia and she from Oklahoma City, and we only had one night in Cambridge. (This was before I moved to the US.)
The bartender was STELLAR. He allowed us to stay an hour after closing while he cleaned up the bar.. and I found myself in the middle of a fascinating conversation with some of the most brilliant-minded individuals I'd met in a while.
The drinks were cheap and plenty, the crowd fun, and the bartender very sweet.
Glad I ended up at Thirsty Scholar!
It's such a beautiful space... it's a real shame the atmosphere is, well... weird. The beer selection is fine, the food is tasty and a very good value.
Since I live down the street from the place, I've spent quite a few beers thinking about what makes this place less good than so many other places around.
First, I'd have to say it's the Music. A nice looking pub like this one should be a moody, dimly lit, relaxing place to be. They're 80% there, but the contrast of the "Ultra Light Bright Shiny Happy Pop Fun Time" channel on Sirius is not only misplaced, it's irritating. It makes the environment seem really cheap. I'm not saying it's got to be all Tom Waits, all the time in there, but maybe some age appropriate (mid 20s to 40s) rock music? Maybe even some pogues thrown in there? *You* might start dancing when the theme to Friends comes on, but most of the bar going public in this area just changes the channel.
If there's not a sporting event on, I think the TVs should be off. Nothing makes a place seem cheaper than a s|-|!tload of flat screen TVs doing little more than providing light... and that repeating little ad reel is pretty lame. We do not need to watch advertisements about your bar while we're sitting in you're bar. We know where we are.
Cool it on the beer promo shwag. There's a big difference between having a good relationship with your beer vendors and letting them be secondary interior decorators.
Overall, what they've got is a space that could be one of the best cozy laid back pubs in our area, and it seems like they're trying to give it the aesthetic of Hurricane O'Reilly's. Know your potential audience guys. On sleepy beacon street in this neighborhood, you're simply not going to get the kind of crowd to support that.
Trivia is back. I recently went here for a trivia night and was impressed with the turnout. They had stopped trivia nights from what I hear due to lack of turn out and not enough money coming in from it. I'm glad they changed their minds.
This place is a solid hangout with good food and decent prices. I recommend it.
I expected to see some wise saying ingrained on the walls. But it was so dark, that I could not really see anything. But there appeared a little bulb, next to the most important thing.
The beer menu !!! Pretty good selection. Have to make sure that I mention about the Chips & Curry at this place. i tried to pause between my bites, but it felt so damn good that I kept taking frequent bites to the point that I started getting hiccups. Definitely not a wise decision amongst the scholarly surroundings. Huge portions of food too. The Fish in Fish & Chips was an absolute monster. Plus they have a number of flat screens which makes for interesting game nights with cheap food.
It's not a bad place to grab a bite after work or an occasional Sunday brunch. Their Shepard's Pie is pretty awesome. It's kind of awesome that they even serve it in fact. I can't think of anyone else that does. All of the food is decent there but that's the real standout for me.
I don't usually have much use for the nightlife there. I'm not into watching ESPN, Karaoke or Trivia nights but if that's your thing, hey, they do that stuff there.
The beer selection had some nice brews, like an anchor steamer.
Where they fell through for me was in my burger. I asked for medium-rare, and got a burger that was pink inside, but charred to the point of burnt outside. Likewise, the dressing on my salad turned out to be a liberal dose of balsamic vinegar. So liberal that after polishing the greens, I had a nice poodle of vinegar left behind, plus my lips hurt.
Not a bad neighborhood pub, but there's definitely better in the Irish/Sports bar category.
I feel a tiny pang of nostalgia every time I pass this place, as it reminds me it was the first bar I went to after sealing the deal on my Inman Square digs, and carries that "sweet, there are bars in my neighborhood" excitement.
Hey, moving to the city from the 'burbs was an exciting deal, okay?
Not bad to grab a quick beer or cocktail, and definitely worthy of a stop on the Inman pub crawl, but go to start your night(so it gets better) or at the end(so you don't remember if it was bad).
I had the corned beef hash and eggs for the first time this weekend... if I wanted Hormel hash from the can, I would've stayed home and made it my damn self.
I am, however, giving this place one more star if only because hanging out in the nook (when you can get it) is awesome. So is the Seattle Stout (Guinness with Starbucks liqueur added in). So are their burgers and everything else about this place. Just never order the corned beef hash. Ever.
As long as I stick to the Irish breakfast on Sundays, we're golden.
I dig the Scholar.
1) This bar is the only place where I've asked for Sex with Aliens (Bacardi Limon, Midori, sour mix and sprite typically given by me as a birthday shot) without receiving weird looks or commentary in return. Â
2) Burgers are pretty solid, though my medium burger did not have a hint of pink in it. Â Lack of pinkness was forgiven because of being starving and grateful for a kitchen that was open at 11p.m. Â
3) They also serve yards of beer in crazy-looking dispensers. Â I have not tried this type of beverage dispensing method, but imagine that it is more efficient than the yards of beer which have to sit on the ground.
Passing by a drunk and napping homeless dude at 1:00 pm on a sunny Sunday afternoon just makes me hungry. Hey, let's go someplace we haven't been and get fat on steak and eggs and Irish breakfast. Pass some more hobos. Why are there so many hobos? Keep walking. Get hungrier. Ah, right - I'm heading into the depths of Inman Square. Mmmmm smell that meth lab cooking away!
What's that sign on the horizon? Finally, the Thirsty Scholar. Large windows open, pink hatted Red Sox ladies lazily sticking their feet out the window, seemingly well fed people becoming one with their surroundings. Let us in! And they did.
The place is pretty great on the inside, dank, hard wood, lots of musty, smiling local representatives and just enough diners to make me feel like I didn't fuck up by coming here. I noticed a small interrogation booth, wait, private dining room that looks like it would be fun for a small group, remind me to come back with sideshow midget freak friends. And then a server showed up, she sort of sucked, but brought up steaming plates of steak tips, over medium eggs, Irish bread, strange 'pudding' sausage things and pints for some and caffeine for others. The steak was sort of tasting like whatever was on the grill last night, but was fresh and actually cooked to order. The plates of Irish grub went empty fast. Good enough.
So leave the joint, fat and happy, walk past them bums again (they're still asleep) and get the hell out of Cambridge - that's enough Sunday for me.
I've never been here when it's been busy, so this Friday night let me see The Thirsty Scholar in a whole new light. We were able to snag a four top, but got there after table service was discontinued for the evening. Hubby went to the bar to order drinks, but the male bar tenders were pretty behind serving the hotties, so hubby was over-looked. I heaved my huge pregnant belly up and in between two gentlemen at the bar, hid the belly, and got the bartender's attention immediately.
I ordered 3 beers and a sprite with cranberry, and on of the guys on the stools says, "Sprite and cranberry? What's up with that?" so I started to laugh and giggle, then turned and exposed my giant bump. It was awesome. He didn't want any part of that! I think the exact quote was, "You're like, 6 and a half months pregnant, right? My wife looked like that when she was 6 and a half months pregnant." I laughed all the way back to the table, told my party, and we all had a huge giggle.
Then later, some random dude was eyeballin' me (belly concealed under table top), and he walked over and asked where I worked because he "knew me". Hubby was in the bathroom, so being the opportunist I am, I hid my belly and flirted and smiled, tra la la. The giant reveal was much like the reveals on Extreme Home Makeover or The Swan (remember that freaky plastic surgery show?), and once again I freaked an innocent man out. I'm going back next weekend, but I'm gonna wear a Hannah Montana wig so those two guys don't recognize me.
The Thirsty Scholar is great for pregnant chicks needing self esteem boosts. Â Plus, the little baby liked the noise, and was flipping around with the intelligent conversations and smarmy tunes. Ten points to me for already taking my baby to a bar.
A few years ago, I lived near the Thirsty Scholar. I'd go in for a bite to eat or to play dominoes a few times a month. They had a big screen that they pulled down for soccer matches and a TV or two above the bar. Now it looks like frickin' 1984 with all the telescreens hanging every which way. Â
Did you ever see that X-files episode where all the electronic screens keep flashing subliminal messages saying, KILL HIM and MURDER TIME and THE GUN IS OVER THERE IN THAT SCHOOL BUS? Â Well, it feels like that at the Scholar these days. Â I was just there with a bunch of non-sports-fans and we all found ourselves talking about the 1990 Miami Dolphins because a Dolphins player was on the screen, and we didn't figure it out for a few minutes. Just THINK what could happen if the wrong hands took over...
Me: I'll have the corn beef and hash with scrambled eggs.
Deepa: I'll have two eggs and (something else I forgot..lol.. Sorry Deepa!)
Billie: I'll have corn beef and hash with eggs over easy.
Ligaya: I'll have corn beef and hash with eggs over medium.
Doris: I'll have corn beef and hash with eggs over hard.
Then there was a scramble for juices and mimosas and tea.
The food here was great. The corn beef totally hit the spot on the cold Sunday we went for Book Club. There weren't many people when we got there so it was easy to find a table for the group. Definitely a classic pub atmosphere. We all ordered off the brunch menu and the food came quickly. Our waitress was awesome. We threw a lot of "do you think you could"s at her and she handled them with ease. Minus a star because Ligaya got more hash than me. heh.. FYI, during the spring/summer they open the windows. This is a good basic brunch place if you actually want  to hear the other person talk while eating. We were there from 12 to about 2(?).. and it still wasn't very crowded when we left. It's also one of the cheaper brunches I've had.
Doris was right about the small bathroom. Yeesh.. I don't see more than one person fitting in there at a time. I was afraid I wacked someone!
The location is convenient for me. The 83 bus stops pretty dang close to the pub. It's located just outside Inman Square and so it's a bit of a walk from Central, Harvard, and Porter. I actually walked from Davis in less than 40 minutes. Hmm.. brisk winter air! I'll definitely be back for din din sometime. Check back soon. ;)
I walked in and immediately felt like I was back in Norwich, England at a charmingly grimy local pub.
Yeah, there's sports & bad tunes (Christmas music! haha) & greasy foods...all of which make up the classic pub I remember from being abroad. I've missed it immensely and am so glad to find a replacement.
The gin & tonics were spot on...and decently priced at $5.75 (w/ Tanqueray). They had drink specials, which is always great....and we sat and hung out at our table for a looooooong time...another great thing about a traditional pub. I hate standing at the bar. I want to be able to sit & chat & all of that good stuff you do when it's cold outside and you want to warm yourself up with some tasty booze.
I'll certainly be back. It's a grand hangout spot and slightly fills the void I feel from missing the pubs in Norwich.
Sunday, Bloody Sunday. Yeah, I know the song is about a massacre, but somehow for me I always makes me think about how shit Sunday evenings are. Work tomorrow. Nothing good on the telly. Hangover(s) still lurking. Guilty conscious from weekend festivities...
Well, when I first got to Boston the Thirsty Scholar came to my rescue and  took me away from Bono's dulcet tones. Sunday night at the Scholar - quiz night. So the love affair began. Religiously a number above one and below 7 of us would turn up here each Sunday and pit our wits against the Stump!-meister and clans of Harvard and MIT brainboxes who cheer "Science!" upon the mere mention of that fair discipline. We even won one week. It was fun, relaxed, friendly and put some well-needed routine into that end of the week malaise. Heck, I always even had the same thing - The Scholar Burger and Guinness. Often it was my first meal of the day at 9pm. Nothing tastes better.
But then the affair started going wayward. Every few weeks, we started to be greeted with "Sorry - Pats game tonight, no quiz" (made me hate the Pats) and this then escalated to "Sorry - private function" and finally the last straw "No quiz til after the superbowl". Where was the love? And where had the Scholar Burger gone? This is not my beautiful menu, this is not my beautiful menu!
So now I'm back to Sunday, Bloody Sunday. I loved ye Thirsty Scholar. Will you returneth the quiz and Scholar Burger back to it's September 2006 best? Please...
OK, this is it, my third and FINAL review of this place. Â Thirsty Scholar, why do you toy with me so ruthlessly? Â I never gave up on you, through spotty service and that brief (but horrifying) fling you had with a terrible chef and new menu. Â I forgave your lack of interesting beer and oft vinegary wine because you made up for it with 10 billion boring taps, decent food, and proximity to my place. Â No more though, that's it, I'm cutting you out of my life. Â
We returned when we heard that the terrible chef had left and the menu was back to normal. Â Boyfriend had the tuna melt which was once again on the menu and decent, I had an OK salad. Â Went back again about 6 days later and the tuna melt had shrunk from 6 inch sub roll to 2 slices of wonder bread! Â The server we like to call "ambiguously accented waitress" assured us it was the same size as the sandwich ordered less than a week before, it just looked a whoooole lot smaller. Â My salad, dressing on side please, was a puddle of vinaigrette with some spinach thrown on top. Â I promptly gave it back to the waitress...as soon as she returned 15 minutes later. Â
2nd star for many taps and because, like it or not, I'll probably end up back here late night - for drinks only.
Eh. Â It is what it is. Â There's plenty of bars like it all over this town, so I'm quite certain I'd never go here if I didn't live in the neighborhood. Â As it is, it's a perfectly fine place to get pub grub, drink some cheap imitation Guinness, and watch a ballgame. Â Just be forewarned that their trivia night is HORRENDOUS. Â They'll let you have six people to a team, but only give you five free drinks if you come in second. Â What kind of crap is that?
Anyhow, on the plus side they will live up to their name and accomodate you if you are, in fact, a thirsty scholar. Â Last summer it was 90 degrees and I had no air conditioner, so I just popped in here and started studying. Â They seemed perfectly happy to have visitors at 3 in the afternoon, though I wouldn't recommend trying to get any work done there after the dinner hours kick in.
On the minus side, they recently redid their menu and got rid of my favorite item: the chicken finger platter. Â What kind of pub doesn't have a chicken finger platter, I ask you? Â Bunch of heathens.
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