The Thirsty Scholar — Restaurant in London

🚇 Great Portland Street 🍺 £6.00 Wolfpack Pilsner

A Discreet Drinker in a Unique Setting.

The Thirsty Scholar is nestled discreetly inside the International Students House at 1 Park Crescent in Marylebone. The nearest Tube is Great Portland Street which is just around the corner.

Work on Park Crescent started in 1806, but in the difficult economic conditions of the Napoleonic Wars, the builder Charles Mayor went bankrupt after six houses had been built. The crescent was completed in 1821.

The is a spacious one bar pub/bar that has a bright modern interior. The bar area is set out in an ‘L’ shape with beautiful high arched windows that flood the place with light. The furniture is sleek and cafe style with a couple sofas thrown in for a bit of comfort. The servery follows the line of the bar and has a granite counter. There are a few screens dotted around including a projector screen. At the rear is a courtyard beer garden with benches and parasols.

The beer line up was all keg and had a good mix of mainstream and London craft options. I decided on a pint of @wolfpacklager from up the road in Queens Park. My pint was excellent, price point was average. The food menu consists of Pizza, wraps, burgers and paninis, a 12” Margherita pizza costs £8.60.

I arrived around 7.30pm on a Friday evening in September. The main bar area was fairy quiet, the beer garden was busy with a mixture of punters and had a relaxed atmosphere. The service was good, the member of staff that served me was welcoming and courteous.

I only found out about @thirstyscholarlondon when I walked past one day and noticed it was packed to the rafters with Newcastle fans. This place is open to the public as well as catering for the students who live in the building. My visit was a pleasant experience, the beer was on point, the atmosphere was chilled and the setting unique. Maybe not one for the traditionalist but worth a look all the same.

ℹ️ Info correct on...

A few things I wanted from the menu were not available, even though there were only a few options to begin with. Eventually, since I was on the go, I decided to try a matcha latte and the panini with mozzarella, tomato, and pesto. The matcha wasn't properly dissolved, so every time I took a sip, I also ate unpleasant lumps of matcha. But the worst part and the reason I'm writing this review was the panini. Something in there must have been rotten and had a foul acetone smell. Despite that, I decided to try some since I'd paid for it, but it was horrible, so I threw it in the bin. A couple of bites were enough to make my stomach hurt... This is...

The draft beer selection is very limited but the service from the bar staff is good. The only negative aspect I had was that I was told they were closing with (literally) less than a minute warning. My drink was still about half full. I would have appreciated an earlier heads up, as having to pack and leave in less than a minute was too rushed and uncomfortable.

The hours of operation are not listed anywhere. It just says they operate ‘until late.’ I’d suggest posting the hours of operation for the day somewhere that is visible to customers to avoid situations like the one I...