Photograph by Katherine Bish
All restaurants start with a bang, but few can maintain the intensity. Most new places are dismissed like a newly released movie—quickly and often without reason. The Scottish Arms is an anomaly: After opening unceremoniously nearly three years ago, it has improved quietly and steadily, ratcheting from a cult pub to a bona fide gastropub. Along with the be-kilted owner, Alistair Nisbet, a major factor in the ascent has been the addition of an Irishman, chef Brendan Noonan, who spoke with St. Louis Magazine about both the Arms and their second venture, the one with the peculiar name. The Shaved Duck opened in March, in what was formerly Pestalozzi Place.
Let’s start with that name. I see why you’d back off something like “The Plucked Duck,” but what led you to “shaved”? We discussed pages of names, but The Shaved Duck kept creeping back. We couldn’t seem to forget it, so we figured the customer wouldn’t either.
I keep envisioning a maniacal barber with a straight razor. That was actually a logo design we ultimately rejected—a duck in a barber’s chair! The name actually refers to the carving method—nothing more sinister. The menu will have 20 items, five of which will involve duck.
Will The Duck be at all similar to The Arms? The Duck will be geared to multicourse, small-plate dining, rather than the Arms’ entrée-oriented menu. I hate to call it tapas—that’s become a culinary curse word—but it is an inexpensive and fantastic way to eat. I want to cap my steak at $17. If prices must go up, I will take it in another direction and carve that piece of meat tableside—for two people.
Did you ever think St. Louis would warm up to Scottish food? If it’s intimidating or off-putting, it shouldn’t be. British and Scottish food is as close to Midwest comfort food as you can get. “Cock-a-leekie Pie” is just a chicken pot pie, and “Mince and Tatties” is meat and potatoes. “Peat Smoked Hen” is just barbecue a little different way.
And then there’s … haggis. The more diners investigate it, the less interested they become. It’s a liver-based dish, especially in this country. If you like liver at all, you’ll like our haggis. We blend the milder livers, like calves’ and yearling, and omit some of the other traditional organ meats, most of which are not even available in the United States.
Were you a Scotch drinker before The Arms? I was. I spent the last three nights before I got married in the Arms drinking Scotch with friends and family.
I believe they call that “liquid courage.” My father was the first to take me to the Arms. I liked the multigenerational atmosphere—it’s still there today. That’s one of the reasons it’s successful.
What are the others? When it’s cold or rainy, people gravitate to a cozy pub. When it’s warm, the patio is full. And we’ve managed to attract the traditional diner as well as the experimental one. We have a couple who dines here frequently. The woman tries something different every single time, and her husband gets a burger—every single time.
Have you started looking for your next project yet? We have not. But when we do, we have a page full of names.
