Settlers Arms Inn

7 Recommended

Food  6      Drinks  9      Ambience  10      Service  4      Value  6     

A beautiful little old pub in a tiny village. Built in 1836 and surrounded with beautiful trees and scenery. A nice place to relax for the afternoon.

The food is average pub grub and very expensive. However, when you consider where this place is and how old the buildings are, you can imagine it must cost a fortune to maintain and run it. Prices are around $20-30.

The service has to be experienced to be believed. Ordering food or drinks at the bar is truly incredibly slow. Yes it's in the country and 'cityslickers' are used to faster service, but this is beyond the country/city divide. Nothing like you will every experience again. Despite this, the lady is very friendly and most people queuing seemed relaxed about waiting half an hour to order.

There is also a general store around the corner if you want an ice cream and don't want to queue again.

Also, when you get to Wisemans Ferry, take the ferry on the road towards Gosford, as there are twin ferries meaning less queues and shorter waiting times. You just turn left to St Albans, when you get to the other side (it is part gravel). The other single ferry which is signposted for St Albans is slow and traffic queues up (we waited almost an hour today).

Apr 07, 2012 

8.8 Highly Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  10      Service  8      Value  10     

When you travel out to St Albans NSW on the weekend, take into consideration that you are not in Sydney anymore. Its time to slow down, and enjoy the serenity this pub has to offer.

The food is amazing, if you’re impatient I suggest you pack your own picnic lunch! Regardless, the home baked meat pies are amazing, delicious! The steak could do with some improvements. I don’t mind paying extra for Scotch or Rump!

The service will be what it is, but that’s why you have to chill out and enjoy the country atmosphere, the cost is fine considering the distance it is from most other amenities, if the Inn has to pay for transporting the food out to St Albans, I’m more than happy to pay for this wonderful service in the lovely town of St Albans!

Jan 11, 2012 

5.2 Average

Food  3      Drinks  8      Ambience  8      Service  3      Value  4     

We love this pub for sunday drinks in the sunshine. They have some decent live music, the inside is packed full of interesting stuff - a real old pub without flashing pokies in your face and blaring music.

However, the food I had was pretty woeful... the ploughman's lunch is nothing like what is should be - it was a sad anitpasto plate at best, and seriously overpriced - no salad, crusty bread, fresh meats, pickles... The rest of my party said theirs was ok, but could have been warmer - the wait was pretty long, and my plate came out much later than the others. Everyone considered our food a bit overpriced for what it was.

The garden furniture is pretty shoddy too, although there is plenty of space for kids to run around without getting in your way, and it wasn't overcrowded when we went. Some live music included, and it's really nice if you don't mind perching on planks, which we didn't.

The wait at the bar can be pretty long, but if you just have a bit of patience, chill out and soak up the atmosphere it's not bad. That being said, I'd still recommend this pub for the beer and a lazy afternoon - I just wouldn't recommend the food.

Nov 28, 2011 

6.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  6      Ambience  8      Service  5      Value  7     

What a great location. A beautiful old pub with a lovely garden. They really need to put a little work into it however. The outdoor tables in the garden could do with a little sprucing up.

The food was excellent with a great smoked trout salad for me. The duck salad looked great as did the haloumi.

It was understaffed and there was quite a big queue for drinks and food. The food took some time to come out and as our group ordered one after the other, it came out exactly that way. I think they need someone organising the kitchen. Definitely still worth a visit however.

Sep 19, 2011 

7.8 Recommended

Food  8      Drinks  8      Ambience  8      Service  7      Value  8     

Disagree with the negative reviews here. We had a Sunday afternoon (with 12 friends) and overnight at the Inn (including dinner and breakfast) and we all thought the food was excellent. And the Real Ale (from real keg) was spot on. Chill out people. This is a small pub in a small town and it gets inundated on the weekends with people from Sydney with some kind of attitude. Take it easy, grab a beverage, listen to the tunes and you'll have a top day. We loved it!

Aug 29, 2011 

4.8 Average

Food  8      Drinks  6      Ambience  7      Service  1      Value  2     

We used to go to the Settlers about eight years ago and were devastated to go today and find that many of the negative reviews were spot on. The walk past the toilets (to go to and from the bar) was nauseating. It took twenty-five minutes to line up for food and if you just wanted a glass of water or a beer, get in the same line. What a beautiful venue, it is obviously just completely understaffed.

I would love to take a big party of people up there for an afternoon but there's no way I'd risk it. Party of three tables next to us was not pleased at the wait for food or the lack of a kids menu. Prepare to spend $26 on fish and chips for the kiddies! (ps. my two kids weren't allowed to line up in the bar area with their father (fair enough, rules are rules), but dogs were free to come in and sniff and lick whatever they liked - including him!).

May 15, 2011 

8.2 Recommended

Food  7      Drinks  8      Ambience  9      Service  9      Value  8     

Hadn't been for ages. Heart sank when I read existing reviews. Went anyway on Easter Sun not expecting much. Very pleasantly surprised. Food was good, large servings served quickly. Has the buzzer system been abolished? We were given numbers and they found us. Certainly helped that the weather was marvelous but no complaints whatsoever.

An accordian + trumpet band played in the garden, good ambience. Also highly recommend the Settlers Arms Real Ale. Moreish! Wish I could get it closer to home. Admittedly I heard them say the fish & chips had run out soon after we got ours but it was mid-afternoon by then and we were happy and being well fed.

Apr 25, 2011 

2 Not Recommended

Food  3      Drinks  3      Ambience  2      Service  1      Value  1     

We ate here on a Sunday afternoon and were extremely disappointed with the service and prices. We lined up for 20 minutes to order (the staff behind the bar were slower than I have ever seen). The food took so long we ordered coffees to keep warm as none of the fires had been lit, and it took fifteen minutes to make them (you had to wait at the bar).

The food took an hour and twenty minutes to arrive but the buzzer went off at one hour forcing my boyfriend (any many others who had the same problem) to hover by the bar for twenty minutes in case they gave it to anyone else. The food was ok but we ordered bangers and mash and got bangers and chips (they had run out of mash). They had also run out of our first option.

As per the other review on this page we did see a small dog run out of the kitchen. Most upsetting was the attitude of staff. We sat at a table that needed to be cleared, it took some time but when it was finally cleared the waitress would only take the plates and not the glasses ("its not my job to get the glasses") and tables around us were not cleared the entire time we were there. When we enquired about the food and why our buzzer had gone off we simply got a "I don't know" and shrugging of shoulders. Many people around us were also clearly frustrated. We will never, ever go back.

Jun 27, 2010 

1 Not Recommended

Food  1      Drinks  1      Ambience  1      Service  1      Value  1     

After waiting 45 minutes for our food on a quiet Sunday afternoon, we realised why this place is no longer packed like it used to be when we were regulars seven years ago. With only about ten groups scattered around the pub and only some of those ordering food, the wait for food was incredibly long. When we checked, it appeared that each food order had to be completed and delivered before the kitchen even looked at the next order.

The steak sandwiches were raw, the chips were cold and greasy and the salad was mush. We saw dogs wandering in and out of the kitchen. I heard one patron suggest that the staff had worked out a cheap way to feed their dogs, serve uncooked steaks that people wouldn't eat so more scraps for the dogs. The toilets were disgusting.

If I could score it zero or negative, I would, but the lowest score for each category is a one. Prices were what you'd pay in a good Sydney cafe. The place has, literally and metaphorically, gone to the dogs.

Mar 22, 2010