Buchanan Arms Restaurant & Pub

Great food (fish & chips– lightly battered; bangers and mash; guiness onion soup) — friendly service– this place is family owned and everyone there is really nice. Music on weekends and the some of the most colorful «regulars» you’ll ever see in Burbank. The décor is quaint and it even has a store where you can purchase some of the British/​Irish goodies from signs-​refrigerated and canned foods. Love this place!

Oh this place, what can I say, it’s a little slice of home, well more accurately a couple of hundred miles north of home but that’s good enough. I just love the Buchanan arms, yes it’s a Scottish style pub and I’m English but the Scots sure know how to fry stuff. Personal favorites include the Banger bites Which are pieces of British sausage deep fried in batter and the potato fritters which are discs of potato fried in batter. I love the English mans delight main course which is mashed potato with a sausage roll a banger and a piece of battered fried cod. This is my go to place for hot British food and it has an attached shop for British grocery items I love it.

Always enjoy the atmosphere and the food. Been going there since the late 70’s. Now they have bands, all types rock, country and yes bagpipes too. I give it and the staff a 10. I’m not a brit, but feel like one when I am there

My husband is a true Scot and we could not have enjoyed our selves more when we visited the arms!
The food was awesome as well as the music and service.
We will be back for sure

This place rocks. The crowd is great. I’d definitely come back just for the music and dancing.
The bartender’s polite. It’s peaceful. I came on a good night, and I always come back on a good night.

This is a pub/​restaurant that is family owned and run. The service has always been friendly and the atmosphere when they get a fair few in is very good. I have been going in here for over 25 years and little has changed in that time as far as that goes.
That said, this business needs a good slap in the arse. I’m not an expert in either décor or menu creation, just a patron, so from a respectful customer’s point of view EVERYTHING needs a fresh new or updated look, top to bottom. Same old, same old while riding your reputation will just not cut it in the restaurant business IF you want to survive. People are spoiled for choice and will go elsewhere.
I only say IF because the replies by the management to the reviews below are bemusing and are nothing short of reckless.
Please, please upgrade and we’ll be back!
P. S. dirty cooks smoking out the back is just about as off putting as it gets.

Great service! I highly recommend the pulled pork, mashed potatoes, and fish and chips!

Still amazing fish and chips. Apple crumble. Great beer. All reasonable priced and large portions.

Rude staff… No.
Slow service… No.
Small portions… No.
Overpriced food… No.
I found myself in Burbank on an evening stroll at the Hobby Lobby on Victory Blvd. I only went because it was around dinner time and I knew I would get a beer and food out of the excursion. The place is like a craft Costco. Anyway, I’d bookmarked Buchanan long ago and I was glad we were both in the mood for fish & chips. Loved the place and I wouldn’t hesitate to go back.
Saturday night. The place was busy. Unbeknownst to us, there was a live band. Normally, all the fixings for a dining disaster. Started with the zucchini strips. Fresh cut, dipped, and fluffily fried in a not-​so-​greasy batter. Delicious. Split the fish & chips. Two huge pieces of fish that were again fried perfectly in the aforementioned fluffy, not-​too-​greasy batter. Standard steak fries and peas also accompanied the dish. What was not standard was the soup that was included in the entrée. Guinness beer onion soup. Next time, I’ll order a bucket. So good. All of the food came out quickly considering the busy night. The staff was awesome, friendly, and attentive. She ordered a 20 oz. Firestone 805. So not British. I got a Smithwicks. Not British but Irish, but much more meal appropriate, I think.
The crowd was a bit older. Definitely not a hipster spot but any foodie would appreciate! Also, please read all negative reviews. Not for their validity, but for the owner’s responses. Classic.

Great friendly local bar. Place has that ‘Cheers’ feel due to their staff. Beer is a bit limited, but they still have a solid list. Also they have food so you have something to grub on.

I feel terrible saying this about a British pub, but this place has the best fish tacos in Burbank. Their bread pudding is great too. Super friendly staff is always a pleasure. Live music is fun too, though I’m not sure what nights of the week it is. Go check it out. It’s a lot of fun. :)

Went here a coupe years ago for a casual lunch. First of all, when you enter, it’s so dark you can barely see anything. Secondly all of the waiters were so so rude I hated them. That wouldn’t even listen. I ordered the simple pb&j sandwich which took 20 minutes (what?!?). When it finally came, the bread was all hard and crusty (Ewwwwww). We had to leave immediately because it was so bad. Not planning on going here again.

I met up with a friend at the Buchanan Arms before a house party in the area. We picked it for proximity but also because a British pub in Burbank sounded like fun.
We walked in at around 5 on a Saturday afternoon, and the pub was pretty much empty. It was a large space with a comfortable, homey aesthetic that incorporated its British them. There were flags hanging by the bar, coat of arms decorations on the walls. We got a huge booth, and from my perch, I noticed an adjoined space dedicated to British paraphernalia – Keep Calm and Carry On shit, etc. etc. Service was pleasant, prompt and unfussy.
We had a couple pints of Guinness, which seemed right, and shared a plate of thin fries. Enjoyed my Guinness, but the fries were legitimately terrible. They were limp and soggy, but on the wrong side of crispy – they hadn’t been fried properly at all, and had a raw texture that kind of offended my teeth. We ate maybe a quarter of them altogether, with lots of ketchup and mayonnaise, complaining the whole time about how bad they were.
I hope the rest of the food is better than those fries, but I probably won’t be back to find out. I’d use the Buchanan Arms for the occasional drink, though, if I lived nearby – I’m sure, for one thng, that it’s never crowded. My friend noted that there was nothing about the place that suggested we were in Burbank, or even L.A. And while we could just as easily have been in middle America as in the UK, I did enjoy that calm, Anglophile vibe.

This is delightfully authentic. I say that as someone who ate in a lot of pubs in Scotland and Ireland. The mulligatawney is delicious. The mash is exactly the consistency it is in the british isles, and the shepard’s pie was amazing. AND, they have sticky toffee pudding. It’s not perfect sticky toffee pudding but you really can’t complain about it.
Other people have talked about the dark atmosphere and classic rock. I can tell you, that’s the same thing you find in Scotland too. If you’re looking for celtic music, this is not your place. If you’re a british expatriate looking for a taste of home, this is a winner for you.
We’ll be going back, again and again.

This place is great. We have been a few times and the service is great. The food is always yummy and it is so clean. It has the perfect atmosphere of an English pub that you would love to take some time out and enjoy. We will definitely be back.

I have been missing the Fish and Chips in London, so I was anxious to try Buchanan Arms. From the food to excellent customer service to the live band playing UK oldies to the large portions, we were pleased. My wife and I ordered Split Pea Soup, Fish & Chips and Scotchmans Combo. The soup was flavorful with smooth texture and just the right amount of salt. The Fish & Chips were fresh and hit the right spot! The Scotchmans Combo with Scotch Meat Pie, Bridie and Banger (Sausage) with special gravy exceeded our expectations. Meat Pie and Bridie were similar but the flavor of the Bridie stood out with its addictive exotic flavor. We’re ready to go back to try every dish and visit their mini store. Cheers!

Just moved to the Burbank hood and stopped in for a beer here. What a sweet family owned spot.
James served me a beer and a little convo, my bro in law and his gf got some appetizers all was fantastic.
My new favorite place! I’m sure I’ll be there again real soon, support your local businesses it’s what makes a neighborhood.

I was so excited to try out British food and have been wanting to try the one out in my city. My son and I were in the mood for fish and chips and if you want authentic fish and chips, you go here.
When we walked into the restaurant we were greeted with 50’s music and a dark atmosphere. The tables and booths are set in dark wood. There was a bar in the back that looked old and what I would expect a British bar to look like in London.
The menu has items that are exactly what I was looking for. The prices are a little steep, but they give you a lot of food. Before my meal, I got a cup of Guiness french onion soup. It was soooo good. I could have eaten a big bowl of it. My son got the fish chowder and devoured it. He ordered the classic fish and chips and I ordered the Englishmens Dinner. It came with bangers and mash, peas, meat pie and one very large fish (no chips). Wow! It was all so good and filling. I would have loved to have saved some room for dessert, but too full. Next time for sure.
I would give this place a 8 out of 10, but it would have been more authentic feeling if they had been playing old British music in the background and it would be the «icing on the cake» if our waitress had a British accent. LOL. I guess I need to go to London for these two things. LOL!

We love the Buchanan! From the amazing selection of Scotches to the brilliantly tasty fish & chips, The Buchanan is one of our new favorite places to eat and hang at. Such a great selection of both traditional British fare and California favorites that the menu has something for everyone. My wife, kids, mom, and myself give this place a well deserved 5 stars here on Unilocal.
When you come to dine ask for the server, James Horn. He is witty, cheerful, and sincerely charismatic and will make your visit always memorable. :-)

This place is actually pretty awesome. They happened to have a dish I had been wanting to try for some time (Scotch Eggs) as the special the day I went, so I was pretty excited to try it.
It was pretty darn tasty!
Everything was really well priced and I am excited to go back and try a few of their other signature dishes they had listed on their extensive menu, like the meat pie.