Our office chose the Spotted Dick as our lunching restaurant of choice because our colleague was from the U.K. The only thing this place had in common with British pubs was... nothing, because I have never been to any pubs (British or Canadian) that had a distinct smell of stale bathroom with menus covered in traces of salmonella. The pub itself is located in the basement with a street entrance, so walking down the steps to this dark and windowless pub should have been the first sign that this place was going to be a depressing experience.
I had the fish and chips, and was very obvious both the fish and chips had been cooked from frozen as the batter pretty much separated from the fish as soon as I prodded it. My coworkers all had variations of terrible pub food with either frozen fries or wilted, watery salad.
Maybe I'm just a pub snob, or I don't frequent dive bars enough, but this place definitely left a terrible taste in my mouth (or that could be the over greasy fish and chips I ordered). If I ever want to ruin a friendship or a working relationship with anyone I'll be sure to suggest the Spotted Dick for a bite.