A new British pub, Dean’s, joins a collection of UK-leaning restaurants in New York that showcase excellent British fare. Do you need a reservation? No, because what kind of pub would it be if you did? Instead, it’ll be a casual spot that’s equal parts focused on drinking and dining.
Hitmakers of King and Jupiter, chef Jess Shadbolt and beverage director Annie Shi, will open their no-frills British seafood pub, Dean’s, on Tuesday, March 31, at 213 Sixth Avenue, near King Street, in Soho.
“Dean’s doesn’t demand a lot from you,” Shadbolt says. “The beauty of a pub is that it is unassuming; it’s the backdrop to all of these different moments. That energy echoes New York’s sensibility.” The restaurant’s namesake is Dean Fryer, a dayboat fisherman from Aldeburgh in Suffolk, where Jess is from.
Most of Dean’s 38 seats will be saved for walk-ins, with banquettes, bar stools, counter seats, and even standing room for “vertical drinking,” per Shi, “a very big part of pub culture.”
Jess Shadbolt and Annie Shi at Dean’s. Matt Russell
Shadbolt (a genius when it comes to comfort foods) and Shi (the wine geek) opened King and Jupiter with co-partner Clare de Boer (the vibey scene-setter) in 2016 and 2022, who broke off and now runs Hudson Valley’s Stissing House. Shi also runs Lei, a Chinese American wine bar in Chinatown, which opened in 2025.
Dean’s joins restaurants like April Bloomfield’s Sailor, Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard’s Lord’s, and its older fish and chips sibling, Dame; as well as UK-leaning spots like Hawksmoor, in expanding New York’s British food scene.
Shadbolt and head chef Angeles Chavarria — who had worked at King since 2018 — have assembled a seafood-leaning menu with the crown jewel that is the stargazy pie. The Cornish baked fish dish is made with mackerel and hake instead of the typical pilchards (a type of sardine), because they’re not available here. Its pièce de résistance: fish heads peek out of the crust — it’s a visceral food that’s hearty and comforting.
The oysters at Dean’s. Matt Russell
The Scotch egg and pork scratchings at Dean’s. Matt Russell
The brandy snaps at Dean’s. Matt Russell
But if fish heads are off-putting to you, don’t worry, Dean’s offers other, more familiar dishes to pub fans. Look for beer-battered fish and chips with triple-cooked fries, tartare sauce, and optional mushy peas. Pork scratchings (crispy pork skins) come with a quince and apple orchard jelly. Shadbolt’s favorite is the boiled ham, paired with mashed potatoes and a fava bean-parsley sauce.
No pub is complete without desserts, and the ones at Dean’s span the range of British sweets from stick-to-your-ribs to lighter takes, by pastry chef Fiona Thomas. The sticky steamed ginger pudding is, according to Shadbolt, “delicious, nostalgic, and slightly — and I mean this in the best way — should remind you of a school meal.”
On the other end, the brandy snaps are “the sweet kiss” at the end of a meal. Shadbolt describes them as “British cannoli,” where thickly rolled crispy wafers are filled with a boozy cream and chocolate cremeux.
I predict your first order at Dean’s will be one or two of the perfectly poured 20-ounce Guinness draft pints — requisite for any place calling itself British. The stout makes an appearance in cocktails like the Black Velvet cocktail, mixed with sparkling wine; as well as Guinness bread with butter and Marmite. Even the tap spillover is made into a syrup for drinks.
The sloe gin Sbagliato at Dean’s. Matt Russell
The 100-bottle wine list, under Shi’s purview, extends the pubby thread, with an emphasis on English wineries. “It’s probing deeply all over Europe for things that are just delicious and bringing value to guests in a time when it feels very expensive sometimes,” Shi says. She’s particularly excited about the Dumaine Hugo, a biodynamic sparkling wine from Wiltshire: “The wines are just really pure and vibrant; they remind me of Champagne a decade ago.”
Laurel Delany, who had been the head bartender at King, moved over to Dean’s. Delaney highlights kitchen ingredients in many of her cocktails. Look for a drinkable take on the English dessert Eton mess, with a strawberry syrup, or using up carrots and lemon peels. The Navy Strength Plymouth gin martini features olives stuffed with Stilton cheese.
For the space, interior designer Jason Chen made the small space feel bright, casual, and pub-like, with Douglas fir wood-paneled walls, terracotta-tiled floors, and pewter accents such as candlesticks and table tankards for utensils. There’s some vintage furniture, too, to bring “a little patina into it,” Shi says, “because pubs should feel a little bit loved and worn-in, although ours will start more shiny and new.”
The bar at Dean’s. Matt Russell
The dining room of Dean’s. Matt Russell
The open kitchen features the centerpiece Aga British enamel stove that’s dear to Shadbolt, which will be visible from the street through the Dutch doors.
To cultivate Dean’s regulars, they’ll have a never-ending drinking game. People can enter to see if they can drink 500 pints over the course of many visits, which they will track on a visible leaderboard. Those who win will get their own engraved pewter tankard that they can drink out of.
Dean’s had felt like a long time coming for Shadbolt and Shi: the two had actually always had their eyes on the address (which has gone through many iterations, including an Italian restaurant), ever since they were working on opening King next door. “It feels really right because that corner’s home for us,” Shadbolt says. And the two restaurants work in tandem: King offers a refined full-service dining experience; Dean’s is more casual with small plates starting at $8 and wines by the glass at $14.
Dean’s will be open from 4 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays through Saturdays.