Amid the wave of British restaurants across New York City, Dean’s stands out in Hudson Square near Soho, with perfectly poured Guinness pints and accessible food. Chef Jess Shadbolt and beverage director Annie Shi, the team behind next-door King, clearly know what they’re doing here. Shadbolt is spotlighting British pub fare by way of Shadbolt’s hometown English coastal seaside town, Aldeburgh: She named it after her favorite local fisherman, Dean Fryer. There are sweet touches, from the daily handwritten paper menus to the upright kegs outside for alfresco drinks.
As someone who doesn’t like Guinness (sorry, sorry), the beer and oyster combo is perfect — the richness of the Irish stout chased by the salinity of the bivalve made for an adventurous one-two hit. I followed that with a gin martini garnished with a lovely Stilton cheese-stuffed olive ($25). I enjoyed the English wines on the list — I got a glass of the bright Hambledon Classic Cuvée 2019 ($32). Another nice personal flourish: When a bottle sells out, they stamp the menu with “DRUNK” on top of the item.
Yes, there can be lines for the mostly-walk-in, 38-seat space, but not always. If need be, place your name on the list and walk over to Milady’s to kill some time. Likewise, there are a few Resy reservations available if you can grab ‘em. For this visit, we tried to walk in for dinner on a nice Saturday evening, and the wait wasn’t bad at all: 15 minutes for a table for two at around 6 p.m.
Guinness fans should compete in the restaurant’s 500 beer challenge, where participants can work their way through drinking 500 full pints of the beer — not all at once!! — all of which is tracked on a leaderboard on the mirror behind the bar. Those who eventually complete the challenge will get their own engraved pint mug.