Dean’s Brings a No-Reservations British Seafood Pub to SoHo

Dean’s will open in SoHo with no reservations and a stargazy pie topped with fish heads.

The 38-seat British seafood pub debuts Tuesday, March 31, at 213 Sixth Avenue, near King Street. Chef Jess Shadbolt and beverage director Annie Shi lead the project.

The pair built their reputations at King and Jupiter, and they are now betting that a smaller, walk-in-first room can pull steady crowds. Dean’s will run from 4 p.m. to midnight, Tuesdays through Saturdays.

When does dean’s open in SoHo, and where is it?

Dean’s sits on Sixth Avenue at a corner Shadbolt says has felt like home since the King team opened next door. “It feels really right because that corner’s home for us,” Shadbolt says.

The pub’s namesake is Dean Fryer, a dayboat fisherman from Aldeburgh in Suffolk, where Shadbolt is from. Shi says most seats will be saved for walk-ins, including banquettes, bar stools, counter seats, and standing room.

Shi calls standing room “vertical drinking,” and says it is “a very big part of pub culture.” The setup aims to keep the place moving even when tables fill.

Do you need reservations at dean’s?

Dean’s will not take reservations, leaning into a pub model that rewards drop-ins. “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.”

Small plates will start at $8, and wines by the glass will start at $14. The team wants the pub to work alongside King, which remains a more formal, full-service dining room.

In a neighborhood where diners often plan meals days ahead, Dean’s is marketing spontaneity. That pitch lands in SoHo as the area also debates what kind of nightlife it wants, from dining rooms to live music and culture events.

For a sense of how downtown venues program their nights, the five-night lineup for Downtown NYC JazzFest offers one snapshot of the crowd patterns Dean’s hopes to catch.

What is on the menu at dean’s, including stargazy pie?

Shadbolt and head chef Angeles Chavarria, who worked at King since 2018, built a seafood-leaning menu anchored by stargazy pie. The Cornish baked fish dish uses mackerel and hake instead of pilchards, which are not available here.

The dish arrives with fish heads peeking out of the crust, a deliberate centerpiece meant to feel hearty and direct. For guests who want a safer entry point, Dean’s will also serve beer-battered fish and chips with triple-cooked fries, tartare sauce, and optional mushy peas.

Snacks include pork scratchings with a quince and apple orchard jelly. Shadbolt says his favorite plate is boiled ham with mashed potatoes and a fava bean-parsley sauce.

Pastry chef Fiona Thomas handles desserts that range from heavy to light. The sticky steamed ginger pudding is “delicious, nostalgic, and slightly, and I mean this in the best way, should remind you of a school meal,” Shadbolt says.

At the end of the meal, brandy snaps play the closer. Shadbolt calls them “the sweet kiss,” and describes them as “British cannoli,” filled with boozy cream and chocolate cremeux.

What are dean’s drinks like, from guinness to english wine?

Beer will do much of the work, starting with 20-ounce Guinness draft pints. Guinness also shows up in cocktails like a Black Velvet mixed with sparkling wine, plus Guinness bread with butter and Marmite.

Shi oversees a 100-bottle wine list that emphasizes English wineries while staying broad across Europe. “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.

Shi points to Domaine Hugo, a biodynamic sparkling wine from Wiltshire. “The wines are just really pure and vibrant; they remind me of Champagne a decade ago,” she says.

For more context on English wine rules and labeling, the UK government’s overview of wine labelling lays out the terms producers can use on bottles.

Laurel Delany, the former head bartender at King, moved to Dean’s and uses kitchen ingredients in cocktails. One drink riffs on Eton mess with strawberry syrup, and other recipes use carrots and lemon peels.

A Navy Strength Plymouth gin martini will come with olives stuffed with Stilton cheese. The bar also uses tap spillover, turning it into a syrup for drinks.

What does the space look like, and what is the 500-pint game?

Interior designer Jason Chen built a bright room with Douglas fir wood-paneled walls, terracotta-tiled floors, and pewter accents. The details include candlesticks and table tankards used to hold utensils.

Shi says the room includes vintage furniture to add “a little patina into it.” She says pubs “should feel a little bit loved and worn-in, although ours will start more shiny and new.”

An open kitchen centers on an Aga British enamel stove that Shadbolt says is dear to him. The stove will be visible from the street through Dutch doors.

To push repeat visits, the pub will run a long-term drinking game tied to volume. Guests can try to drink 500 pints over many visits, tracked on a visible leaderboard.

Winners get an engraved pewter tankard that stays with them. The contest also gives staff a reason to learn names, and it gives regulars a goal beyond a single night out.

Dean’s opens March 31, and the team will start pouring at 4 p.m.