Ten years ago, British food in New York City meant specialty shops aimed at ex-pats, shelves stacked with jars of Marmite and boxes of Digestive biscuits and Jaffa Cakes. But in recent years, the city has seen an explosion of British-themed and British-owned establishments proudly waving the Union Jack. Whereas once the very term ‘British cuisine’ was cited as an example of an oxymoron, today it’s a growing and welcome feature of the New York dining scene.
In some cases, the restaurants are growing organically, with ex-pat British chefs like Ed Szymanski, chef and co-owner of Dame and Lord’s, working for local restaurants and then making the jump to opening their own places. For others, opening their own restaurant didn’t mean British cuisine, at least not at first; Jess Shadbolt launched King, a French-Italian concept, in 2016 and Jupiter, an Italian destination, in 2022, before opening her very English pub Dean’s in March.
But British hospitality groups are also finding the New York scene to be more inviting than the one they face back home. In the UK, ‘there’s four or five taxation measures that you can put in place for a business, and all of them have increased in the last three years,’ says Evolv Hospitality CEO Martin Williams. ‘When you’re investing seven figures in a new venue, you have to ask yourself, “where is this most likely to succeed?” I think generally, restaurant groups in the UK are looking at how can we grow, and New York is a very attractive option.’
One such group is Hawksmoor, a self-proclaimed ‘London steakhouse’ that opened in Manhattan’s Flatiron District in 2021. ‘British imports read as current rather than nostalgic,’ says Hawksmoor’s US brand director Evyn Block, ‘London’s own dining scene has real international cultural currency right now.’ She says Hawksmoor’s Sunday roast has become a ‘genuine weekend ritual’ for many regulars. Williams says Welsh rarebit and Scotch eggs have likewise become signature dishes at Queens Yard.
New Yorkers are learning that the challenges of British food may have been of preparation, not essence. ‘Grey, mushy peas that have been cooked to death will be terrible,’ says Annie Shi, beverage director at Dean’s, which opened in March. ‘Mushy peas made with fresh peas and mint and a lot of care and love will be transcendent.’
‘There’s this really outdated misconception that a pub has to be dingy and grimy and cheap’
– Dean’s beverage director Annie Shi
Aside from the food itself, Block says a more convivial hospitality culture makes British restaurants more attractive to diners today – ‘welcoming to all, closer to a great local pub than a temple to beef.’ The gastropub model does seem to lie at the centre of New York British-themed dining. ‘I think there’s this really outdated misconception that a pub has to be dingy and grimy and cheap,’ says Shi, ‘and I’m like, have you been to the Fat Badger?’ Shi says the Notting Hill institution and similar spots like the Camberwell Arms and the Devonshire served as inspiration for their own project.
‘Pub’ also implies drinking, and the current wave of restaurants have made sure to incorporate British DNA into their beverage offering as well. Hawksmoor’s flask-chilled Martinis deliberately harken back to Duke’s Bar in London, and the bar team indulges in regular collaborations with London cocktail bars. At Queens Tavern and Dean’s, classic British ingredients like marmalade and jam find their way onto the cocktail list. ‘Our lemon drop is actually a secret ode to the Eton mess. It is a strawberry and lemon-flavored cocktail, and it has a ricotta foam on top with some fresh strawberries,’ says Shi.
Dean’s has also made it a point to highlight English wines, some of which have been imported specifically for the restaurant. Hambledon’s Classic Cuvée is its current by-the-glass bubbly, and sparkling wines from Gusbourne, Sugrue, Domaine Hugo, and others far outnumber the Champagnes on the list. Still English wines from the likes of Artelium and Offbeat also make an appearance.
Pub food may not be the UK’s only contribution to world cuisine, but it’s certainly one that has captured the imagination of New Yorkers. Here’s a handful of places that satisfy that craving and belie old ideas about what it means to enjoy a meal in England.
New York’s best spots for British pub grub
Dean’s
Soho/Hudson Square
Perched on the edge of Soho, Dean’s bills itself as an ‘ode to the British pub’. Wine plays a serious role, with 120 different offerings including what is almost surely the largest selection of English wines in New York. With 48 seats including the bar, the space is cozy and the menu is concise but diverse; guests can stop by for a pint of Guinness and a dozen oysters or settle in for the evening with mains including a lamb chop, calf’s liver, and stargazy pie.
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Lord’s
Greenwich Village
With 60 seats, Szymanski and Howard’s second restaurant is more than twice the size of Dame, and the menu has also grown. Seafood plays a supporting role; the focus is on meat dishes, originally drawing inspiration from Fergus Henderson’s nose-to-tail approach made famous at St John in London. Offal is slightly less in evidence now than when Lord’s opened in 2022, though classics like meat pies and crispy pig’s head still grace the menu alongside steaks, roast chicken and sausage rolls.
Hawksmoor
Gramercy Park
Leather and wood furnishings bring a traditional warmth to this spacious steakhouse while the white walls and high ceiling eschew clubiness in favor of airiness. The British touches are subtle but pervasive, coming to the fore on Sundays and on a dessert menu where sticky toffee pudding comes in both classic and slightly Americanised sundae form. On Monday evenings, a $10 corkage fee attracts wine lovers, including many of the city’s sommeliers.
Queens Tavern
Hudson Yards
A mall is an unlikely spot for a classic British pub, but Williams says Queens Tavern is designed to be a respite and escape from the shopping and tourists – a welcome one, based on the queues (Queens Tavern does not take reservations). The menu is designed for snacking more than a multicourse experience, and leans more classic than gastropub, with sausage rolls, pork pie, and a ploughman’s board on offer, albeit all done with modern flair.
Dame
Greenwich Village
Ed Szymanski and Patricia Howard’s first restaurant initially garnered praise for taking fish and chips to new heights, but all sorts of seafood benefit from Szymanksi’s touch here. Seasonal vegetables like sorrel and heirloom tomatoes complement the fresh fish, and a small but carefully curated beverage list allows diners to pair their dishes with classically English drinks – like Sam Smiths IPA or a Pimm’s Cup – or an eclectic, French-leaning offering of wines, divided into ‘James Bond’ (more classic) and ‘Austin Powers’ (more offbeat) sections. A new sibling restaurant, Chippy’s, is soon to open in the East Village, solely devoted to fish and chips.
