The Shaston Arms in Soho has been named the 18th best pub in Britain.
The pub on Ganton Street, just off Carnaby Street, is a new entry in the Good Food Guide’s list of Britain’s 100 Best Pubs 2026, published on 2 November.
The guide picks out pubs across Britain “serving honest, top-quality cooking in a warm, welcoming setting”.
It is one of two Westminster pubs in the top 20, alongside the Cow on Westbourne Park Road, which is second.
The team behind the Shaston Arms also runs the Waterman’s Arms in Barnes, which is 30th.
Why the Shaston Arms made the list
The guide sums it up in four words: “A bright light in Soho”.
“The team behind the Waterman’s Arms in Barnes took over the Shaston Arms in 2025,” it says.
It describes a pub “reborn as a modern dining pub with several smart spaces, booth seating, a little conservatory and a tucked-away alcove bar”.
The drinks “inspire much cheer, with well-maintained beers and knowledgeable wine choices”, according to the guide.
“On-point service makes diners feel properly looked after,” it adds.
The menu runs to snacks and small plates, with lamb’s heart au poivre as a bar snack: “Fear not, it’s delicious.”
Bigger dishes include merguez sausages, mackerel and Hereford onglet steaks, and the cooking is “precise enough to elicit genuine wows”.
“Try not to miss the chips,” the guide says.
It ends: “In a part of central London where too many pubs know how to charge but not deliver, the Shaston is like a sudden bright light coming on.”
Where to find it and when it serves food
The Shaston Arms is at 4-6 Ganton Street, W1F 7QN.
Its own website calls it “an intimate free house pub and kitchen in the heart of Soho”, a short walk from Oxford Circus and Carnaby Street that “retains a hidden gem feel”.
It serves London beers, real ale and “a concise wine list centred on low intervention”, and has “a large outside space that catches the afternoon sun”.
Lunch is served from midday to 2.30pm Tuesday to Saturday, and dinner from 5.30pm to 9.15pm Monday to Saturday.
Sunday lunch runs from 12.30pm to 4pm.
Have you eaten at the Shaston Arms? Tell us in the comments.
Have your say