Shakespeares Head

Very tasty food in a typical pub atmosphere. Highly recommend the fish and chips and the burger. It's all ok. However, the toilet area could use some cleaning. Then everything would be perfect.

A great pub with a great selection of classic pub food. The service was great and the food was tasty. There is a decent amount of seating but it can get very busy, especially when live sport is on.

A good place to have a typical lunch. I had the mushroom and chicken pie and it wasn't bad. Looks like a great place to have some drinks 🍻

Pub is very well located and has a lovely outdoor on-street terrace. The pints are a bit costly for a Greene King pub but it is London! The Flint Eye pint wasn’t that great, I’ve had a better pint of it elsewhere (where it probably cost half the price!) Great little place to stop off if you’re in the area.

Was very busy but the friendly staff managed to seat us. Nice venue although I found the burger to be a little dry.

Nice place with good ambience .. its always better to book a table as this place gets tooo crowded n busy. Food servings and drinks were decent with prompt service .. worth visiting again!!

Today I went to this nice and historic Pub and I was nicely served by Matteo, who even brought my beer up to the 1st floor. Goujons were great! I had to 2 portions :). Atmosphere great . Enjoyed pictures of the great Jimi Hendrix , a personal favourite of my youth. Surely recommend this Pub at famous Carnaby Street.

Pub atmosphere, location, and beer terrific. Starters meh. Toffee dessert 👍👍.

It's good for drinks and pub food but don't expect much. Ordering and paying is super simple via QR codes. Ambiance is nice, lots of tables to sit and carpeted floors and such. Food comes out quickly and service is fast. Got the plant burger with chips and it was decent. I mean for the money I paid I'm not complaining. Chips weren't as crisp as I'd like and needed some salting. I tried my friends fish and chips and that was hands down much better. Overall it's good for a quick meal and drinks with friends.

Great location, great service and great UK pub feel! Football matches on the tv's and ample seating! Although the tables do fill up fast!! Pretty spot on for a PUB! We didn't try any of their food but their pints were great!

Great patio for an early lunch when many pubs aren't open. We stopped in right when it opened at 11 am and ordered some food - a grilled cheese toastie, steak and chips and a steak & ale pie and grabbed a table outside. All good with friendly service and nice people watching.

A bit of a tourist trap. This place is in a nice location on carnaby street entrance but the food is no more than 2 star and the service is, what service?? We had lunch and a beer which hit the spot but that's because we were hungry. Not recommended. They are much better options around. Nachos are laughable

Service was great. You order from the bar and the gentlemen was pleasant and helpful. Food came quickly. Great location. Great pub. Horrible, horrible nachos. Mexico is much too far away from this place. I wonder if the Brits think it's terrible but if you are from NA, don't order the nachos. Cold chicken on seasoned chips with salsa. Nasty.

It was perfect evening -- the food was delicious (fish & chips and steak & ale pie); the pub's atmosphere was perfect (warm and welcoming and Premier League on the tv's); and the service was the best. As American visitors, we wanted a quintessential pub experience and Shakespeare's Head delivered. A++ The topper was our server, Liv, who was a joy to meet. Friendly, helpful and great at her job.

Was disappointed with the food, but good service and drinks. Ate upstairs which was comfortable and plenty of seating. Order at bar and servers brought your food and utensils. My friend had a gin and tonic, double for 10£, I had a decent local lager. Food was bad. We ordered a large to share finger food player which included karaage (should have realized Japanese fried chicken wouldn't be good in an English pub), German pretzel with beer cheese (hard as a rock and cheese was watered down cheezwiz), fish goujons (fried fish fingers), sausages (oddly deep fried and tough) and fried calamari. Portions were decent, but everything was frozen and badly reheated. Go for drinks, but not for food.

came here on a Tuesday at noon with a friend to get lunch. saw the "lunch and a drink for £10", and they said table service was upstairs. we went upstairs and they tried saying it was closed. after explaining that we were told to come up for table service they reluctantly took our order at the bar. the lunch and a drink was NOT £10.

After a long day of shopping and going to the London eye, we stumbled upon this beauty of a bar. In London, there are no reservations or lists. You basically stock a table until they get up. It was around 6 PM. You have to go to the bar and they will serve you at the bar. You can place orders at the bar. The pubs here are pretty amazing as well as this place. Speaking with friends this is a classic place. We sat in front of a fireplace, it was quite cute. Very busy. It was a Friday night. Funny thing is, no one eats at all in London. They just drink into oblivion lol. We ordered a salad and some appetizers and we're the only Americans I think in the pub, eating food. Food was pretty delicious though. On a very popular street, very fun and I will be back when I am back in London!

Things started with me telling the weightperson I liked London Pride ale, but I hadn't tried London Glory, their ale. I asked if it was similar. Her response was "I don't know, I've never tried it." I should have known better after that than to order one. It was bad. Flat, no flavor. Our party of eight waited a long, long time to be served. When she came to take our order I asked how many wings were in an order. Response: 10 to 15. Quite a range there. I ordered wings, I didn't count the number, but they were just okay. My wife ordered a pretzel which came with cheese sauce but not one grain of salt on it. Others in the party were also disappointed with the food. So, flat ale, disappointing food, and extremely slow service. There are too many pubs in London to go to bad ones.

This was decent, I would stop by again. You order at the bar and then they bring the food to you. The food was decent in quality but the service was just okay.

I would make a couple of things understood. First, this pub is owned by Wetherspoon, a large chain with locations across the UK. It is not a locally owned drinking spot as they would like you to believe. Secondly, know how things are in the pubs. You first find a table and get it's number. You then go to the bar and order and pay for your food which is brought to the table. These very noisy places are not where you come for a relaxed dining experience. The menus in the pubs are strikingly similar and feature many standards including lamb shank, my meal here. This was served in a bowl with mash potatoes and root vegetables. The lamb was perfectly done. I also had a side of very good cole slaw. I have to wonder why more American restaurants don't serve lamb shank. This was a nice place. Just know what to expect.

Fun pub with great history. Loved sitting outside and have a beer. I recommend this place for a drink while you are shopping or waiting for a dinner table.

Great pit spot on Carnaby Street! I had "The Ultimate Fish and Chips" (14.99 pounds) and my wife had the "Smoked Salmon Open Faced Sandwich" (8.99 pounds). My wife said she's never had a better sandwich in her life. She was beyond happy with her lunch. I thought the fish and chips were good but I'm starting to think that all fish and chips are good in this city? I don't know but the one here was good. Staff was attentive. Place is casual and relaxing. Plus, they had Wimbledon on the teli so I was a happy camper. Great spot for its purpose.

Went here for a late dinner, the restaurant is situated upstairs which is a plus as it's quieter than the pub downstairs. I wasn't overly impressed. Food was OK at most, I ordered a roast beef dinner and was presented with 3 measly slices of beef! I want more! The mash potatoes were very nice though as were the Yorkshire pudding. But at £10+ it's not good value for money at all. Good location near/on Carnaby Street and service was quite friendly/informal which I liked. I would probably come back for drinks only.

The food was completely bland! We got the steak and the hunter's chicken, and both were just so tasteless. We asked for the steak well done, but it was still pink so we had to ask them to re-do it. Thankfully they were nice enough to give us another plate. It was still so dry and had absolutely no taste. The chicken was supposed to have barbecue sauce, but it still lacked in taste and was very plain. The fries were okay, and so was the coleslaw. The peas that came with the steak were also very meh.

Worst "pub" or restaurant my family and I have been to. We waited over an hour for fish and chips before realizing there were two families ahead of us who have yet to be served. There are far better places to go. My family and I highly recommend not coming here. EDIT: Forgot to mention, this might be the only place where they serve Mexican food under their "British Classics". This place is quite literally a joke.

During a walk on Soho we had to stop at this lovely pub, they have a great menu and the environmet was nice too. My wife ordered a fish and chips that was super crispy and very good with the tartare sauce. I gave a try to a mash pie with succulent lamb shank. I was a little bit worry about this lamb shank but they nailed it! It was delicious and soft, perfect! I loved, defiantly recommend.

Reading the reviews, I never understand why people complain that this place is touristy! It's in a tourist area, on a tourist street in a tourist city. If you want an authentic English Pub that's NOT touristy, then you need to head out of Soho and central London and find a Pub in a small village where only the locals go. In any case, I love this pub, it has a great feel, the barstaff are awesome and the beers are good! Fish and Chips are average, but I come here to drink and people watch. There are many pubs in the area, but I prefer this one- grab a seat on the street and watch the world go by...

This was one of the pubs I went to during my first trip to the UK. Despite the chaos of locals coming in and out, it was just what we where looking for. The decor was simple, lots of wood components which made it cozy in a weird way. The staff was very friendly, and on point. I had a falafel burger, and it was hands down the best one I tried during the whole trip. My sister had one of their pies, and that one was yummy also. Overall, nice place to have a couple drinks and people watch.

London for the first time on a Sunday! Was really dying to try a Sunday roast. It was totally okay at Shakespeare's Head. Food okay service okay!

Tried having the Sunday roast here ON Sunday and they were completely out! My friends ordered some pints on a late Sunday morning but I was starving. I decided on the chicken Sunday roast because it was the cheapest out of the three roast choices. I went up to the bar to order their employee rudely told me they were out of the chicken and only had the steak (most expensive option.) She tried to sell me on the steak but ultimately I didn't have the money for this option. It really bugged me that they didn't have what I wanted and that she wanted to make me spend more money. I left without ordering anything. Their employees are rude and not very attentive. I waited on a two person line for ten minutes to be told to spend more money, are you kidding me??

I'd suggest you skip it. The food was cold and way over priced for what you get-- I'm talking 3 pounds for two old onion rings. Service was rude and unhelpful, forgot to give us silverware. Also the bathrooms were filthy There are so many amazing places here, go somewhere else!

I worked here in 2002-03 so I am biased. Please consider this before moving on. It's owned by a large conglomerate of pubs that specializes in looking like they are original. This is nothing new and you would probably be hard pressed to find a real old world pub in London. The primary manager is a dick. And unless he has retired or moved on, I sincerely doubt anything has changed. His wife is alright and his kids are adorable. It isn't as touristy as it could be considering it is in the center of stupid tourist ville. Other than that, there are some locals who are great, it gets crazy on Friday and Saturday nights. Tip your bartender. They make shit for money.

Loved the name, and the location on Carnaby Street, so we stopped in for a pint before dinner. Good selection of ales and ciders. TVs everywhere showing games. A small patio for people watching. Upstairs room for dinner was a lot quieter and maybe better for families like ours, but we preferred the energy of the downstairs room. Service was efficient but a little rough around the edges.

Great spot on Carnaby street! after a long shopping day, thanks God we could get a place to seat and some drinks to drink. Staffs were nice even the place was so busy with full of tourists like us!

It is a run of the mill pub with debatable history and slightly overpriced beers. However, it is in possibly the best corner for people watching and outside drinking in all of London. You'll see it all here, settled behind the reassuring comfort of an icy pint. Cheers to location, cant be beaten.

This was my review as posted on TripAdvisor in March 2009: This pub is located along Carnaby Street. It was 3:15pm on Wednesday March 4th and the place is pretty full. During my 20 minute wait, 2 staff members walked by and ignored me. This has happened to me already in London, so customer service is not this country's forte. Oh regarding the food? Well I'll just never know now!

Pretty bad food, service, and beer. The 3 pies our group ordered were soggy and the potatoes were yuck. The side of veg was limp and tasteless. Sure they were busy over the holiday but not an excuse for it's general lack of goodness in nearly every manner. The decor is mildly classic and not that redeeming. Skip this joint!

Good atmosphere, poor service, and average food. This was a place that is expected to have a good vibe and it didn't let down in this case. However, the service was poor, (although not server's fault necessarily). There was one server and a single bartender on the second floor. The server tried his best, but management really should have extra wait staff on peak nights such as Saturday night. This is just basic Management 101. Nevertheless, server tried his best, but fell short. The food was also average. My wife's "hot" sandwich was cool to the touch and average in flavor. My chicken pie was hot and tasted great. However, the rest (mashed potatoes, peas, and carrots), was under cooked and really not edible. What also surprised me, was the beer selection. It was a Free House , (meaning it is not tied to a particular brewery or beer). They did in fact have a variety, but few actual English beers. Their selection was mostly imports. This would be acceptable for an average pub, but not one of history and prestige as the Shakespeare's Head. Nevertheless, if you want a pint of beer or even wine and cocktails while you people watch, this is a decent place. Otherwise, skip this and move on to the next.

The name itself captures attention and lures one inside. In the heart of Carnaby street, the place was packed downstairs - as it should be for a Thursday evening. They have seating upstairs - quiet and infused with old world English charm. One of the pubs I would keep in mind for quality sit down time with the perks of pubbing. Staff, for some reason, does not smile. But otherwise, this is a great place to go to.

Crowded, pricey, and in an area that's rather touristy. We ended up here with the husband's work crowd for Friday night drinks. It's not surprising for a pub to be crowded a) on Friday night or b) in Soho, so that's not really terrible. But when I have to literally shout to the person next to me, it's just not a nice time. Not much to say about this place, otherwise. It's not horrid, but there are a lot of other pubs in the area that are better.

Monopoly Pub Crawl - Stop #24 - Marlborough Street (Orange) The original plan was to go to the O'Neills. Now I know, O'Neills isn't a great pub by any standards as it's been replicated far too many times to maintain any sense of individuality. But it's big, good for groups, and fairly cheap. Unfortunately, none of these things were enough to keep it in business and the Great Marlborough location has now closed. So we called an audible and went to the pub right across from it - the Shakespeare Head. This pub has always been busy with shoppers and the like (being as it's virtually part of Liberty) and the relatively small size means that it tend to be crowded. With O'Neills out of the picture, it's pretty rammed and getting served can be a challenge. I recall fighting my way to the bar with the board in hand and arguing for a signature. A quick shot and a messy scrawl, and I managed to escape the heaving crowds. If you've got a choice, I wouldn't bother with this as there is nothing really alluring about this pub and the crowd quite puts you off. Add to that the staff which can be hit or miss (some are very friendly, some are sullen and act as if they are doing you a favour by deigning to pour you a pint), it's probably better to find another watering hoe.

There is more than one Shakespeares Head in London. Keep this in mind when you're telling your friend to meet you there. Don't send them to Holborn when you're in Soho... yep. This place is one of the unofficial gateways to Soho in that it's one of the first pubs you see, so it gets a lot of foot traffic and a lot of tourists. The beer selection is average, and if there isn't a table available, there's really not a good place to stand without having to shift around constantly. Not a whole lot to say - it does its job and not much more.

Went Christmas shopping in the area and decided to stop in for a refreshment. The venue itself was nice enough and the staff was friendly. The only unpleasant complaint I have is as soon as we walked in the front door, the place stank of vomit.

I wouldn't seek this pub out, nor would I eat here or spend an entire evening here. However, I'm giving The Shakespeare's Head 3 stars for managing to sit firmly on Carnaby Street (it's not really on Great Marlborough Street) and still maintain its dignity as a pub - oddly, it does not reek of tourists (too much) and is a perfectly nice spot to have a beer and watch the pedestrianized traffic. Also be sure to look up as the upper body of Shakepeare stares out from a window on the exterior.

This was one of the many pubs I visited during my trip to London last year. They're really a fine pub, although nothing really stood out here amongst some other places I visited. I guess they are a pretty famous establishment as they were advertised heavily on Japanese tour books.

I am quite a connoisseur of mediocre and bland pubs, so believe me when I say this is one of London's blandest. Bland, bland, bland. Blander than a box of Tesco value chocolate digestives. So bland, infact, it makes Paris Hilton look interesting. It's bland.

Large, very tourist-filled pub at the head of Carnaby Street. Not awful, not great, just typical: ales and lagers and £8 fish 'n' chips and fruit machines and an upstairs dining room. The good: nice old building, lots of outdoor tables, great for people-watching The bad: large crowds, it's always jam-packed, tried a little too hard to be Ye Olde Englishe, menu is very touristy

Randomly stopped in this pub for a drink and quick bite to eat after a long day of sightseeing. What kind of respectable place runs out of fish and chips at 6pm? Anyways, ordered the chicken and a beer. Food was quick acceptable for bar food. Beer, on the other hand was warm... too warm. Location is good to drop by for a quick drink/meal, but I wouldn't make this a destination.

Good food and drink for a pub. Made a stop here after shopping on Regent and Carnaby street. Very busy on Boxing Day. We enjoyed the food, drink and atmosphere.

Great place to grab a bite to eat and a drink with classmates/coworkers. The food is average, but the staff are lovely and there are plenty of options to eat and drink. The prices are student friendly and the atmosphere is lively, would definitely recommend it.

My first meal in London, and it really set the tone. Does London have a seasoning shortage?? Use SALT, PEPPER and GARLIC, guys! The mashed potatoes were literally, I think, mashed potatoes. No cream, no seasoning, just gummy, putty-like spud mush. And the vegetables were soft and flavorless. But the service was friendly, and the meat pie was great. The atmosphere in the dining room was lively and jovial.The ale is served barely below room temp, which is a British thing, apparently. So from all I can gather, this British pub is authentic. And there's something to be said for that.

A serviceable boozer in Carnaby Street. Nothing special and a little overpriced but hey, its the west end. The staff are pretty friendly and there's always a lively atmosphere but I prefer the Crown and 2 Chairman or The Blue Post to be honest... still good for a basic drink..

Have been here a couple of times for my after work beers and also eating a Sunday's roast and I have to say that the place is great for both occasions - if you are planning to come to have lunch/dinner or if you just want to grab a pint with some of your colleagues and friends. The place is really big so there's always plenty space but you have to be quick if you want to get the best sofas located in the back. Even if it's big the place is not noisy at all and they have a great selection of beers and wines. They have also loads of different dishes including turkey or beef roast, fish and chips, hamburgers and hot dogs. The food quality is average but good enough considering the price and the fact that it includes a drink (including a glass of wine or pint of beer). Staff is quite friendly but a bit slow sometimes considering the amount of people that gathers around the bar during peak hours. The only thing I miss is table service considering the time it takes to order something at the bar when there are loads of people.

want to see London at its chummy best? Grab a table here in the afternoon, order some fish and chips and a beer (at the bar, no table service) and stay awhile. This is absolute mayhem with loads of people with pints all thoroughly enjoying themselves. There are undoubtedly more authentic places somewhere that purists would prefer, but this has atmosphere you are longing for when you are a first timer to London and it's an easy walk from Trafalgar Square.

What can i say about the Shakespeare's Head!! I was a regular here for a few years althought im not quite sure why!.. The location is great since if youre meeting others and they are running late you can always busy your self amongst the shops along Carnaby Street. The dummy of Shakespeare hanging out the window on the first floor is a little bit touristy but heh what do you expect in this part of town The actual pub is a fairly typical affair with standard drinks on offer and typical food to match.. No televisions inside to watch sport which i feel was a conscious decision as it would detract from the Ye Olde feel inside Standing space is at a premium which forces you outside and stand outside the Casio shop opposite, which is great on warm summers day, excellent if you like to people watch.. All in all i do like this this pub - the staff are friendly, the place feels warm and welcoming

My wife and I were in the area and had passed by this place the day before. She wanted fish and chips and I wanted to have some hard cider. Downstairs is the bar/pub and we wanted a quiet place for a meal so we headed went upstairs and it seemed to have exactly what we wanted. Nice and quiet there was another couples. The food was tasty and we where both satisfied and happy with our selection. The waitress was friendly and prompt with service and made sure we where okay. I wouldn't say this is a place to make a point of going to, but I don't think you could go wrong if you choose this place as a place to get a meal and something cold to drink.

Quite a dead place. Was just fine for a pint or two but the place had no charm what so ever. Prices were acceptable, and service was also good, but the place itself was just nothing special.