The Shaston Arms

Cute little pub to have a drink in the afternoon sunshine. Good service, ‘hip’ crowd.

Drinks at OK prices, shuts earlier than what you’d like for central London

I really like The Shaston Arms as it feels really English and it’s so simple; lively and down to earth. In that way, it’s like a good mate really. What you see is what you get.
There’s no pretension and in those rare moments where the sun has got its hat on or there’s a warm Summer /​Spring like evening, you can sip your favoured beverley out on the cobbledy streets — you can’t get better than that really, can you?!
Good, friendly service and a good range of drinks in a fantastic location off-​Carnaby Street.
Winner!

Super Atmosphäre vor dem Pub bei schönem Wetter, schneller Service an der Theke. Zum empfehlen (für jüngere Gäste)!

Nice beer spoilt by poor service. If the lady I am with has been served warm white wine should I really have to pay again to get her a decent drink when the first will be thrown the drain?

German bartender suggested British Ale. Management Coercion?

«Wow, this is a proper little pubby-​pub, innit?» one of my colleagues muttered as we crossed the threshold into the dark, snug little watering hole in the Newburgh Quarter of Carnaby St area. In the land of sexy champagne bars and cookie-​cutter chain pubs, this antique-​y little boozer is a nice change of pace from the typical Central London drinking establishments.
The dark wood bar, low lighting, wainscoting, and floorplan composed of several small connecting rooms are all quite refreshing in über-​trendy Soho, and being located on a quiet little side-​street means that there is plenty of room to spill outwards onto the pavements without the threat of passing foot-​traffic. The outside of the pub is painted a surprising colour of red with gaudy ol’ gold-​painted lettering, but the inside is unexpectedly quite subtle and classily austere. The staff are polite and efficient, but the bar is unfortunately located in a place that disrupts the flow of people trying to make their way in to find a table or pop out for a quick cigarette. The iPod-​provided music is occasionally turned up too loud when a staff member’s favourite song comes on, but at least they seem to have respectable taste (Etta James and her cohort were the more memorable too-​loud selections of the night).
Basically, this is a great place to meet for a few pints after work. It’s not the sort of place you’d bring a date or a client you’re trying to impress, but it’s got a decent amount of subtle, distinguished charm that is quietly impressive on its own. Nothing flashy or exciting, but appealing for that very reason.

I really really like this pub. It serves a handful of real ales, but doesn’t look like your typical real ale pub. I can’t think of another pub to compare it too really.
The layout is very strange, but it makes it very cosy if you have a seat. If you don’t have a seat there aren’t too many places to stand, without getting in people’s way. I didn’t have a seat, got in peoples way but still enjoyed my visit a
the pub must be good! The colour scheme is predominantly red.

The Tanglefoot does what it says on the tin — be warned! But if applied with caution you can have yourself a great night at this cosy little boozer. Friendly bar staff — which makes a pleasant change in the West End, decent prices and good music, what’s not to love?

The Shaston Arms is a handsome pub by Carnaby Street. It is incredibly popular when the crowd stretches across to the building across the street with that giant pretend plug socket.
I was a little surprised by the décor inside which is very traditional, and rather than being airy the pub is slightly pokey and subterranean. The bar is to the right and is fully stocked with a good range of draught beers.
If you are able to get a seat inside it is a good place to spend an evening. Alternatively, if it’s sunny it is nice standing outside with the crowd. Either way, this pub has a good atmosphere.

The Shaston Arms gets really busy from Fridays and even busier during the summer when people enjoy their drinks on the pavement. It reminds me a lot of drinking in a little cosy pub in Hampstead because it’s easy to forget that you’re minutes away from hectic Regents Street. The outside seating (if you’re lucky enough to get one!) is a bonus because it is the ideal place to watch the cool and crazy characters wandering through Carnaby Street. Many times I have been walked past and been called over by a friend drinking outside and my ‘one quick drink’ has turned into a late night drinking session ending with a curry at Masala Zone. Sometimes the best nights are really the unplanned ones and some of mine have started at The Shaston Arms.

Cute, cosy and central, this little pub is a definite winner. Because of the location it attracts the usual suspects; media types and trendy boutique workers but they’re not all bad and the pub has a friendly atmosphere, enhanced by the little seating booths lining one side of the pub giving it the feel of a Victorian tavern in modern times.
I do like this area, especially on the first Friday of the month when everyone has just been payed and all the pubs around Carnaby Street are heaving with happy people with the means to buy dinner, beer and travel cards again.

Your typical after work London pub. Pretty quiet during the day but then heaving from around 17:00 — 21:00. Few spaces to sit so the majority of the bar spill onto the streets. The bar itself is tiny although the selection of beers and ales is good for a pub so central in London. Staff are friendly as are most of the people!
If you’re peckish you’ve also got Masala Zone next door, although I’d recommend walking to Wong Kei!

Busy, busy, busy. This place really gets crazy on a Thursdays or Friday at 6pm. Most likely you will find media types that work around the area. It is a good pub. Though one time we where there and a friend got robbed, they stole a suitcase that had thousands of pounds worth in jewelry. My poor mate was in shock, so now every time we go to that pub we make sure to hang on to our bags. Other than that its cool to be able to be out and have some fresh air after a day at work, have a pint or two and unwind with mates.

The Shaston Arms is one of the two pubs frequented for work drinks, the thing I like most about this pub and many others in the Carnaby Street areas is that people are allowed to literally spill out unto the cobbled streets and there’s something quite charming about that little detail to me. It’s pretty snug and cosy inside, there isn’t much space which is why everyone is generally out on Ganton Street sipping out of plastic cups.
It’s pretty much just women behind the bar as well and one of them is so sweet and a bit batty. You can only take what she says with a pinch of salt and a smile. She’s very quirky to say the least. The ale in there is good and cheap too. And there’s a bit in the back where you’ve got a skylight so it’s quite nice if you can get a patch of light shining through whilst you have a drink. It is always busy, cold weather or not, I think its genuine charm appeals to a lot of people, and if you look in the windows, they have wine bottles with candles stuck of top and they must have burned about a hundred candles on them, because they have that molten dripping effect. Again, I think it just adds to the charm.