The Old Shades in City of London, Westminster

What a great experience again excellent service we went at the Old shades for my mum’s birthday and she loved it everyone was really happy food was delicious lovely cocktails very fresh beer service was 10/10 very professional and helpful staff it is becoming my regular now been in few times and is same level of service always really consistent in all aspects thank you guys for making my mum’s birthday special .

Beks was our bartender and server. He did an amazing job! Service, food and atmosphere were top notch!

Great cask beer selection, awful 'craft' beer selection of corporate macros (Heineken - Neck Oil / AbInbev - Camden Helles / Asahi - Meantime). Food looked good but didn't try. Nice classic / traditional decor and atmosphere. Owners reply is either not genuine or ill informed...

We found it had a difficult booking system but once we managed to get tables for our group on the day, we really enjoyed the experience and ambiance. The food was really great (well done chef) and very nice staff made it a really good place to go. We will go again. Thanks to everyone at The Old Shades.

Great spot just by the art gallery. Beks was great, fun to talk to and super quick to refill and empty glass (and curated a great playlist)

Shout out to Beks for the best margarita I’ve EVER had. Seriously, it was so good. (The fish and chips was solid as well.) Also, I appreciate how attentive he was even though it was a pretty busy night.

We had the best time with Beks in Old Shades! Definitely recommended the bar. It’s busy but they always make sure you feel welcome and find a place to enjoy your drinks and food!

It's a beautiful pub with good location. The atmosphere was exactly what we were looking for! Food is good, nothing spectacular, but that's not what you expect from a classic London pub - good burger and chicken schnitzel, tasty drinks, that's all you need.

Beks (one of the bartenders) is the best! The burger is great, but the fries are much more like American fries. So if you like that, you’ll like this.

Very nice place and excellent fish and chips. Beks was a very kind and very nice host 😁😁

Great pub with a good choice of drinks & plenty of comfortable seating. Lovely atmosphere & a fun place to while away the time over a pint: highly recommended if you're looking for drinks & snacks while in the Trafalgar area.

Beks made the best espresso martini!

Beks was the best bartender around! Xxxooo

Great place the drinks are delicious. Becks is awesome!

Food n drinks are amazing. Beks was an awesome server. Very accommodating to our needs and quick on service.

Had a great meal. Beks was an amazing host!! We really had a great time time and tye food was amazing!!!

Food and drinks were amazing. Manager Beks was an incredible host, server and really went out of his way to make me and my party of 5 feel welcome. We came from the states and we would definitely come back to Old Shades.

Good food but expensive for Czechs

Beautiful rustic decoration and quite delicious fish and chips

Very wonderfull pub, great experience! Thanks to Denise for this good lunch. Fish and chips is really fantastic!

not so good the sunday roast, beef quality is lower than the one I purchased from Waitrose. Wonder why they got such a high rating... I cannot even give comments on their service, there were only very basic checking the reservation, leading us to the table, taking order, settling the bill. They didn't give me a steak knife, the one sending the roast beef to our table and "giving" a check if everything ok on the table. I have to remind them for it. And what about the mustard, horseradish?? I notice the table next to us has to ask and getting the answer "o... yes, i'll come back with it..." Do not recommend the scallop starter it was badly prepared, overcooked, chewy and salty too. The only item up to standard is the fish and chips.

The ideal place for a good roasted Sunday! A great London immersion, thank you

We have been super comfortable. Great deal with children.

I had the best cocktail - Amuerito Sour. And it was literally the best one I’ve ever had! Thank you, Becks, for mixes such a yummy cocktail!!!

Fantastic meal and great environment. We did not have a reservation but were accommodated by the host ( Beks) and really enjoyed everything!!! Would strongly recommend.

The food is absolutely awful, overpriced frozen muck, the chap doing the orders was lovely but the food is absolutely crap, avoid!

Great food ! We didn’t expect it given the turistic location . I will come back for sure when I am back to London

Very good 👌🏽 Good drinks made by Beks

Very nice atmosphere, becks made us very good drinks

Amazing and authentic place to discover. Great and quick service, tasty food and cocktails. Extra thanks to Beks 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

Best Espresso Martini I’ve ever drank in my life!!! U have to come and ask Beks for a Martini Espresso Also Beks (the server) is so kind and cute too ;)

Gorgeous Pub with a beautiful bar with flowers everywhere and amazing staff. Our server Beks was friendly and funny, he even let us taste beers to help us decide. Nice selction of beers. Recommend it! ☺️

Best Fish&Chips, very nice location, wonderful service and to be honest the best Tom Collins Cocktail I have ever drink - Many thanks especially to BEKS!!!!

Beks was a great bartender. Friendly and always there to check on us. Fish and chips were fantastic.

Thanks to Beks, the very friendly bartender at Old Shades. Excellent fish and chips. And good beer advice.

The food and service was great! Great ambiance Beks was super friendly and gave good recommendations for drinks and food! A must try while in London!

Beis hooked it up, great bartender, great beer, great food. Veggie pies were ace!

Very nice food and friendly staff

I recently visited Old Shades in London with my sister, and we had an amazing experience! We enjoyed the best Fish & Chips we've ever had. The fish was perfectly cooked and came with a variety of delicious sauces that added so much flavor to the dish. The staff was incredibly friendly, with a special mention to Monika, who made us feel so welcome and at home. The restaurant itself has a beautiful old interior that gives it so much character and charm. It’s such a lovely place with a great atmosphere and spirit. In the background they had a great music, which was just right volume. I will definitely be back next time I am in London!

Lovely food supporting British farmers

The food was delicious, and it was the happiest, coziest dinner we had in the 4 nights we were in London. Irid was friendly, helpful, and fun to have a quick chat with. Highly recommend

Had some great pints and fish and chips here. Really friendly staff, especially Mike who gave us a ton of tips of places to see while we were in town!

Popped in for a lunchtime snack and was so pleased with our choice of venue. Great welcome, all the staff were so friendly and the choice/price of bar snacks was excellent. Highly recommend the scotch egg!

We came across the pub while our walk on the streets of London. We had a great time at the bar and Beks made us excellent drinks!

Beks was great! Great food great service

Really great place to meet friends, nice staff and comfortable seats. Clean toilets too, which is always a bonus!

Amazing food great staff and great atmosphere 👍👍👍 I had the prawn cocktail to start which was full of prawn snd flavour, main course was the Lamb cottage pie with a side of cauliflower cheese which was amazing. Wii definitely be back

The dinner was very good. The atmosphere of the pub is just perfect. A special mention to Armani, the server, who gave us one of the best service I receive in my life ! He also was very helpful with Cindy, my little sister.

Armani was sooooo helpful with our 13 people table, great job from him. Also he smashed my Sister I didnt understand why

Armani is a very good server, polite and efficient. We’re 14 and he handled it with ease. He also helped my sister that was stuck in the dishwasher

Had a great experience at Old Shades. It was pretty full and we had a party of 6, but Beks worked some magic and got us seated. He made us feel right at home! Fish and chips was great, but the warm atmosphere on a cold February night was all that we’d hoped for from a little pub in London.

Great service. Beks gave amazing service.

Stopped at the old shades on my trip to the UK and met Beks… what an amazing bartender. He pours the best beers and is a great conversation!

Visiting London from the US and Beks made us feel like we were at home . Awesome guy!

Shout-out to Becks, Jack and Monika!

Bekim and Monika are the best bartendes i have ever met, i would recommend this place for everyone to visit and try BBekim's signature cocktail 🍸

Lovely little pub in parliament Street bar staff very polite and professional had a nice long chat with the manager nice to see a pewter bar clean tidy interior very welcoming sorry can't give a food review only there for the 🍺🍻

Big shout out to Irid at Old Shades for a great pub experience! Super welcoming, found a table for us (even without a reservation) and provided great recommendations for food, drink, and sights to see! Next time we are in London, we will definitely be back!

Beks was an amazing server! So polite, very kind and extremely helpful!

Brks did amazing work he was so good host and knowledgeable about whatever we asked very nice passion martini . We will come back again to taste more cocktails

Amazing job from the best bar manager called Beks he was really welcoming and good host . Great cosmopolitan cocktail

Abbiamo cenato fish &chips in questo pub tipico e molto curato. Era tutto buonissimo, complimenti! Super consigliato

great food and great service from deks and jack

Amazing sausage and mashed potatoes. Wife had fish n chips which were also great. Good beers and great service from all of the staff.

A great evening at this pub! Fish and chips was excellent. Service by Irid fabulous, and a very nice atmosphere in the pub. I recommend the food the staff and the place!

The first disappointment after booking my table a month in advance that we should be placed on a tiny table with tiny chairs you could barely fit in which were uncomfortable. we were then told there was a very minimum menu available due to kitchen issues basically only three or four roast dinner choices. The roast potatoes were in shocking condition and inedible the limited gravy on the plate with a big Yorkshire pudding that was cold inside, my guest had the vegetarian option with no available vegetarian gravy at all unless she took the meat gravy. How can that be? Then? The waiter had the front to say well everybody gets on with it without complaining about no gravy, what a stupid comment that was, needless to say I will not be returning. I have been there before but only to have a pleasant drink but it’s really put me off now. There’s plenty of other places in London and for £64 for two main meals and two drinks basically a rip off

We had a delicious meal and Irid was so lovely- he gave us great recommendations for our time in London!

I had lunch at Old Shades last Saturday. The pub accepts bookings online. It is located 10 minutes walk from Westminster and 5 minutes walk from the National Gallery. This makes it a very handy stop to have lunch and a pleasant break, especially after a long walk in Trafalgar Square. We were very happy with food, service and decor. I will start from the food first and then move on to service and atmosphere. We ordered King prawns, Fish and chips (haddock) and chicken schnitzels (see picture). There is a set menu, also visible at their website. Dishes were well presented and ingredients were fresh and combined effectively to increase flavours. King prawns were pleasantly barbecued and accompanied by herbs and sardough bread. It was a tasty starter. Perhaps, the sauce in which the prawns were marinated could've been slightly richer to make a punchier dish. Fish and chips was finely cooked and haddock was delicious. Chips were hand cut and sauces were made from scratch. Mashy peas, in particular, was much appreciated. Chicken schnitzel was served with a fried egg, herbs and chips. One could appreciate the fresh ingredients and the quality of the cooking - well cooked and crispy, chicken was delightful. It was a much welcome meal. Staff was caring, professional and polite. We were looked after by the gentleman at the bar, who took our booking. He kindly walked us to the table and ensured this was sanitised and suitable. Regina, the waitress, did a good job in looking after us too. Finally, atmosphere. Decor is traditional and there's good illumination coming from the windows at the rear of the pub and from the ceiling - a luminous circular opening on top of the bar allowed an interesting illumination. The combination of colours, tapestry and flooring (this was mostly in wood in the dining area) made the experience more enjoyable and conveyed warmth and relax. I felt the stop at this place was restoring. It was a lovely discovery in the hearth of Trafalgar Square. A cosy little pub to have food and relax. I recommend it.

Quality service, delivered by a charming server called Irid. So much better than his colleague Beks!!!

Irid and the rest of the people that work there were fantastic. Hospitality was fabulous. We found oasis in the middle of London Thank you for taking of us.

Excellent service Bex is a fantastic host who looked after us all night and Mario gave us a magic show that was more than entertaining

The fish and chips were recommended by a Michelin-starred Belgian chef. Great experience, we recommend the address

Beks is the man. He took great care of us and provided wonderful service during a large rush hour. We had a fantastic time

Lovely meal served hot and with first class service by a lad named Irid. This was a wonderful pit stop during a full day of sight-seeing.

Great service by Bex. Quick at delivering the drinks and always with a smile. Thanks!

Had an amazing time at a great pub in London! Fantastic service from Ivid—truly made the trip special.

Good fish and chips, Ivid made a good job to serve us with happiness and dynamism.

Fish and chips are out of this world - our favorite pub meal in London. Becks showed us a perfect time at the bar - will be back again just to see him!!!

Excellent service from Irid and the bar. Good food but better atmosphere. Thanks!

Service and atmosphere were great! We didn’t have food but we enjoyed tons of drinks. Irid was fantastic !

Great atmosphere Great fish and chips Great company

Fish and chips changed my life here. Diana was awesome.

We had a wonderful and delicious lunch at The Shades. I had the traditional shepherd's pie and it is tasty, the rich gravy blends well with the minced lamb. Service was fast and polite. Ambience was nice, quiet during our lunch, and very traditional pub setting.

Pleasant time, good quality cuisine

What a cool place to have Fish and Chips! Delicious to say the least.

Went for an early evening drink. Staff were very helpful, a lively atmosphere.

Okay pub, with decent food. Will not be back, nor recommend due to a very unfriendly Italian behind the bar. Advertises to use the app on the table, but he told us after “if you use the app your food “may” come, it’s not my problem” - nice chap

We had a nice fish and chips dinner here. I was trying to book for a group of 45 people but it was too large of a party. I’m giving 5 stars because they took the time to recommend two other pubs that do large groups in the area.

Fantastic atmospheric pub! Now my local on a Wednesday evening! Had the food this week! Was as good as the menu looked

Had a great Sunday dinner here, the beef Sunday roast was great and my wife said the fish and chips were superb. The service was good as well, would recommend!

We really enjoyed our time over there. The food and drinks were really great and we loved the atmosphere inside. So overall it was really great. I would recommend this place.

Just loved it ....very friendly

We liked the decor, the atmosphere, the friendly staff so much the night before when we came to drink beer, that the next day we canceled the reservation we had in another pub and came to this pub again, but this time for dinner.

Incredible service from Gina. Looked after us all night and gave a great experience

Went for Sunday lunch as we were in town and the reviews looked good. At over £20 for a main meal, plus drinks, it isnt cheap, but the food was good quality, the service was excellent and the beer was standard Youngs stuff. The pub itself was nicely kept. I guess you cant eat cheap in Whitehall, so I will not comaplin about the price too much. I'd probably go back which makes it 5* from me.

The best fish i’ve ever tried in my life!! I also do recommend trying draught cider!

We chose this pub at random, after seeing the Horse Guards and we made the right choice. Typical decoration of what one imagines of a London pub, warm and fast service. Very wide choice of beers and drinks. We ended up having lunch there (in the middle of the afternoon) of chicken schnitzel and sausage & mash. It was delicious and freshly cooked. Many locals have been there and are clearly regulars, a guarantee of consistent quality. The toilets are perfectly clean.

Stumbled in here for what lived up to be an amazing Sunday roast and fish and chips! Got the beef and was so good! Will definitely come back!

Irid was a great server and very helpful, would suggest the kitchen communicate to servers when items on menu are out prior to service. Bangers and mash were great. Fish and chips were wonderful, and compared to 4 other places in London was the best I had (although it was slightly overcooked). Scallops were overcooked and unpalatable.

The Sunday roast was absolutely delicious. Great, friendly service as well. Irid took great care of us. We will definitely return next time we are in London. Highly recommended!