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Disappointment of the week with Tris39
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by peter ashworth
Submitted on Tuesday, 30th July 2013
With picture contributions to 26844 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (13 more images)
Detail Pages
The Swan, Bloomsbury, WC1
WC1
WC1N 3AP
Swan
A big thank you again to everyone participating in our Easter egg drive for Great Ormond Street Hospital and Childr… https://t.co/OPyAIycCp1
7:55 PM Apr 13th 2019 from Facebook
Reviews of The Swan (Average Rating: 6 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Bucking Fastard left this review about The Swan
A listing in the 2019 GBG drew this visit,and what a let down.It's a Greene King pub,long and thin with a traditional exterior but a very corporate interior.The long bar extends down the right side,opposite are a mix of high tables with some red leather bench seating while at the back more normal dining tables and a black leather bench.What ruins the interior is 3 flatscreen ,one mounted in a picture frame above a fireplace all screening daytime TV .Awful.Every table has a vast corporate menu with food pictures for the hard of thought,but I suppose this is hotel land and tourist central.
Food arrives via a dumb waiter and is served by dumb barstaff,and I can only assume that the presence of 8 handpumps has got the local CAMRA branch wetting themselves.The actual range on my Saturday afternoon visit was GK IPA,Abbott,Old Rosie Cider,Sambrooks Wandle,Wimbledon SW19 and Hammerton N1 (slightly sharp,£2.40 rip off half).Two pumps were conditioning which is a deceit copied from 'spoons.
In reality a dull ale selection ,rip off prices in a boring pub with a very transient customer base where the staff dont really care.The CAMRA branch mistake quantity for quality.
On 21st October 2018
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2727 recommendations about 2727 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about The Swan
Small, thin pub with bar running along one long wall, padded leather benches on opposite wall with tall tables & stools inbetween.
Dark red ceiling and a few mirrors & subdued lighting, despite a few rips in the seats it feels comfortable.
8 real ales, including local selection, well kept
On 25th July 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Swan
Down a pleasant pedestrianised street, close to Great Ormond Street hospital, this is a narrow but surprisingly deep, single room Taylor Walker pub. You enter the pub past a reasonably appealing outdoor seating area with a few sturdy looking benches arranged under an awning. As you make your way into the building, you initially find yourself in a fairly spartan space, with a drinking ledge and high stools to the left and a plain space with room for minimal seating over to the right, somewhat hemmed in by the appearance of the bar a little further on along the right hand wall. The servery is nothing much to write about, coming straight off the Taylor Walker conveyor belt with its straight dark wood counter and modern looking bar back with neatly organised bottles and a hop lined top. The room has a chequered tile floor around the bar, an exposed floorboard runway through the centre of the room and to the rear and some carpet down the left hand side. High tables and stools run down the middle of the room opposite the bar and some L-shaped banquettes follow the left hand wall, broken only by a small, modern looking fireplace, with some standard tables and chairs to the rear of the room. The walls have been covered with modern wallpaper and a red anglypta band can be seen above. A few pictures and mirrors in tacky gold frames could be found around the room as well as corporate looking blackboards listing the usual promotional stuff. Various Euro 2016 national flags were hung around the room and a TV screen to the rear was showing muted rolling news whilst some non-descript music chugged away in the background. A standard Taylor Walker menu was placed on each table and I enjoyed watching a French couple puzzle their way through it before coming to the bar to take a photos of all the hand pumps and keg taps. Contributors to the French version of Pubs Galore perhaps?
The pub is currently listed in the Good Beer Guide and there was certainly a handsome row of handpulls to have a go at. Options on this visit comprised Taylor Walker 1730, Sambrooks Junction, Morland Old Speckled Hen, Greene King London Glory, Hop Stuff Pale Ale, Hammerton N1, Windsor and Eton Conqueror and Redemption Trinity - a reasonable mix of predictable duffers and established London-based breweries. My pint of the Pale Ale set me back an upsetting £4.50, but was pretty good and served up by a very friendly German(?) barmaid. Her Australian colleague also seemed very friendly and became engaged in an excellent pub conversation with a fellow countryman who enlisted her help to help him use a pocketful of change to buy his pint. Customer (picking coin from huge pile he's dumped on bar): "What's this one", Barmaid: "That's a 2", C: "What, £2?", B: "No, 2 cents", C (in complete disbelief): "What the hell am I going to buy with all these two cent coins?", B: "And those are one cents", C: "Stupid bloody Poms!".
I'm no great fan of Taylor Walker pubs, but I thought this one seemed to avoid a lot of the usual pitfalls, such as bland corporate interior, disinterested staff and dubious quality beer. Perhaps the room's compact width helped make it feel a bit cosier. Either way I enjoyed a good, if expensive, pint here and would rate this up there with the best I have found in Bloomsbury thus far.
On 29th June 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
View more reviews of The Swan (13)
Pubs Galore is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
- The Swan page at the Taylor Walker site - www.taylor-walker.co.uk
- Randomness Guide to London - Swan entry
- Facebook - The Swan Holborn
- Twitter - Swan
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Swan - whatpub.com
London St Pancras International, 0.91 miles, 17 min walk (show)
London Kings Cross, 0.97 miles, 18 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- CAMRA Discount : Yes - 10% - last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : No last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Child Friendly : Yes - Until 10 p.m. - last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Live Music : No last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Live TV Sports : Yes - No sound - last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Micropub : No last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 21 October 2018 by Bucking Fastard
- Wheelchair Access : Yes - No disabled toliet - last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
- WiFi : Yes last updated 13 June 2017 by ROB Camra
