The Swan & Mitre, Bromley

An old looking pub but knocked through inside forming several areas. Four handpumps, all Greene King derived, two clipped with IPA, one Old Speckled Hen and one False Nine a seasonal beer that was passable. I likely wouldn't bother again but it was handy avoiding a rain storm.

Nice old pub but let down with the beer choice.Black Sheep and Greene king beers on and went for the lesser of two evils with the BS bitter.

An historic old pub, reasonably modernised but retaining much character. Different areas are arranged round the central bar, including a dining area and a games section with darts and pool. A few sports TVs lurk in corners, while the furnishings are mainly traditional, with some nice leather chesterfields. Ales are from the Greene King range, with IPA, Fireside and Rocking Rudolph, it being that time of year.

I thought this pub fell neatly into the OK category. The ales were all Greene King except the Doom Bar, and the Starry Night was the best of the bunch at £3.60 a pint before the 10% CAMRA discount was applied. Being a GK pub they do food, but I didn't make any notes regarding the food. It's bound to be pub grub though. The mirrors around the place, apparently gifted by Marie Lloyd from her dressing room at the Gaiety Theatre, are quite a nice feature. The place has clearly been knocked about over the years. I saw mention of a lost skittle alley on a board at the back; a partition between two erstwhile rooms at the front looks long gone, and it has clearly been extended at the rear and to the right of the original building. It was comfortable enough in there on a Wednesday afernoon, but I don't think I would go out of my way to re-visit a Greene King pub that had Doom Bar as a guest.

Official site of Swan & Mitre - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of Swan & Mitre - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

An old building with claims to date from 1665 however I very much doubt this date relates to the current pub. The ceiling over the central island bar is very low indeed, the same area has a flagstone floor with there being other floor treatments elsewhere. The place is fully opened out inside and as a result has lost any real semblance of history, the orangery type area to the rear looks to be an addition, there is a small garden beyond here. The pub is apparently named after a Joseph Swan who apparently invented the electric light bulb, various mirrors are said to be donated by a music hall singer called Marie Lloyd and more interestingly to me David Bowie had his wedding reception here in 1970. Mixed seating of all types, a fireplace has seating in front but another on an end wall looks usable. GK beers, IPA, Rocking Rudolph (already) plus one called Starry Night, probably another Christmas themed name. I wasn't especially thrilled by this pub despite there being nothing really wrong with it and if I visit Bromley again I doubt it would be on my list.