The White Swan, Richmond

Close to the riverside, this is a pleasant spot down an attractive quiet street away from the bustle of the town centre. The bar is in a boarded L-shaped room with a low beamed ceiling, the curved corner bar has an exposed brick front, a separate food servery is adjacent. I arrived after the lunch rush and the chalkboard menu had been wiped clean although some people were finishing their lunches, mostly in the attractive rear garden which has some nice planted shrubs. There is a conservatory area between the bar and garden (as is usual!)which is a bright and airy space with a wall full of Guinness advertisements. The other décor in the pub is limited to a mirror or two and a couple of pictures of Richmond Bridge. Regular seating throughout, nothing vulgar or ostentatious here, a couple of fireplaces had candles on top, I noticed a nice swan motif on the entrance door. Papers on a table, this is a quiet sedate place, no signs of a TV and no music playing. It may be a bit foody, the timing of my visit outside normal dining hours can't verify or deny this but that is the impression I got. Despite this several contented customers were quietly quaffing pints, so it isn't one of those places where you feel marginalised as a drinker. Six handpumps, four shared across, Tribute, Doom Bar, Timothy Taylor Landlord and Otter Bitter. A barrel went while I was in and how refreshing to see it changed straightaway and properly pulled through. Certainly one for a revisit.

This is a smallish pub tucked away down a side street leading from Richmond Green down to the river. It’s at the end of a terrace of small houses, and doesn’t impose itself on its surroundings by its size as some slightly larger pubs would do. The main part of the bar looks fairly old, with its low ceiling giving it an intimate feel. There are about half a dozen tables and chairs in this part of the pub, plus a few stools round the bar. It has been extended at the back with a small conservatory containing another half dozen tables and chairs, leading to an outside patio area at the back, with some picnic benches. Without the conservatory it would be a very small pub. I saw a ciggy machine, but no one armed bandits or games machines, and there was some piped music playing some pop songs not too loudly. I didn’t notice a TV. They had three real ales on – London Pride, Timothy Taylor Landlord, and St Austell Tribute. I went for the Tribute at the approximate going rate of £3.20 a pint, and it was OK without being close to the best pint of Tribute that I’ve had. But this pub is all about the food. I wouldn’t say that it is an out and out gastro pub, but their raison d’etre seems to be food, and they provide table service. Mains were in the region of £8 - £12 – Mrs R and I had the home made burger and chips at £8.50 a throw, and it was pretty good. It didn’t strike me as a local drinkers’ pub, but looked a decent enough pub to stop for just a couple or so pints, without having to eat if you didn’t want to. I quite liked it actually.