The Mute Swan, Hampton Court, East Molesey

Official site of The Mute Swan - www.brunningandprice.co.uk

A new addition to the local area from Brunning & Price, possibly their most southerly outpost. The ground floor is a squareish room with a couple of recesses, boarded floor with rugs, thankfully no high tables, comfortable seating including a few wing back armchairs, a single tulip on each table. Some lower wall stained wood panelling, the walls are liberally covered with all manner of photographs, prints and advertisements including a series of maps of the River Thames, monks fishing, LT posters, bowler hatted city gents as well as local scenes of the river and Hampton Court Palace. Centrally in the room an iron spiral staircase rises to the first floor dining room and the toilets, the dining room has great river views from the front windows, I expect you need to book early to secure one of these. The menu is upmarket with prices to match, but looks very good. Bar snacks on a chalkboard such as pork pie and piccalilli, salt and pepper squid and enticingly, black pudding fritters. The barman was friendly and chatty, happy to talk about how the pub is doing, very well so far it seems, they have been open 32 days and have shifted 65 beers so far. Five handpumps on the side bar, Sambrook's Wandle, Twickenham Naked Ladies, Hogs Back TEA, Redemption Big Chief IPA (£4) and Tillingbourne AONB (£3.80). There were also an impressive selection of whiskies on offer. The general vibe was laid back and relaxing, no TV, low key background music, a proper fire on the go, newspapers and a few games available to borrow. I liked it here a great deal and despite the current pub climate this is evidence that if you make a bit of effort to be that bit better you can still succeed. I'm sure I'll be back in here a few times.

This is a newly opened pub, on the site of the former Blubeckers. They seem to be committed to real ale, with their house ale, Brunning & Price Original Bitter (£3.60 a pint), Windsor & Eton Guardsman, Hogsback HBB, Andwell Resolute, and By the Horns Diamond Geezer (£4 a pint) on. The background to their house ale is on the back of the beermats that are on all the tables – apparently it is a collaboration with Phoenix Brewery. I had a couple of pints of the Diamond Geezer, which was in superb nick. The main bar area is on the ground floor, and is rather elegantly furnished with a quartet of leather armachairs in the centre of the room, and good quality tables and chairs elsewhere. The floor is mainly varnished bare boards, but with several expensive looking rugs breaking up the spaces. All the tables had a sprig of chrysanthemums on them, and there were pots containing aspidistras, ferns and decorative figs around the place. All very gentleman’s club like. Other things of note were the “balance a coin on the lemon” game – the lemon floating in a bucket of water - wherein the prize for success is a free pint. There are free newspapers to read (together with an accompanying box of reading glasses!), and most importantly of all the chalkboard on the wall giving information (price per pint, ABV, miles from brewery) about the ales on and those coming next. Wall décor is composed mainly of prints featuring riparian activities. The toilets are upstairs, so it’s not very disabled friendly. There is a separate restaurant upstairs, reached via a spiral staircase in the middle of the main bar. You can eat in the main bar if you choose, and the menu is essentially gastropub class. However, it does include sandwiches at £5.75 to £7.95. There is not much in the way of pub grub pricing among the main courses – e.g steakburger, chips, etc, is £12.45. One of the ladies I was with succumbed to the temptation of the sticky toffee pudding (£6 or so) and she said it was very good indeed. This pub is a welcome addition to the Hampton Court pub list, and I very much expect to be visiting again.

Official site of The Mute Swan - www.brunningandprice.co.uk