The Wild Swan, EC4

Visited 15/04/26. Cask offering of their own Lord Marples, Jaipur, Cocoa Wonderland, Hirundo spring pale ale, their own branded Wild Swan extra pale ale and sole guest of Fagans Irish Red Ale from Kelham Island Brewery. Keg offering of their own Brock, Lukas, Green Mountain, Guava King pale ale, Vega IPA, Day Maker session IPA and then away keg of Fruitage by Rodenbach, Damm Lemon, pilsner from Elvington Brewery, Gravity Theory cider, Lilley's cherries & berries cider and Weihenstephanet hefe Weissbier. Had spotted from the excellent reporting by Tris that this venue had finally opened whilst I was away from London. It is a decent fit out with the bar counter along the left-hand wall with a tile skirt in an otherwise bare boarded venue. To the left of the entrance is a banquette serving a couple of tall tables just to the front edge of the bar counter. There are some tall tables with tall stools in the middle of the floor space with then generally crimson red studded leather banquettes / booth tables around the rest of the ground floor space. Lots of dark wood and mirrors deployed. Upstairs there is a seating area via regular tables served by the same classy leather banquettes as on the ground floor and with the open fronted kitchen serving hatch at the rear of the space. All told I counted two gent’s downstairs from the ground floor and three ladies and one gent’s on the first floor so that looks like a three all draw in my books. One of the gents (phew what a relief) already had some graffiti on the wall, couldn't quite decipher but i think it was something like "Tris Woz Ere April 2026"! My visit was late evening, but it was still busy with a City work crowd but not rammed so it made for a visit with a good vibe. Would revisit for sure.

New Thornbridge pub with a striking dark-blue tiled frontage, built on or near the site of the demolished White Swan as part of a major redevelopment. Traditional-looking bar at the front, with a further seating area further back and more of a dining area (with the kitchen) up on the mezzanine. Interesting features include large illuminated stained glass mural panel and four clocks showing local times at different locations (but not the usual suspects). I found five of the six handpumps in use, offering The Wild Swan (a 'house' 3.4% pale ale), Lord Marples, Crackendale, Jaipur and the Cocoa Wonderland chocolate Porter (£6.60), with the other in the process of being changed. Also has a selection of the brewery's craft keg beers too.

The Wild Swan on the CAMRA website - camra.org.uk

The Wild Swan on the CAMRA website - camra.org.uk