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Beer of the Week (w/e 27th April 2025) with Thuck Phat
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Detail Pages
Swan Inn, Brighton
Falmer
Postal town: Brighton
BN1 9PD
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Pub SignMan left this review about Swan Inn
This is a pleasant three bar pub with a few period features, located about a 10 - 15 minute walk from Falmer station and handy for Brighton and Hove Albion's football stadium. You enter through a small side garden into the Saloon Bar, which has basic carpeting, tongue and groove panel, whitewashed and bare brick walls, a few dark beams and a very small servery at the far end. Tables and chairs form the majority of the seating options plus a couple of modest banquettes, whilst a brick fireplace with a large stove inside stands opposite the bar and the windows down one side of the room offer an uninspiring view of the neighbouring dual carriageway's retaining wall. The bar has a cool, cantilevered tongue and groove counter and features collections of horse brasses and some painted saws - a new one on me - on the wall next to it. Passing through a door next to the bar, you reach a tiny main bar area with a much longer stretch of servery and a few tables and chairs opposite. All of the handpulls can be found in this area, so it's worth heading into if you want to establish the full cask range for yourself. You can then move on again through another door for a third bar which has plenty more seating options, another fireplace and an unused TV screen. Lots of black and white photos line the walls along with old maps and local history bits. The garden has plenty of seating and covered space that apparently proves very popular on match days.
There were five ales on handpull, which seemed like a good return for my trip out here. The options were Downlands Evening Star Revival APA (£5.00 a pint), Palmers Tally Ho and IPA and By the Horns Hopadelic and Blue Bird. My pint of the Revival APA was in good nick and I enjoyed my time here watching customers come and go on a fairly quiet midweek late afternoon.
This pub has made regular appearances in the Good Beer Guide and seems like a worthy inclusion thanks to some interesting, well-kept ale and a pleasant, homely environment. It may well be carnage here on a match day, but I found this a nice spot to enjoy a pint or two and hope to get a chance to call back again some day.
Date of visit - 16th May 2024
On 28th September 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3350 recommendations about 3350 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Swan Inn
Traditional pub, somewhat hidden away despite being very close to the A27, universities and football stadium. Comprises a lounge / dining room at one end, the public bar at the other and almost a snug in between (although the link is via the front steps). The latter houses a total of eight handpumps, three of which were in use on my visit, offering Long Blonde from Long Man plus a pair from Palmers: IPA (£4.80) and Tally Ho! Their Dorset Pale was also noted on one of the keg taps.
On 10th March 2024
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8679 recommendations about 8678 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Swan Inn
The Swan Inn is a pub I've been trying to visit for some time. Each year I visit Brighton & Hove Albion's Amex Stadium, we are now allowed in, as naturally all away football fans are hooligans and bouncers will prevent entry. I tried to visit on my last visit to East Sussex in May, 2021 too, only to find it closed as pubs were still slow to open following a Covid lockdown.
My perseverance finally paid off when visiting yesterday (a Friday) afternoon. Entering from the car park, there is a small outdoor patio where a couple of customers were enjoying a mid-afternoon drink and once inside you pass through the saloon bar, before finding the tiny, narrow main bar. Beyond that is another room which we didn't venture into. One other customer joined us in the main bar, whilst another couple arrived in the far room.
Just the 3 ales were on. Palmer's Tally Ho is a regular feature with Palmer's IPA also on. A second guest beer was Bedlam Smash, whilst a Bedlam Phoenix pumpclip was also turned round whilst we were there. But I think that was just because the bored barmaid was cleaning the handpull.
The bar area has somewhat of a railway theme, with a small modern railway above it all and various other railway ephemera. There is also some kind of German theme. But I'm not quite sure what the connection is there.
Toilets off the saloon bar are fairly tiny, which got me wondering how crowded they must get on a matchday. Sadly, I doubt I will ever know. This is certainly a half-decent pub, albeit lacking atmosphere, customers and much of a beer choice on a weekday visit.
On 25th June 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3040 recommendations about 3038 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Strongers . left this review about Swan Inn
The Village of Falmer was split by the completion of the A27 in 1981 leaving the Swan Inn in the north of the village separated from the village hall, pond, church and farm shop in the south. The pub has survived being isolated for many years and now benefits from Brighton and Hove Albion’s new Amex stadium that has been built in Falmer. From what I understand of the history of this pub the owner used to work in the pub and when the old governor died he left it to her in his will. I’m under the impression that he was against the building of the stadium so he would be disappointed that on match days only locals and ticket holding home fans are permitted past the bouncers into the pub. There was no such problem with bouncers when I visited with the misses early on Sunday evening, but the pub was getting very busy by the time we left at 19:30. There are two separate bars and we spent our time in the right hand bar that has a dartboard at the rear and access to a patio garden. The other bar is central to the pub and the majority of the bar runs along it. To the far left of the pub there looked like there is another room with seating but I didn’t get a proper look. I didn’t spot any TVs and there was no background music playing. I had a little trouble finding the toilet until I was directed to an outhouse that is used as the gents.
Food is served for a couple of hours at lunch and the kitchen remains open on Thursday and Friday evenings. There is a limited standard draught selection and the bar supports four hand pumps that were drawing Fullers Seafarers and W J King’s Red River alongside Tally Ho and Best Bitter from Palmers Brewery. Palmers actually feature a lot in this pub as there is a lot of their memorabilia up on the walls. I’m not sure what the connection is between the Swan and this Dorset Brewer other than stocking their beers.
This is a decent down to earth pub that warrants a return visit, just not on match day.
On 23rd December 2011
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5965 recommendations about 5931 pubs]