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Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
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Dean Swift, Bermondsey, SE1
SE1
SE1 2NE
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about Dean Swift
Having left the Bermondsey Beer Mile behind me, I still had time for one last pub in Bermondsey that I've been meaning to visit for some time.
This is more of a backstreet locals' boozer, despite being a short distance from Tower Bridge. But it is still dominated by its craft beer selection. The solitary real ale was Kazbek. Craft beers were Burning Sky Petite Saison, Arise & Rustic Table Beer, Goodness Yes!, Session IPA & Sunset Red, Hackney Kapow & Boogie Van IPA, Moor Distortion, Exale Skoosh & Anspach & Hobday London Porter.
After a bunch of soulless railway arches, it was nice to return to a proper pub. But I can't say I'd rave over this one.
On 14th November 2023
- rating: 5
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Tris C left this review about Dean Swift
Dating from 1851 and originally the Bricklayer’s Arms, I suspect that this has been rebuilt at some point. It has been hipsterfied as a ‘craft ale’ outlet, situated in an obscure back street, but all streets in SE1 seem to be obscure.
The interior is rather predictable, with smoky blue walls, tall furniture, tea lights on tables, fluted glass shades with Victorian-style sconces and a modern herringbone floor. Décor comes in the form of framed former brewery adverts, folk music played on the stereo and tea lights flickered on the tables.
There’s a rear beer wall with board above, advertising just three cask options, one off, one I couldn’t read, plumping for the Moor Resonance at a very good £2.25 a half; it was ok, but cool and refreshing would have worked better on a hot summer’s day.
This place is ok, though a little soulless so I doubt I’ll return.
On 9th November 2021
- rating: 5
[User has posted 1983 recommendations about 1949 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
hondo . left this review about Dean Swift
Quite a small bare boarded interior. A good selection of keg and 4 real ales
On 28th October 2019
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about Dean Swift
Corner pub located in the side streets just downstream of Tower Bridge. Given something of a gastro-pub makeover at some stage, but full of those just having a drink when I visited early on a weekday evening. Not a lot of space, either for seating of behind the corner bar, with London Lush and What Mama Don't Know from Franklin's (£4.30) being dispensed from two of four handpumps, with a fair range of craft beers also available from the ten keg taps.
On 19th May 2019
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Steve of N21 left this review about Dean Swift
It’s taken a while to get round to visit this one but finally made it this week when doing a small crawl south of Tower Bridge and finished up spending most of the evening in here.
This reinvented upmarket craft and cask ale house has been well described by previous reviewers but it is quite impressive how many good beers they manage to cram into the small corner bar area. The four ale pumps had Roosters Weakender, Bedlam Brewery Benchmark,Five Points Brewing Railway Porter and Belleville Valley Blanche for our visit and although we didn’t try any the 10 keg pumps, these had a varied selection of decent craft offerings from the likes of Cronx, ELB, Five Points and Belleville. And then there were a lot more choice contained in cans and bottles in the fridges behind the bar.
A real Brucey bonus for our visit was that Belleville are the brewer of the month for the pub and they were in on our evening going around offering free tasters of their core beers. So we got free tasters of their Blonde and Pale Ales on top of decent pints from Bedlam and Five points..
I certainly won’t leave it so long to pay a return visit to here.
On 24th March 2017
- rating: 8
[User has posted 2110 recommendations about 1992 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Danny O'Revey left this review about Dean Swift
Corner beer house, a bit young & trendy with contemporary distreesed tables, flower pots & the like, but its a decent boozer with 4 real ales.
On 22nd March 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1456 recommendations about 1434 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about Dean Swift
A small corner pub with a slightly modern feel inside,empty on my early ,midweek lunchtime visit although a family did come in to eat whilst I was there.There are four handpumps,there was a good selection on my visit,5 points pale,Stateside APA,Summer Wine Wingman and Signature Brew Session,there are also 11 craft taps. A decent place worth a visit.
On 20th February 2016
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Dean Swift
Located two minutes from the hustle and bustle of the Thames riverside in the old Butler’s Wharf but feels like a million miles away. This is a small upmarket alehouse that had a radical overhaul a couple of years back and is aimed at the emerging craft beer market. The exterior is relatively unassuming and the interior is decorated in a fairly minimalist and functional manner, a small room with a bare boarded floor, whitewashed walls with a sprinkling of brewerania and a compact bar tucked away in the corner. Craft keg pumps dominate with an interesting mix of eight local and imported beers which complement the range of bottles in the fridge. Helpfully, a beer menu is provided. Sited to the right behind a column are four handpumps which on my visit were dispensing from an impressive brewery line-up, although the beer style was uniformly light and hoppy. The W&E Knot and Liverpool Organic were both in excellent condition if a little pricey, served by staff who smiled and actually seemed happy to be there. Busy on my visit, we nabbed a pillar perch and were impressed by the brewery labels that had been varnished into the woodwork even if the W&E one hadn’t really survived the experience as well as the others. Food is pushed and described like quite upmarket pub grub however the portion sizes looked generous. This definitely a good place for a beer drinker to seek out and I’ll definitely return on that basis. It isn’t necessarily a huge draw as a pub unit though, it seems to be missing some character.
On 4th July 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about The Dean Swift
This place looks a bit austere and forbidding from the outside with black painted tiles, a lack of floral displays and so forth but once inside things brighten somewhat. A single L-shaped bare boarded room with the small bar tucked in the back corner, white walls and ceilings contrast with the exterior and with the large clear glass windows give a bright airy feel even on a gloomy afternoon. There is a run of banquettes along the front under the window with empty bottles along the shelf, then a fireplace with a mirror and TV over, other seating is at benches and stools. Decor is a bit minimalist and is basically a few framed beer and brewery related things plus a good number of chalkboards listing the beer ranges and food options together with opinions. Some of the food specials were priced quite high but a separate board listed more regular options at more affordable prices.
The first thing you see on approaching the bar is a row of keg pumps offering a mix of craft and more standard products, I spotted a couple from Camden and one from Kernel. The shelves behind the bar plus a fridge tucked in a corner held a quite unusual selection too with Kernel again well represented, the fridge containing a good selection of Belgian stuff.
Four handpumps are semi concealed behind a column but once spotted offered a good choice of lesser seen brews, Windsor and Eton Windsor Knot, Arbor Ales Sonnet, Redwillow Endless and Magic Rock Curious NZ (£4....I expected this).
Some guy with a vaguely American accent came over to chat to me about the beer having seen me inspecting the pumps, I reckon he's the guvnor, he seemed friendly enough and interested in what he does, can't argue with that.
It's certainly not your traditional street corner boozer any more but I did like it and enjoyed the beer.
On 19th November 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Roger Button left this review about The Dean Swift
Originally a Trumans pub called the Bricklayers Arms, this small Victorian corner pub set in the heart of Butlers Wharf was reinvented as the Dean Swift in 2010 and centres itself around craft beers and microbrewery ales.
The bare floored main bar is a small, single room with modern, quite plain and bright décor with a few touches of elegance. The walls contain artworks, a few quirky quotes and a collection of pump clips. There were a couple of TVs showing football during our visit but this isn’t really a sport dominated pub as such. There is also an upstairs bar for functions.
The big draw here is the beers.with 4 rotating ales on handpump, the selection for my visit being Buxton Kinder Stout (£4), Buxton Moor Tap (£3.80), Windsor & Eton Windsor Knot (£3.80) and Redemption Trinity (£3.60). There is a good choice of craft keg beers and global bottled beers with a menu available at the bar to steer you through what’s available. A set of chalkboards will also alert you to any updates as well as upcoming entertainment. Main meals were around £10-£15 and there were a fair number of people eating so I would assume it has a good reputation.
Service was friendly and efficient and the general atmosphere was quite vibrant and busy for what was essentially a fairly mundane Sunday evening. They certainly appear to have found a market for themselves and the pub is well worth a visit if in the area but you’ll need a fatter than normal wallet.
On 9th November 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1239 recommendations about 1233 pubs]