please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Dropped in for a post work pint last night. Quaint Fuller's pub with tiny downstairs bar and bigger upstairs bar serving beer which was in good order. Hook Norton Hooky bitter was the guest beer and this was in good nick as well! Worth a visit, but not in a big group (downstairs anyway!).
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This has been one of my regular haunts at lunchtime but I must say that the beer has slipped a little a bit over the last six months. Which is a real shame.
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great hideaway in The City... we drowned many pints there....
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Visted yesterday as a part of a mini pub crawl with a mate. Initially thought twice about going in as the downstairs bar is so thin and narrow. Glad we did go in, the London Pride was in excellent condition. What made it more inviting was the great Spanish bloke behaind the bar. If we weren't on a pub crawl, we could have stayed there all day talking with him about the world cup and football in general. Will go back to see if the Spanish Guy is in there for some more tactical discussions on the abilities of certain world cup "Stars?"
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The Swan was the pub of the day for me. Yes it's a Fullers pub. But an excellent one at that. This place oozes character and unlike the heaving Lamb around the corner in the Market, this place was relatively quiet. The narrow downstairs bar is lovely, whilst the upstairs bar offers a little more comfort and a view of Gracechurch Street. The alleyway outside is fine for outside drinking. But there is no seating. After being served immediately in the downstairs bar, I walked upstairs. This room has a cosy feel about it with carpets, red wall paper and decorative plates above the bar. An inoffensive TV was in one corner, but had no sound. Fullers London Pride, Discovery and Chiswick was supplemented rather surprisingly by Elgood's Cambridge Bitter. A pub well worth seeking out.
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excellent pub only slightly let down by the limited beer choice(fullers) but well kept, the chiswick is very good. very small but if you visit early you will find some space. best pub in the immidiate area, highly recomended
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It is tiny, we stood outside, it is lovely, from what we could see and it does a good pint.
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Tiny, cramped, lovely.
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I have been to very few pubs ever anywhere where the landlord puts this level of dedication into the quality of his beers. If you're looking for somewhere in the city that isn't all bottled lagers but stunningly presented beers then go here.
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Popped in for a first visit and a quick pint yesterday evening whilst on the way to Leadenhall Market. Not kidding about the narrowness of the downstairs bar. There was a couple of suits in who were obviously expert on the expense lunches and that was it virtually full. But fortunately, as it was a pleasant evening weather wise, plenty of room to stand outside in the alley way. Only had time for the one and the pride was excellent, so I can see why the Swan attracts glowing reviews.
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The Swan is a real pub, great atmosphere, good food, excellent beer. Walk past the trendy pseudo wine bars and come here
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Top pub. Top beer. Great simple food. Really well run. Mad bar staff. Upstairs, the Polish female manager and sidekick barmaid are a top double act, and downstairs, Alf is a bit of a legend.
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Obviously you'll be surrounded by City types, but I'd say the pub is fine for an afternoon drink. I found nothing wrong with the beer. 7.
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Visited a couple of weeks ago after work on a Friday night, and had a great evening. The Fullers was well kept and the guest beer, Nottingham Gold, was super. We enjoyed the samples of beer before we committed ourselves, especially served in minature pint glasses. We felt very welcome, and spent most of the time in the upstairs bar with the ale lovers.
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I was there last night. Very nice indeed. I went upstairs and the Fuller's London Pride was excellent. The manager is called Simon and he's an Aussie (which we won't hold against him) - top bloke.
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Has to be one of the narrowest bars in the city and set well back from the road is easily missed. If there�s no room downstairs, there�s a tricky spiral staircase to negotiate, so don�t drink too much! Set firmly on the �City� with client�le to match nonetheless, the visitor will find the range of Fuller�s beers to be on fine form, not forgetting the guest ale. Lots of wood and glass to interest the connoisseur complete the picture. Altogether a nice little pub.
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A smashing little tippling house that serves decent ale and Black Country pork scratchings. What more can one ask for?
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Visited last Tuesday for the first time in ages and have to say it was excellent. The Butcombe Bitter was 10/10, service good and at 20.30 was comfortable.
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Fine traditional, but small city pub with a narrow bar at ground level and an upstairs bar that is somewhat bigger and not quite as busy. It's a Fullers pub that takes the permitted guest beer - note the numerous pump clips on display
Rather pleasingly, the management of this pub clearly read BITE as pinned up by the bar is the BITE top 40 listing in Feb 2007 when this pub was briefly at number 1 and the nearby Bell in Cannon Street (which is under the same ownership ) was at number 2.
What I would say to the management is that the upstairs bar had a strong whiff of furniture polish yesterday evening - one of the unpleasant consequences of smoking now being banned, obviously.
I'll put this down to a temporary aberration - the Swan is still one of the best pubs in this part of the city in my book
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The Swan seems to get busier and busier and it's easy to see why, the beer is always excellent and the staff are great, special mention to Big Simon!
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I love the Swan, friendly staff, great atmos and regular guest beers. Excellent
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An old friend this one but I don't get in there as much as I should since I moved office up to Broadgate. Popped in again a couple of weeks ago and it doesn't change. Downstairs bar for lunchtime - upstairs for the evenings - just great
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Yeah normal city types going to your normal city type of pub. I used to go there for WC football matches during the day. Not bad - will be a lot better come the smoking ban. A few office type tarts show up Thurs, Fri night looking for a few free drinks and a random pump. A lot better than the Swan in Stockwell!!
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Belting little pub. Landlord was friendly and cheerful, good Fullers range was available. Had a quick pint of the Chiswick which was in excellent condition at a very reasonable 2.50. Will certainly return soon.
Sharp - 31 Mar 2007 01:27 |
Particularly good in summer but outside yesterday with an excellent pint of Pride. How does the Landlord manage to keep smiling when it is that busy?
Haven't tried the sandwiches yet!
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I held my birthday party in the upstairs bar at The Swan last night and it was a great experience. Simon who runs the pub was helpful during the preparations and looked after us all well during the evening.
He prepared some platters of food for us which were very reasonably priced and the quality was superb. I was drinking London Pride all night (lovely) and I hear that the Adnams was tasty as well.
If you are organising a do for about 30 - 35 people then you should consider this pub. I cannot fault it.
It's a friendly pub too if you just want to pop in for a drink.
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Outstanding boozer - many a good night in here. Very good in the summer, in the shade but still have a vantage point for spotting the polly walking past.
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Favourite city pub, staff are fantastic, beer is the best kept in the city and the sarnies are excellent.
Definatley recomend and looking forward to my next visit.
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Reading the previous reviews sums up this wonderful oasis. Alf the free Spaniard, and Candi the South African refugee are a great team and make you feel instantly welcome. I have started to notice lady drinkers in attendance which, is a recent change.The sarnies are great value for a city pub and the beer is excellant. Long live the traditional British ale house.
Dejaz - 28 Feb 2007 16:54 |
one of my top 10 !!!!!!! well done fullers
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First review of this pub for a year. Nothing changes still excellent. Easily the best pint in the city.
Upstairs to Fullers Ales plus a guest beer. Does proper sarnies too.
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Agree with previous reviewers - this is one of the best (possibly the best) pubs in the City. Small, quiet and friendly with great beer. Doesn't come much better than that in my book. Can be easily overlooked, but definitely worth the effort of seeking out.
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A gem in the City. A proper pub with good beer, and simple but good sarnies. I only get here occaisionally but always welcomed, unlike many small bars that have a 'regulars only' approach
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What a great place, shouldn't all pubs be like this?
anonymous - 26 Jan 2007 14:13 |
The only thing better than spending time jawing with the old man tending bar downstairs was going upstairs and enjoying the company of the younger more attractive bar staff up there.
An solid pint of Chiswick.
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This is an excellent little pub tucked away from Gracechurch Street. Beer is very well looked after and the building has plenty of charm. Well worth going to.
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Less is more,..minimalist approach here. As you'll see from the photo,..its very easy to walk straight through this gaff.
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Visited 11 Jul 06. Not a great deal I can add. Fullers beers in a Fullers house are always a delight, the Pride and Chiswick were in excellent condition, and my friend assured me that the guest (Jennings Cumberland) was also superb.
The barman was quite simply the best. I think his trick is to remain calm at all times, and to anticipate his customers needs.
Far too many pubs in the city are cavernous booze emporia, but The Swan is a little gem.
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This pub is a gem.The manager has always got time for you and makes you really fell welcome.The Fuller's beers are always in perfect condition which says a lot for the way the manager cares.Truly a great city pub.
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where did Fuller's find such a great barman/manager, i felt i could stay in there all day, he was run off his feet with the amount of customers but still found time to welcome us and served up a great pint of Fuller's beer.
it gets very busy lunchtime and early evening best time to visit is mid-afternoon, don't miss it as it is a gem in the city of London. ps it does not open week-ends mores the pity, closes early week-days (11am-9pm) occasionally stays open later if trade demands
anonymous - 9 May 2006 10:08 |
First visit for a while but as ever I was served an excellent pint of ale at �2.65 a pint. �2.80 for Carlsberg. Average price for the area. Service was excellent and very friendly. Well worth a visit if in the area but if your a lady you might find you are the only one in there. Counted one in the upstairs bar. But this isn't your standard old man's pub, it is better than that.
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One for the ale drinkers. Excellent Fullers house with two bars. Both very small. In my opinion probably the best ale in this part of the city. I love it.
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Great boozer with excellent Landlord and staff (he lets me have a tab). Sandwiches are very good and always prompt no matter how full the pub gets. Bitter is kept excellently, especially the Chiswick. Good choice of lager's, Carlsberg, Stella, Carling - always cold and fizzy. It has a tidy little narrow bar downstairs with an option to drink outside. Upsatirs bar is a good old fashioned City pub, of which too many have disappeared over the last 5 years or so. Top marks to the truimphant Swan.
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a hidey-hole drinkers pub for the insurance market - good sandwiches.
evers - 29 Aug 2005 17:28 |
Wonder why they've gone for a 24 hour license - unless I'm mistaken, they don't even open at weekends at the moment
Good luck to them though - its a smashing pub, highly recommended
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open 24 hours a day, baby, count 'em.....proof that there is a god
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Just became the first UK pub to get a 24 hour license.
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Lovely tiny pub serving the best London Pride in the capital. It is small so take a tin of axle grease and a shoe-horn if you want to get to the bar :)
anonymous - 9 May 2005 20:49 |
Love the pub,but only when its not full of `one of you`....Great Fullers brews + the seasonal element...just visit when the country pile is attracting the nannied element!
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Magnificent pub for men in suits to drink possibly the best London Pride in the City. Has a bit of a 'locals' feel to it but so long as you're recognised as 'one of us' (ie you're male and in a suit) then there's no hassle. I only checked out the downstairs bar which is pretty tiny (it would feel crowded with 10 people in there) but the decor is authentic stone flagstones, dark wood etc, and - correct me if I'm wrong - feels uncontrived as it's been like that since the year dot. I foresee a long friendship with this pub - marvellous.
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Marvellous City pub, very traditional, but rather small and narrow. Don't tell everyone about it
Alf is a real gentleman. London Pride is never less than excellent here
John - 4 Nov 2004 13:01 |
Delightful pub. Clean and polished. First floor bar has tall bar stools around 'wooden tardis consoles' to perch on and eat the Swan Big Burger. Small and well featured gents loo. But a drinkers' pub as well. A difficult balance well achieved.
andy - 3 Sep 2004 20:27 |
I arrived breaking one of the cardinal City drinking rules (no jeans! no trainers!) and the tiny narrow bar went quiet as everyone appraised the stranger. I took a pint of Harvest and ensconced myself in the corner and waited for friends. Once it became clear I was a fellow City boy in civvies, the atmosphere was more welcoming. The clientele were all late-lunching suits, getting drunk and putting the world to rights with plenty of colourful language and animated gestures. There were no women in front of the bar - this is a pub drinkers pub. The beer was of an excellent quality, although the selection was quite small - if you want a huge choice then there's the Cross Keys just across the road. The staff were very friendly and efficient, and the toilets were modern, spotlessly clean, and obviously recently refurbished.
Simon - 2 Jul 2004 13:03 |
A small pub, which somehow fits in a cellar somewere.
Good Pride and an escaped Spaniard for a Barman
Grynster - 1 Mar 2004 17:52 |
A Traditional Drinkers Pub. The small downstairs bar (looked after by the ever welcoming Alf)serves London Pride, Chiswick and a Guest Ale together with the most fantastic sandwiches in the city (many of the fillings come from local suppliers in nearby Leadenhall Market). The slightly larger upstairs bar managed by Adam and Jackie is also very popular.
Mark - 5 Dec 2003 13:09 |
