please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Your natural watering hole when you visit the brewery (or brewery store), and the samples of the brewery tour are not enough. Fuller’s cask ales in perfect nick, as expected. Edible food. Maybe not worth a detour, but compulsory when you are in the neighbourhood.
|
Dear Fullers,
It is inexcusable to provide a friendly pub such as this as your brewery tap and supply it with such a substandard range of low quality beer. During a previous visit five years ago almost the entire Fullers range was available on draught along with a well stocked fridge containing all the rest. The beer was excellent.
On my last visit there were four badly kept ales on. My Chiswick bitter was little more than dirty water. No wonder that the largest group of drinkers in the pub were all drinking lager.
In 2015, with a London beer revolution showing no signs of slowing down, such complacency is disgraceful.
|
This place is the Brewery Tap for Fullers. London pride, ESB, Seafarers, Chiswick Bitter, Honey Dew and seasonal beers are the Beers, And Fuller's 1st larger, Frontier is also available as well as veltins pilsner.
|
My mate & I visited yesterday, & had a really-good couple of pints in an excellent, convivial atmosphere!
Apparently, the pub is normally closed at the weekends, but we were lucky as there was a brewery tour group meeting beforehand.
The lovely Debbie was on hand to serve us with ESB, too, & she is a definite plus! :-)
Thanks very much for an enjoyable time- & I hope to find it open next time I'm in Chiswick!
|
Inevitably I paid a visit (actually two) to what is the flagship pub of Fuller, Smith and Turner's 365 in total, as part and parcel of a very comprehensive and engrossing tour round the Griffin Brewery and its historically-rich environs. Happily, the entire experience was free-of-charge thanks to a colleague of mine winning a tour and lunch on a James May-endorsed Facebook competition - social network sites finally show themselves to have a worthwhile use after all! It meant that myself and another lucky co-worker were treated to the full-on Fuller's experience.
The tour may not be a freebie for all, but even at the �10 pricetag, it comes highly-recommended, especially to those who might have considerable experience of micro-brewery visits but perhaps less of the regionals. It forms a fascinating counterpoint. This excursion is run personally by John Keeling, the head brewer and Fuller's-based since 1981, who has a well-rehearsed and rich awareness of the company's history as well as experience of breweing their beers, and the wider social and architectural background pertaining to Chiswick Village - the rather quaint and immaculately-preserved island of Georgian buildings sandwiched between the Thames and the modern, hectic A4 carriageway. It is a veritable oasis of civility and calm despite still being centred on the hive of industry that is the brewery, and Keeling's tour takes in the surroundings, where the barges used to stop off on the river, ex-brewer's houses, ex-pubs (there used to be 5 on 'the island' plus 1 brothel!) and the beautiful church where W Hogarth among other prominent personalities are buried.
Fortunately for me and others who don't always find appeal in the raw scientific detail of brewery tours, John's focused less on that and stuck to the core details with flourishes of history added in to keep the dialogue between the old and new Fuller's operations going. He is open to questions and comments and is more than a good host, especially when it comes to sampling in the Hop Cellar at the end. The usual range of 5 or 6 cask beers are made available along with a wide selection of their bottled offerings (conditioned anf filtered).
We were moved along to the pub at 2PM for what proved to be a hearty luncheon - being the glutton I am I opted for the two courses (tomato and watercress soup then steak and ESB ale pie 'n' chips) which were both found in excellent form; really tasty as I'm sure the other options were. Indeed, given Fuller's rather lofty pricing strategy in their pub estate it tasted all the sweeter taking some grub off them for nothing! The menu was that of a smart pub but not gastro-ish; pub grub meets bistro which suits the ambience of the smartly-decorated yet traditionally-themed interior of the Mawson.
Ale-wise, one has a selection of I think 5 on cask and the usual bottled fare. The London Porter, Pride, Chiswick and current seasonal Front Row were all splendidly-kept as one would expect, and lingered long on the palate after swallowing. At this point I should say the welcome from the barmaids and manageress was convivial, and service efficient and pleasant. We really were treated well despite not having paid a penny for it.
Before you wonder too hard, the pub has two names as it's believed that the Fox & Hounds stood further down where the brewery shop now is - as it was an equally-prominent meeting place, when it closed it was decided that the name should be moved to join its neighbour the Mawson on the corner, which was a 2-bar arrangement then. The dual name has stuck ever since.
Even if I was a paying customer I'd have been pleased to part with the necessary funds to obtain the quality of the wares and service at this pub, and it is a worthy talisman for the best aspects of the modern Fuller's operation. Yes, it does follow the usual Fuller's template and in some parts of London one is perhaps beset by similar pubs belonging to this estate. But if you're not near one, or perhaps feel you've fallen out of love a little with the ubiquity of the company's beers, travelling out here may hold greater appeal and act as a reminder of how good it can be, whether or not you're in the market for the full brewery tour.
|
As this place abuts the Fuller's brewery you'd think they'd take extra care with the beer and food. You'd be right. A wide selection of well-kept beer (all Fuller's and Gales obviously) and tasty grub. The brewery tour (which starts in the pub) is well worth the time it takes and the tenner it costs. And if you didn't have enough to drink beforehand, they'll rectify that oversight at the conclusion of the tour.
|
Both Withnail and I would be happy to think that it's no longer the 60's yet pubs can still be as they were.
There were 8 blokes grabbing a good lunch with a few pints, others getting lunch with soft drinks + a TV that was muted because it doesn't show good programmes @ lunchtime during the week..... yet you know there will be people wanting to grab a footy match or cricket when it's on.
Simple - this is the best pub I have been to in the UK this century
|
Echo the positive comments about this place, and also the brewery tour. Get a Fullers' card (sign up on the internet for free) in advance and a tasting tour drops to �8 (usually a tenner). Very interesting, and a decent tasting session afterwards, trying eight different off tap and a couple of bottles too. Recommended. As is the Hook Norton tour, if you fancy seeing some place smaller, still using the original brewing equipment.
|
Paid a brief visit to this pub yesterday. Didn't do the brewery tour. Needless to say, it's a Fullers pub with London Pride, Chiswick, ESB, Discovery, London Porter and Seafarers Ale. Cider is Symonds Founders Reserve. Pictures featuring Fullers beers and the brewery line the walls. The floor is bare floorboards. Sky Sports News was showing on the TV in the corner. The bar area appears to be the old Mawson Arms, whilst the tables at the rear (which seem to be used mainly for eating) occupy what appears to be the old Fox & Hounds. Only really worthwhile, if you are doing the brewery tour.
|
In here before a brewery visit. Standard range of Fullers plus Jack Frost. Fullers memorabilia around the walls. Brewery visit is certainly recommended.
|
Did the Brewery tour recently and had a pint before and a few after with food.
Everything about the day can only be described as excellent!
|
Changed management a few weeks ago, service very efficient and ales well worth a visit. They had a food tasting session recently to present their proposals for new specials. Some are very nice and as they are extending their meal availability to early evening I shall definitely be going to get the full size version.
|
Excellent pub. Great beers and great food. Good staff on duty when I visited. Starting point for the Fuller's Brewery Tour.
|
You come here to try the Fullers range, not for the view. Feels like a pub on a traffic island! The beer was almost to easy to drink and the irish couple in charge were very friendly, as were the locals (all drinking carling. WHY!?!) . ESB and porter obvious highlights, but all was good. Closes at 8pm.
|
Good for a brewery tap - a range of Fullers beers including their 'Hock' mild which I tried and then had a pint of. A shame it has to be right by the A4!
|
A fine pub - excellent service, perhaps Fullers reserve the pub on their brewery for the best staff but still, excellent.
|
This is the Fuller�s brewery tap, combined with the adjacent (and effectively the same pub) Fox & Hounds. The Mawson Arms half is really the main bar area, with the Fox & Hounds half the dining area. As you would expect, they have the full range of Fuller�s ales on, including their London Porter. Again as you would expect, the ESB was excellent. All in all this is a pretty decent pub, with the main downside being the noise from the Great West Road that passes directly outside the pub.
The food seemed good value, although I didn�t eat in there on this occasion. The Monday pie & pint offer seems particularly good value � steak and ale pie with veg plus a pint of Pride for �5.95. Nice pub � I like it.
|
Nice pub, the barman is friendly, beer is good and the food is great. 10/10
|
Last Friday was the first time I had been into the Mawson Arms without doing the Fuller�s brewery tour, which is a yearly tradition at my firm. There are only so many times that you can have a long drawn out conversation about a Wisteria!
We were met by the usual friendly hello and tucked in to some obviously well kept beers. I don�t usually drink bitter, but you can�t really go to the Fuller�s brewery tap room and drink Stella.
I wasn�t overly impressed with the burger and chips that I had, but it was cheap and I probably got what I paid for.
I�m sure that I�ll be back again next year.
|
After a guided tour at the Griffin Brewery we were hungry (not thirsty) and ended up for lunch here (incl. more drinking).
As we arrived at 3pm (food closing time) we were lucky (thanks to helpful staff) to get food served. I felt the food was just ordinary quality, but the ESB and London Pride were good.
All in all the guided tour combined with this pub visit was very interesting.
|
Your never meet any bar staff as friendly as the mawsons.
Food is perfect and this place offers the freshest pints around.
Cant say a bad word.
|
Fuller's brewery tap - nothing fancy, but top-notch real ale direct from the producers.
|
You can't get better beer. The locals did not seem to be the most welcoming lot but most seemed to be Fullers drivers who were back from their route. The barkeep was a helpful and friendly lad. I had the best pint of beer in my life at the Mawson Arms.
Even better than the Mawson Arms is taking the brewery tour and ending up sampling the Fullers line in the Hock Cellar.
|
This is the on-site pub at the Fuller's Brewery. Needless to say the ale quality is top notch. The London Porter was especially nice.
anonymous - 27 Mar 2005 03:32 |
