please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
£4.50 for a pint of Hophead! This pub is nothing special and is ordinary in many respects. Don't make an effort to visit.
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I agree with previous comments that there is nothing outstanding about this place, but neither can it be heavily criticised.
It was clean and the beers on offer included several from the London based Portobello Brewery. The barmaid was happy enough to offer a sample of a new Portobello lager they have started selling, all with a smile. Handy for the nearby tube station at Pimlico.
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Agree with Captain Ted. Had exactly the same long wait with other people being served in a random order. I complained to the barman and he said 'Well I'm serving you now'.
This pub only seems to survive because of its location.
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Queue 10-15 minutes for a drink while others are being served in 2-3?
Have a waitress refuse to wipe your table as she's 'busy'?
Order the Mini Pie & Pasty Platter and find that each pie contains 3 small bits of gristle and no meat as such?
For that matter, order two steaks and, after a half-hour wait, get served one?
Why, you must be at the White Swan on Vauxhall Bridge Road!
Seriously, there are corporate pubs out there which try to stand out from their cookie-cutter brethren by being unique, but I don't think the White Swan Difference - raucously bad service - is quite the answer.
Give this one a miss.
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Identikit high street pub with little to recommend it above the crowd but nothing really tp detract away from it either. Selection of beers is OK (though I will say the Tribute is really well kept), food is OK, atmosphere OK, decor OK, bar staff a mixed bag though one of the barmen is a really friendly bloke, prices a bit steep. Overall a safe if uninspiring choice of pub.
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Fairly bog standard, middle of the road pub that has quite a handy location. There is a decent selection of beers, generally well kept (the Tribute being especially good on a recent visit), with OK pub grub, nice enough staff and an OK if slightly too uniform decor. My impression is that this is a pub looking to pick up passing trade and tourists with little to recommend it above any other pub in the area but then little to drag it below any other pub, though the prices are pretty steep e(specially when charging almost �3 for a coke).
To sum up nothing to damn but nothing to praise either.
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An attractive, street corner pub with plenty of window flower troughs and hanging baskets outside as well as a few benches to sit and watch the world go by. Inside it's a perhaps a little disappointing; nothing at all wrong with it, but it's clearly had a makeover at some point, and doesn't have quite the character that you might expect.
It's effectively a single room bar, although divided in to a front and rear section. D�cor wise they're fairly similar with a the paintork being mostly maroon with a few splashes of dark green to break up the monotony. At the front are a number of leather, button backed benches around the perimeter, and some high tables and chairs elsewhere, along with a tiled fireplace. At the rear there's a more conventional selection of tables and chairs. Flooring is a mixture of carpet and wood with a few flagstones around the bar and there is a plasma screen at the rear, although this was not in use on a recent visit. Service was very slow at the bar with just one barmaid serving on a Saturday evening. It would have helped a bit if the guy whose job it was to bring the food out could have helped out behind the bar when he had no work to do, instead of sitting at a table playing with his phone.
Food menu looked to be a decent enough selection of �pub grub� dishes which was divided in to sections such as mains, burgers, pies and sharing platters. Most of the mains were priced around the �8 mark, and we found the food to be rather disappointing. A Chicken Tikka Masala was pleasant enough, but tasted mass produced rather than home made, could done with being a more generous portion and they had run out of naan bread. At �8 it was overpriced by at least �2 or �3. Similarly a pasta dish with pesto and chicken had little discernible pesto taste abd the chicken was rather rubbery.
Beers on tap were Young's London Gold, Old Golden Hen (is that Old Speckled Hen renamed?), Adnams Broadside and Timothy Taylor Landlord. Tribute and London Pride were apparently being conditioned. The solitary cider was Strongbow, unfortunately.
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Walking through Pimlico yeterday before a stroll towards Vauxhall, and happened across this pub along the way. The photo above is an old picture as the exterior of the property has changed, but this is quite a pleasant place and certainly better than the look of some of the establishments along the same stretch of road.
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Spent a pleasant evening in this pub yesterday, and found the choice and quality of ales excellent, the Adnams Broadside and Herald were particularly nice and we were served by a cheerful barman. The barmaids need to keep an eye on whos next as sometimes you can be waiting around 5 mins to be served when it's not all that busy.
The atmosphere is pleasant, there's a mix of after-workers and tourists of all ages.
The food was served quickly, and was well cooked; The big Ben Burger comprised of a succulent homemade burger, bacon, egg, onion rings and salad and a good amount of thick cut chips. My friend described the fish and chips as 'ok'.
It's no better or worse than any other pub in Pimlico so I recommend a visit if you're in the area.
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This place looks the ticket from outside but on the occasion we went they offered us truly awful table service...
I took my parents here after a trip to Tate Britain for a 'quick' lunch one midweek afternoon in March 2010. The pub was not busy and we ordered 3 steak sandwiches, not 3 course meals etc. 45 MINUTES AND 3 COMPLAINTS LATER we eventually got our lunches.
The guy behind the bar who looked vaguely in charge was surly, disinterested and sullen when we politely asked about our order the first time. We kept getting told it would be with us in 5 minutes...which turned into 10, then 15 etc. Moreover, when the lunches eventually arrived they were not hot (as though they'd been spitefully left out lying because we complained). The barman was un-apologetic too.
We also noticed another customer on his own had exactly the same bad service, had to complain, and eventually demaded a refund and left!
I wonder if the owners of the place actually care about these bad reviews? They should do. Not sure if The White Swan and its bar staff were having a particularly terrible day but they failed on very, very basic levels of customer service. If you are a tourist (or just a Londoner!) tempted to stop by here for a bite to eat then The White Swan is a bad example of a traditional London pub, of which there are many good ones - this aint one of them!
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Hi, I am a real ale lover from Venice (Italy), visiting UK very often.
I totally disagree with some previous reviews.
First of all, at 8:15 in London it is almost impossible to have dinner in a pub because they all have their kitchen closed, so if you are planning to eat just pop in earlier, it's just their habit so why this complaining?
Then I read about rude landlord, poor service and the risk of a fight in the White Swan...I am sceptic...maybe I was just lucky, but when we (me and my girlfriend) went in at 7:00 pm a week ago to have a couple of pints and order some food we found a quite decent pub, more than decent I would say.
The landlord was kind, maybe just not on the chatty side but never rude, a good range of real ales was available, I enjoyed a very good pint of Doombar, Young's Bitter and London Pride, my girlfriend had another one I don't remember exactly, anyway all well kept and at reasonable price too.
My food was excellent, I ordered duck breast with a delicious sauce on and potatoes and several vegetables of course, my girlfriend had sausages and mash which was ok.
All with a nice atmosphere, the pub was not completely full, there were people of all ages eating and chatting, the music in the background was not too loud...so a good experience really.
Maybe not a traditional boozer, not a drinkers pub, not a gem to search at all costs, but the real ales and the food are just perfect and quite cheap.
I reccomend this pub, not a bad one as written before, if you are in Pimlico give it a chance.
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The exterior of this pub now looks very different to that in image 1. It�s now a Punch pub, so the T&J Bernard livery has gone of course, and Image 2 (when it appears) is how it looks now. There were six handpumps on the bar � two were offering London Pride; two were advertising Doom Bar and Broadside but were not available (being conditioned as I recall) another had Young�s Bitter; and the sixth was apparently unused. I didn�t eat, but the menu looked to be typical pubco fair.
Judging by the exterior, it looks to be a late Victorian pub, with the trademark swan in relief above the corner bar. Inside it looked every bit a pubco pub. Flooring is mainly bare-boarded with what looks like some pretty old planking, but with some heavy-duty flagstones around the immediate bar area, and a couple of raised carpeted areas. There was the usual mix of seating consisting of normal tables and chairs, some high tables and high stools, some banquettes; and an example of the rarely seen and particularly non user friendly high banquette and high table combination � the sort where there is little chance of your feet reaching the floor and thus are left dangling. Didn�t see any sofas though. Most of the walls are painted magenta, but otherwise nothing special about the decor � mainly bog standard prints presumably bought in job lots by the pubco. There were the usual games machines and one-armed bandits in evidence; the TV monitor was switched off; and there was some music being played a bit too loudly for my taste. But I would prefer not to have to listen to it at all, so I am perhaps not typical, and I suppose other customers might welcome it.
It�s a decent enough pub as pubco pubs go. There�s nothing particularly bad about it, but nothing special either, and certainly not worth going out of your way to visit.
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Armchairtraveller, Hughesf and Cimagirl, try the Cask Pub & Kitchen nearby if you haven't already. Read everyone's reviews if you wish, but pop in the pub and see for yourselves. PS it's shut until 04/01/09.
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I work near this pub but none of my office ever use it, its just impossible to get comfortable in here. Agree with some previous postings, service is very very poor.
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AVOID AT ALL COSTS
I went early on friday night, we tried 3 beers all were kept really badly, by a very disinterested 'landlord'-I use the term loosely, all 3beers were terrible sour flat vinegar, we had the Youngs which was very average. A fight nearly broke out, everyone was visibly upset, the 'landlord' just moved the people to different ends of the pub!
Then a couple complained about the bad wine they had, were given a refund but the 3 staff and the 'landlord' just laughed as if to say "fancy complaining and expecting good beer, wine and service-HA"
The toilets were disgusting, damp everywhere, bad disrepair, graffitti, dirty, smelly
A group of 7 americans sat down for dinner, the 'landlord' told them to get their own menus, they decided what to eat, went to the bar to order and the 'landlord' told them-"No only the snack menu"- this was 8.15 at night-Welcome to London!
AVOID
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The White Swan currently stocks 5 real ales. We have London Pride, Doombar, Youngs, Adnams Broadside and a Guest Ale changing every 2 weeks.
While we endevour to have our real ales available at all times unfortunately there was an occassion that all our ales had sold out before our next delivery on the Monday morning. We had then kept our lines cleaned and conditioned ready for Mondays delivery.
We had an exceptionally busy week and was not prepared for the popularity of our well kept ales and unfortunately hughsf's visit coincided with our ales being temporarily out of stock.
This being a one off it would be great to see you back to sample them at anytime.
The Manager
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Sooo disappointing! Looked very welcoming on an October Saturday evening, about 6 handpumps including London Pride & Doom Bar from Cornwall. But sadly ALL these were, according to the barman, "being conditioned" and would be available later that (Saturday) evening. Apparently John Smith's was available but that didn't cut much ice. When I dejectedly asked for a pint of Strongbow, this too was unavailable. By now I had to ask if this really was a pub. The Duty Manager was truly helpful - when I asked when the beers would be available she replied that there wasn't any and that the "being conditioned" signs were just meant as a sop to the customers.
Can't wait to go back!
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Ended my crawl here before i headed home...
Not a bad place, has the feel of a place in a busy tourist area, its a strange place, feels like a typical managed house, albeit a pretty decent one.
I wouldnt put anyone off visiting this place.
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very basic but conveniently located, food not bad if you have the patience to handle the unfriendly and confused bar staff.
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Been going in this pub for the last ten years! I preferred the old timber-look but the landlord is much better than the last lot and they've kept the good selection of real ales. The only problem is the toilets but this seems to be a general problem in Pimlico pubs. Since the smoking ban the toilet whiff is present down the end of the bar so the front of the pub is preferable these days. Can I suggest an air-brick or even an open window in the Gents would solve the problem overnight...
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Nice traditional pub,with good wine selection and freindly bar staff.
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I have to agree with the last post great place and the food is always hot just like the gorgeous bar manager. He makes me want to come back again and again. It can get busy but they handle the bar wonderfully. Theme nights would be great I'd love to put my leg warmers on and dance on the bar.
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I have to disagree....
A great pub and always busy. The food always comes out piping hot and the fish and chips is fantastic!.My white wine is always served cold just the way I like it. The staff are always hot on their feet and the manager we all think (is rather cute). It can get a little stressful in there when busy and it's hard not to buckle especially with the high demand of service required..Personally I would love to see some theme nights 80's,Quiz, DISCOOOOO and perhaps a microphone, but perhaps this might not be easy with the restricted 'rules' of Westminster Council. The office would be down there like a shot on a Friday night!!! we wait to hear more from this really nice atmospheric establishment.
anonymous - 27 Jul 2007 14:47 |
One pub that has benefitted from a refurb removing all signs of its T & J Barnard days. Comfortable and reasonable atmosphere. Beer as you would expect from a chain but acceptable.
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Who is Dano123???????
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Appears to be in the same chain as the Colonies, so the food should be above average (not tried it yet!)
Beer is always good, although service could be sped up a bit. Otherwise, it's an enjoyable pub. Just a shame that there's nowhere to sit outside (although sitting on Vauxhall bridge Road wouldn't count as a highlight!)
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Fosters, Kronenbourg, Stella, Staropramen, Erdinger, Kronenbourg Blanc, Guiness, John Smiths, Strongbow, London Pride, IPA, Bombardier, Youngs, Old Speckled Hen and a Guest Ale. All these on draught I wouldn't call that a mediocre selection of beers.
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I found this place a bit uninspiring, mediocre selection of beer, and it felt like it's really designed for lunchtime eaters rather than evening time drinkers. It's a bit harsh of me to say so but this place reminded me a bit of a Little Chef.
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A very busy pub especially since the refurbishment and is always a lot of fun. I have been there with friends on Friday night and some weeknights, and we always have a really good night out. You always get served, the food is really good and hot!!!!. I have also been there a couple of times at the weekends where it is more of an 'eatery' which is nice for the locals and the tourists.Concidering the area is very local I would not call this is a 'community' pub, but it has very much its own feel about it.I would give this pub the thumbs up for ambiance,food and good service.The white swan is what you would expect of a good well run pub in Central London.
anonymous - 13 Mar 2007 16:20 |
Very busy when we were there. Found it to be a fairly average pub. Much better pubs just round the corner.
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I notice this place is being refurbished but from peering though the window, rest assured it will maintain TJ Bernard's tacky low standards ...
anonymous - 5 Dec 2006 14:41 |
While the selection might be good, the quality of the ales here is in my experience invariably poor. Overpriced. Nasty, smoky interior, made even dimmer by faux stained glass, and peculiarly heavy furniture apparently made out of the off cuts of Travis Perkins lumber yard. 1/10, and that's being generous
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Went in the other day and had an overall good experience. It's a very busy pub so wasn't expecting the staff to hold idle chit chat.
They were all friendly and served me my drink to a high quality. Tall glass, lots of ice and lime for the wifes G&T and a lovely pint of ale for me. Food arrived hot and within 10mins. Had a bit of banter with the staff but as they were busy they got on with their jobs.
I can't understand what some people see wrong with this pub. It does what it's meant to do and does it well.
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Although many of the reviews here talk about bad staff in the White Swan, I gave them the benefit of the doubt and wrote a positive review. Unfortunately after a very bad experience I now see where those bad reviews are coming from. I spent a saturday lunchtime in here recently. I ordered a 'Big Ben' burger, allegedly a delux burger containing everything except a kitchen sink. It cost �8.45 on the menu, but as the pub didn't have a working fryer, they couldn't give me the chips which were on the menu. The pub manager kindly knocked 50p off the price, even though chips were on the menu at �1.45! When the burger turned up, also missing were the fried egg, onions, tomato relish and mayonnaise mentioned on the menu. I complained but no joy. Actually I thought they should have given me about 4 quid back, as all I really got was a standard cheapo burger.
I am fast developing a dislike of pubs in The Spirit Group. They seem to be taking London over, and although they usually have a fairly good selection of beers which are kept quite well, I don't think I have had a single pint which I would describe as absolutely spot on.
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Not bad with a wide range of beers but it tends to smell of fried food and as others have said there isn't much interaction with the staff - but they do get quite busy sometimes so you can't always expect them to pass the time of day with you, they have a job to do.
Not sure what people's problem is with civil servants. If they were private sector workers would that make it alright?
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Certainly the best pub on the walk from the river up Vauxhall Bridge Road towards Victoria. Above average selection of real ales, kept in good order. Food reliable if unspectacular, much as you would expect from a chain pub. Has a vaguely Wetherspoony feel to it, but the prices not being Wetherspoon-like means the assorted solo-drinkers, dregs and 15 year-olds stay away.
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I cann't agree with the previous comment that the WS is disgusting - but I couldn't say anything very nice about it either. Used to be a half decent boozer a few years back - Shame.
Best avoided !!
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One word... disgusting!
anonymous - 20 Dec 2005 15:45 |
Nipped in here for a spot of lunch whilst visiting the Tate and I can't see what people are complaining about. Beer was good and the staff couldn't have been more accomodating to the needs of my hard to please old dear. It is a chain so the decoration aint up to much but other than that it was good.
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This pub is local to where I work and is an acceptable place to drink. Everything is as you would like despite it being a chain pub with the associated menu types on offer.
My main concern is the staff. They are not quite rude but they never smile or offer any form of interaction. I have only been going there for a couple of months so maybe the staff are new? Not sure. All my colleagues agree with this comment - so its not just me being grumpy!
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This is my local. Not because it's my closest pub but because it's the closest pub to me that feels like a local.
Andrews comments certainly no longer apply. The Beer is well kept and the staff are very friendly. Never had cause to use the loos so can't comment there.
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Good food and excellent service. Well worth a visit.
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This is one of the direst pubs in London. The list of failings is almost too long and too broing to outline: beer poorly kept, dingy interior, dirty bogs, nasty food, very smoky despite large size. Avoid if you possibly can. reading the other comments in this review makes me wonder where those who give it a thumbs up usually go for a drink!
anonymous - 3 Nov 2004 16:22 |
A good but not great boozer. Lager usually of good quality and they stock lots of continental bottled beers. The food I've not really tried. The staff are mostly very friendly.
Brian - 25 Oct 2004 18:10 |
Nice pub, very friendly staff. A bit 'fake country kitchen' looking inside for my tastes but forgivable on the basis they served the coldest lager imaginable on the hotest day of the year!
yam - 3 Sep 2004 00:53 |
This is my favourite pub. I drink there evry lunchtime and all Friday night - look out for me, I'm the one with the glasses, who hangs out with the Kiwi, the Lovebirds, The BlondeOone and the Cheeky One. Barstaff are great - especially Charlie and Jeff.
Matthew - 13 May 2004 17:29 |
Great pub, found it going to Tate Britain. Good beer, helpful staff, not bad food and weird yellow windows that makes it look summery all the time
Mike - 16 Apr 2004 10:35 |
Old Victorian pub that has been given a country inn redo.Handy place for lunch if you are visiting the nearby Tate. Morpeth Arms, closer to the Tate, is also a good choice
Bob F. - 4 Jun 2003 17:54 |
One of the most comfortable and homely pubs i have ever visited. ALWAYS quiet except between 5.30 and 8.00 on friday evenings..Nice range of beverages, and an old fashioned "snug" in one corner. Apparently the food is good but as yet i have not had the pleasure.
Brendan - 29 May 2003 17:32 |
The bar staff are great, it is recently under new managent,huge improvemnt.... The food is good, relaxed is atmospehre, and a real community feel with charity quiz nights..... perfect for a pint after during/during work!
Susi Satsuma - 13 May 2003 14:21 |
Bar staff usually pretty freindly & the food is pretty good value (though some things are a bit small for a man with an appetite the same as mine!). Not heard about the car policy, but it might change my view of it! The beer is often watered down more than a usual London pint - what would I give for a nice creamy hand pulled northern pint!
Overall good and a million times better than the OLD MONK or Puzzle as it is now called under its rude new management!
Bobby Banana - 25 Apr 2003 16:30 |
This is without doubt the best pub I've ever been to. It's quiet and the food is great.
Tony Mott - 23 Jan 2003 15:39 |
toilets are minging!
Liz - 15 Jan 2003 10:23 |
Expensive and stinks of vomit and piss albeit the food isn't bad. If you like civil servants and sterility then this is a must.
Ed - 5 Dec 2002 09:46 |
On holiday from Australia, went to this pub I thought it was the best pub in London.
Luke - 4 Oct 2002 07:15 |
Full of ONS employees. This is a bad thing!
Clare - 7 Apr 2002 19:20 |
