please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
What a huge, huge dissapointment. Following a close down and reburbishment All I can say is that this pub is pity-full shadow of its former self. The refit inside is actually quite pleasing to the eye but that dosn't make a pub. With regards to the details above, here is the new summary: NO TV's, NO FRUIT MACHINES, NO JUKEBOX in fact nothing you would perhaps describe as entertainment in the slightest. The quality of the ale is just passable. My biggest problem with The Swan is that after weeks of closure during the summer THE TOILETS ARE IN THE SAME DISGUSTING CONDITION THEY WERE BEFORE. This used to be a fun place for us to go to with my wife and kids on Sunday, especially with the play area at the back, away from the road. THE KIDS PLAY AREA IS GONE.
To summarise, this pub is dull, lifeless , overpriced at Ł20 per a bottle of Pinot and above all EMPTY. I give them until January.
Bring back real pubs. I'm sick of gastro wanna be's trying to rip us off!!!
Vader - 14 Nov 2008 18:17 |
Today 14th July 2008 - the Swan is closed for refurbishment due to new ownership. What a shame Karen did not tell the staff. My son is still owed his wages and at least the courtesy of some honesty about the situation. It leaves him without employment for the summer - THANKS. Solicitors letter on its way be prepared!
calla - 14 Jul 2008 21:03 |
Pride & Hogs Back T.E.A. in passable but not perfect condition. Half the pub is dressed as a restaurant (incl white linen!) and half as rustic woody bar, albeit with window blinds throughout. This is another pub that oddly believes that the future lies in Thai food, otherwise sarnies or paninis. It looked pretty good value, but is it just me that finds ‘traditional english pub’ & ‘thai food served here’ an impossible juxtaposition? Sound track had the ups of Roxy’s Hard Rain & downs of someone’s Superfreak.
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Seems to have gone downhill a little, definitely not as busy. Difficult to understand what is being said when the staff talk polish behind the bar
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Julia & Rachel are the fittest barmaids at this pub, in fact at any pub in Surrey. They are complete hotties and if you get the chance you should buy them a beer. Craig the manager looks like a tortoise though
anonymous - 13 Jul 2006 15:14 |
Good pub with beer garden and good sized tables out the front door for nice days. Beer/ale selection is good and they do Sky sports for football matches well.
Excellent Thai restaurant and takeaway as well!
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this pub is brilliant. im a local there and is good to go 4 a drink with ur mates. very lively on fridays and saturday nites and especcially during the beer festival. if you go, check out one of the guys behind the bar .... BUFF!
anonymous - 25 Jan 2005 19:38 |
the pub seems to have changed in recent months and lost some of its fun atmosphere. there is now a worrying lack of pretty barmaids in low-cut tops which is definitely a bad development and was one of the major reasons for visiting in the first place.
gearbox - 20 Oct 2004 17:25 |
Its in claygate...Its pukka....Its got more babes than Ales over the beer fest.....its got to be done ovet the bank hols weekend....happy days..
G-MAN - 29 Aug 2004 14:10 |
Alan, i hate to say it but you are wrong, Geabox and I are right, The Swan is most definately fully in Claygate and not in Esher. The sign saying welcome to claygate which is where most people think the boundary begins is wrongly placed. The real boundary is Arbrook Lane, looking down Arbrook Lane with the Swan on your left Claygate is on the left and Esher is on the right. Try it Alan then tell me where you think the swan is.
Alternately i will be at the beer fest tonight so we can talk about it then!
Alan may i ask ,. are you a newcomer to claygate??? this misplacement of pubs is a common misconception amongst newcomers .
ok that said The Swan is ok, definatley best on august bank hol weekend for the beer festy
andy - 28 Aug 2004 09:58 |
Hate to correct one as knowlable as Gearbox but the Swan is not in Claygate but Esher. Service can also be indifferent. Occasional cricket match on green opposite in the summer
alan - 26 Aug 2004 12:18 |
Unlike most pubs in Claygate, this pub attracts a good cross-section of people - young and old from all social groups. Generally, very good looking (female) bar staff - but that policy seems to have changed in recent months! The food in the attached Thai restaurant is okay and is handy in the early evening if you have had too many pints! A really chilled pub garden is lovely on a summer's day.Situated in a lovely location but the road can be really busy at peak times. So be careful crossing after a few pints!
geabox - 29 Jun 2004 16:49 |
the swan's fantastic, loads of great people head down there and even though it's small it's still enough room to settle down with a drink and some new local people. there are a few people who are always in there, and they make the place a great pub to be in. Sir Thomas Of Gee is just one local squire who graces this establishment with his prescene, and makes it a truly warming place
mace - 6 May 2004 17:16 |
People can catch an occasional glimpse of the legendary Dingo Hunter known as FRANcis in this pub during the summer months...it's great
Tom - 6 May 2004 16:53 |
Ok, let's clear this up. The good thing about the swan is the people it draws. It's great for the younger generation because it has a great local catchment area (Claygate, Esher, Oxshott etc). It has to be said it is an amazing summer pub. The garden's great you'll nearly always get a table if you're not too late, and the green over the road is classic if you're with mates, especially during the beer festival. This is not a pub to go to if you're picky (or just know what you're talking about when it somes to pubs), it's great if you have lots of local friends and you come to the pub to have a laugh with a few drinks.
mace - 16 Feb 2004 11:40 |
went there in the new year, service was very poor, food was crap, what a shame, there was i admit a good looking bar staff lady, but lets face it it takes more than a woman to make a pub half decent.
Chris Jenson - 3 Feb 2004 06:59 |
great last summer, beer festivals and everything, met loads of great people- but since the new management, the place has gone seriously downhill .i agree with mike completely about the bar staff, they are very rude and pushy! hope it gets better...
sarah - 27 Jan 2004 18:56 |
This pub is not worth it, the staff are rude and swamming with little snobs!
Sean - 20 Jan 2004 16:10 |
Interesting history here as my Uncle got up to all sorts. A vet once used his animal training to revive a heart attack case in the bar, but I have not seen a plaque to commemorate the fact! Don't know much about the beer but they used to do a good sunday roast.
anon - 9 Jan 2004 08:25 |
The bar staff may be very attractive, but seem to be more intrested in drinking their own drinks, smoking cigarettes at the end of the bar or serving their mates, than serving other customers.
Has the now standard Thai restaurant taking up half the pub, which is curtained off. leaving very little room for drinkers. This used to be a great pub in the summer for beer festivals. I don't know if that is still the case though.
Mike - 3 Dec 2003 12:43 |
