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The White Swan Pub & Dining Room

Gastropub·
·
Bronze Award
·
London, EC4A 1ES ·Website·Call020 7242 9696

SquareMeal Review of The White Swan Pub & Dining Room

Bronze Award

It's a wrench to tear yourself away from the cosy wood-panelled bar on the ground floor at The White Swan but it's not such a sacrifice when you have a seat reserved in the dining room upstairs. Pristine white tablecloths, heavy leather chairs and a mirrored ceiling lend the place a clubby, urbane air, and the cooking is the perfect complement – in other words, sophisticated restaurant food rather than the pub grub served downstairs (think rib and shin burgers with smoked Cheddar). The kitchen puts its own spin on the classic repertoire – such as a pea velouté with ham-hock Scotch quail's egg or a bouillabaisse of red mullet, scallops and cod cheeks with saffron potatoes. For dessert, treacle tart is paired with zingy lemon and yoghurt ice cream. Wines start at £19, with the upper end dominated by France.

Good to know

Cuisines
Gastropub
Ambience
Traditional, Widely spaced tables

Location

108 Fetter Lane, London, EC4A 1ES

020 7242 9696 020 7242 9696

Website

Opening Times

Mon-Fri 11am-12M (Fri -1am)

Reviews

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9 Reviews 
Food/Drink
Service
Atmosphere
Value

Jill C

01 May 2018  
Food & Drink 3
Service 4
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 2
Disappointing
I haven't been to The White Swan for years, and remember it fondly. However, when my boss asked me to book somewhere special to take a colleague out for lunch, I read the reviews and thought I'd try it out again. The menu wasn't extensive, especially as none of us eats red meat, so we had to have the fish. Two of us had the fishcakes; what a misnomer. Where was the fish in these potato cakes? My boss had the plaice, which looked slimey. The vegetables were over buttered. The whole meal was very disappointing.

Mark A

11 June 2016  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 4
Value 3
Wonderful Lunch
It was a perfect lunch. The food was delicious, only wish we had arrived earlier as some of the specials were sold out. The quality of the food on offer was great. The wines sold by the glass were expensive for the quality offered. Will go back again as was made to feel very welcome.

Nathan E

10 April 2014  
Food & Drink 4.5
Service 5
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 3
I chose this without any great research – other than it was walking distance for a client to meet in the 55 minutes she had between meetings. I'm delighted to say that the service, food and wine were all excellent – the waiter was efficient and friendly without being verbose – he sold the day's special (duck) so well that we all went for it, along with a great complementary malbec (I mean it went well with the food – it certainly wasn't free!). In the end my client had to dash, but the service was so efficient that he still managed to get her a coffee before she dashed off and he was happy to let me sit and digest with my coffee (and the last of the wine…) I will be back…

Andrew V

07 October 2013  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 5
Value 4
Simply Excellent
I went to this restauant on a Friday night – didn't really know what to expect after walking through the very busy bar areas… but I was pleasantly suprised to find an intimate peaceful restaurant hiding away upstairs. Not only was the food absolutey awesome – and the wine list extensive, the service was second to none. I can understand why some may say this is a pricey place to go – but the food is worth it. And you can find reasonable bottles of wine on the list. The staff are brilliant – the atmosphere was really perfect – had a really happy evening here and will definitey go back.

Tim H

10 August 2013  
Food & Drink 5
Service 4
Atmosphere 4
Value 4
Gem of a restaurant...
Second visit to the White Swan and will definitely return. Food has been outstanding on both occasions.

Tanya B

27 November 2011  
Food & Drink 3.5
Service 3.5
Atmosphere 3.5
Value 4
Managed to get a booking pretty easily for an express lunch last Thursday with some work colleagues. Good move. Two courses for £16 each. I've eaten here before so I knew it would be good..and it was! For some reason my memory is like that of a gold fish – can't remember what exactly I ate. It was a very good rabbit dish, followed by a chocolate delice. Main better than the dessert. Good value because of the express lunch offer. Downside – really wasn't quite as express as promised. Really wanted to be in and out within the hour as I had a lot to do at work. We were there for an hour and a half. I like this place though, and would recommend it to anyone in the area. The pub downstairs from the restaurant also looks pretty good and serves food. Nice bit of olde england!

Mark M

28 October 2009  
Food & Drink 5
Service 5
Atmosphere 4.5
Value 4.5
This is a gem of a place to visit. The pub downstairs is great if you only have time for a drink and quick bite, and the restaurant upstairs is amazing if you time to wine and dine at a slower pace. Everything served here is of fantastic quality, and is well worth stopping by if and when in the city.

Frank K

02 October 2009  
Food & Drink 5
Service 4.5
Atmosphere 4.5
Value 5
Went here with a couple of mates who also work in the city, and we had a cracking night. The food absolutely superb, and the atmosphere and service great too. Perfect example of a great British gastropub. Highly recommended.

Sharon S

17 December 2008  
Food & Drink 2.5
Service 1.5
Atmosphere 3
Value 1
We had our xmas bash there and it was very bad value for money! – we were rushed with the courses when we had our meal, the glasses were never re-filled without having to ask every time, we then asked for the wine to be left on the table and again this was not done. the portions were nothing more than paltry and the whole table of 11 were complaining there was not enough food. We never received our petit fours with the coffees. Service was very sporadic and not enough staff for approx 20-25 covers. the meal cost £45 per head and was also being advertised at a lower price of £29 all over the venue! (Although the latter applied only to the pub side). When the bill arrived we asked for a reduction bearing in mind all our grumbles and the staff very reluctantly reduced it by a minimal amount.

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