Ye Olde Swan — Restaurant in Elmbridge

Normally I wouldn't be bothered to review pubs from Greene King, for no reason other than the fact that I find their beer selection continuously uninspiring, and the food consistently mediocre. But a great pub can still leave you with an unpleasant experience, and this is where this unexpected Greene King pub shines, and has over-delivered every time I've visited. Setting aside the excellent location, throw in friendly service, varied menu, nice locals, good Guinness and a pub with a rich history, you've got a pretty good combination.

Ye Olde Swan in Thames Ditton is a short walk from either Hampton Court or Surbiton, still very much in London but like walking through a village in East Anglia. There's little here - a few shops, a bakery, a handful of pubs and a poorly maintained road running through it from all directions. Set on one of the blind corners is this 13th Century pub, it backs directly onto the Thames opposite Thames Ditton Island - a small residential patch of land only accessible by bridge, created when Henry VIII made the river straighter to get to his palace.

Once used as Henry VIII's hunting lodge, it's now a merging of two 18th and 19th century plots respectively, with its low ceilings, log fire and patterned carpets, it's hard to know where one place ends and another begins. A mish-mash of history, but it feels like a complete pub rather than one of those with the posh sectioned off areas where you can't talk too loudly.

During Covid this was literally a breath of fresh air, one of the few places where outside seating was in abundance but super relaxed, it felt normal for a change. Nowadays, a lively spot in the summer, people rent boats to go up and down the river on the smash, and pull in for a toilet break and a pint before continuing down/up stream. You can perch on the jeti where there's further seating, or just loiter around the car park / seating area until something becomes available. It won't take long.

River pubs out this way can be a real mixed bag, but this one ticks all the...

Basil Faulty lives! Shockingly bad and frustrating enough for me to write my first ever negative review of anything! - Along with friends, we've been going for years to watch the Rugby - this time arrived to find the "tv area" booked for a private function and out of bounds. When I asked if they had made other provision was told no, and answered with a shrug "what can I do about it" - when told that perhaps they could have considered laying on another TV in the many vacant spaces within the building I received further attitude - I was a little incredulous and mentioned I was sorry and that who am I ask such as silly question! Surely if they booked out their only tv viewing space to a private function, they should have thought about their customers arriving in expectation of viewing the game, as in previous years. Plus the attitude of course. I was talked to as if I were completely stupid. I was the first of my group to arrive, who would have relatively-speaking spent quite a lot of money I guess. The worst thing is that this pub (virtually empty outside the private function) - and which seems to have gone downhill fast over the past few months - will now further loose a bunch of existing and potential customers and their families. Judging by the empty void in the main sections of the pub, it appears I may be late in the realisation of how bad it has...

I’m not usually a fan of GK pubs, but it’s always a joy to come here on a summer’s day given it’s stunning setting by Thames Ditton Island.

The staff were very friendly and welcoming and the round of Estrella and spirit and mixer was very well priced for the area and below the usual GK expected price. I’d expected it to be more having not been since last year.

I’ve eaten before but not on this occasion and the food has been simple but effective in the past. Well worth a visit here, particularly on a warm day ☀️

Update: pub is completely under resourced so there’s long waits at the bar. The food waits are ridiculous and often orders are incorrect or food brought at different times for a party of people. Has gone downhill in recent months and GK need to get their act together as it’s the same situation at the Druids Head in Kingston. Staff try hard but aren’t enough of them to deliver a good standard. The prices aren’t cheap either so go elsewhere. At least Spoons run a tight ship rather than GK chaos at a much higher price and worse quality for...