The Black Swan Pub in Northumberland

Popped in for a beer and something to eat. Very helpful lady behind the bar. I had pie and mash with cabbage and husband had scampi and chips which he really enjoyed. Mine was tasty but a little on the cold side. I should have asked for it to be warmed up really but the gravy helped. We will certainly call in next time we visit and try something else. Very dark place as everything is black but quite like that.

Took over 20 mins to get a coffee which was horrible. Surly staff, service was disorganised and all over the place. Not much from the menu availble. Food was awful. Probably one of the worst pubs I've ever been to!

Nice selection of beers on tap and mediocre food. Located close to Alnwick Castle

We had an enjoyable experience here for lunch after visiting the Alnwick gardens. We were promptly seated and given instructions on how to order. The gentleman serving us was nice and knowledgeable. The restaraunt itself was clean and quaint. There is a sign outside saying that a man is buried behind a brick wall upstairs, which sounds really cool! We didn't have time to check this aspect out however. Additionally, the food was good and had great portions!

Long wait for bought -in food that was pretty cold. I ordered the crispy chicken sandwich - a dry roll with a cheap breaded chicken burger and some luke warm greasy fries. We waited about an hour for food. Waitress asked how the food was, i said not very good at all and she said "oh right" and cleared our plate. Plenty of other places to eat in Alnwick, don't waste your time with this one.

Very good Sunday roast. Staff were very good

Email sent on 11th March with no response.

My partner booked up as a last minute get away for the night, pub is beautiful, staff are brill and can't help you enough, bedroom was clean and tidy, beautiful decor, cheap to stay the night, I am not complaining, I would like to let the business know little things for next customers, we stayed in room 1, massive bath tub but the jets didn't work at all, bed was so hard we didn't sleep a wink & tv turned itself on during the night which put the spooks on us.

Booked a table for the 50% off food offer during February. Food was lovely, good portion sizes and would have been more than happy to pay full price! Great selection of alcohol and soft drinks available. The staff were friendly and went above and beyond to ensure our visit was enjoyable. Would definitely recommend

First time in Alnwick and went here for food and a pint after a long drive from Derbyshire. I thought I would try a pint of something local but the pump ran out after half filling the pint glass, the staff member told me that the beer was now off but I could have the partial pint for the price of a half, I declined this offer and decided on a full pint of Guinness instead. I was initially told by a member of staff that there wasn’t any food being served, after observing other tables being brought food and people successfully ordering meals at the bar my wife asked another member of staff if we could order food, this member of staff started to take our order until the original staff member came over and angrily told my wife that there wasn’t any food available and to stop asking. We were very happy to leave after we finished our drinks, a really memorable pub for all the wrong reasons!

Nice historic pub Real ale Nice food great menu Friendly atmosphere and staff

Lovely pub and very welcoming for us and our dogs. Lovely food and nice inside. We were told another venue we went to first was too busy so just stumbled across this pub. Glad we did. Nothing was too much trouble. Even managed to order some sausages for the dogs too. Will return. Thank you

Great central pub. Dog friendly. Delicious pizza. Attentive team.

Had a wonderful fish and chips. One of the best I've ever had. Also, had two Hugo spritz cocktails. Very friendly bar staff.

Very unimpressed. Used their website to book a table for a Wednesday lunchtime (when their website says they're open) for a family birthday and got a confirmation email. Then, 24 hours beforehand, got another email asking to confirm the booking so I did. Imagine my surprise then when we rolled up and found it was shut. No answer to phone. I emailed to ask what was going on. Five days later no response. We went to Dirty Bottles next door and had a fine time but we won't be bothering with the Black Swan again...

GREAT barman Connor. So helpful, friendly and great with old people . The lad never stopped grafting.

Nice friendly staff, great decor very warm and inviting, fish and chips were great very tasty, avoid the curry sauce 😋 highly recommend a visit!

Really good lunch here, nice surroundings & atmosphere. I had the lamb roast, came with plenty veg, good gravy and a side of cauliflower cheese. Partner had a vegan katsu curry which she said was really nice too (hard to please!). All in all, decent lunch, good value and quick service.

We all ordered the Sunday roast, it was served on cold metal plates hence the food was cold. My gammon was so tough I couldn’t cut it. Overall would only give it 1/5 and wouldn’t visit again

Stayed here for a couple of days and tried out most of the menu and drinks. The staff were all super friendly and chill throughout our entire stay. Unfortunately at the time of our stay they were understaffed which did slow down service and parts of our stay. It definitely appears that management does not provide staff with proper supplies nor take enough care of their workers whom were all joys to be around (Barman, cook and cleaner) The drinks first and foremost were fantastic. I wish this were somewhere local to us as it would be somewhere we would visit often. The food ranged from decent to excellent with the highlight being either the goats cheese pizza or sandwich as they were both really nice. Everything was also well priced so we wound up having three meals here (Dinner twice, lunch once)

Cosy pub with nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Clearly has a few regulars. We ordered the spinach and pear salad, soup, two gammon roasts, a lemon cheesecake and a sticky toffee pudding. Came to about £50. The tomato soup was mediocre but refreshing. The spinach and pear salad was nice, but there wasn’t any spinach at all just lettuce. It had a tahini dressing which was an oil rather than a paste but very nice. The gammon roasts were a good portion once we divvied up our gammon better between us. Decent amount of veg, but broccoli was hard and some roasts were luke warm. Yorkshire was tasty but completely flat. The lemon cheesecake didn’t taste of lemon or look like it had lemon in. It looked and tasted like a baked vanilla cheesecake. It was served with strawberry sauce and ice cream. The sticky toffee was delicious - can’t fault it. Overall we won’t be going again, but we wouldn’t object if a friend suggested going. Prices were standard for Northumberland.

I'm a carer and had a couple of people I support with me and came for dinner , staff that was on where so friendly and helpful. both the people I support enjoyed there meal I had a pizza and was told it was 2-4-1 deal so we actually took 2nd pizza back to the hotel we where staying . defernetly would recommend to my colleagues when they bring the people I support back to alnwick to come here . meals where reasonably priced and came very quickly

Just nipped in here for Sunday dinner and it's the best Sunday lunch I've had in a long long time. Superb friendly service. I highly recommend this place. Don't hesitate.

Myself and my husband stopped here for a vegan Sunday lunch. The pub was warm and welcoming, with a wonderfully historic feel. The vegan Sunday lunch was very good, great to see this option on the menu! However the menu did state that ALL Sunday lunches come with Yorkshire puds and mash - but we didn’t get these included. Understandably, they may not have been vegan but worth noting on the menu as I had been looking forward to enjoying a ‘vegan’ Yorkshire pud (which is an absolutely rarity) and was a tad disappointed when it wasn’t included. On the whole, would still recommend if your in Alnwick looking for a cosy pub, with a nice bit of pub grub (vegan or otherwise).

Visited with family for lunch - service was fine although staff looked lack lustre, compared to other visits in the past this pub has definitely slipped - the food was very mediocre and bland with items stated in the menu missing when food brought out and the place could do with a good clean - disappointing and based on this experience probably wouldn’t return or recommend

Food was average. We had two veggie stir fry which were horrible and salty. A fish and chips which was OK and a veggie burger which was also OK. The tables were sticky and the toilets were dirty. The place is in need of some TLC as some of the floor tiles were broken which is a potential health and safety risk. Disappointed.

Not Happy at all with the Food Ordered Battered Garlic Mushrooms which were still frozen inside which got Replaced with more that had probably been put back in the Fryer. Also ordered a Kids Mash Potato and Sausage + Gravy which came on a side...

The pub has a special Sunday lunch menu, meaning a more limited choice. We order a Sunday Lunch and one starter to arrive at the same time. It took 45 minutes to arrive. The starter, crispy squid was small. The Sunday lunch was OK.

Possibly one of the worst meals I’ve ever had. Hoisin duck spring rolls dreadful. Fish and chips basically inedible with undercooked soggy batter and frozen chips. Nice old building and the beer was ok but beyond that not many redeeming features.

Would never eat here again, ordered 2 lamb Sunday Lunches. Came to the table stone cold!!! The guy apologised and took them away, came back with another 2, which were hot......out of 2 Dinners maybe enough meat to cover half a slice of bread, after...

Absolutely loved our visit here - it's rare for three generations to ALL enjoy a pub of my choice but this one did it! Children were happy and didn't need entertaining as it was laid back enough for them to mill about and look at...

We enjoyed a lovely meal at The Black Swan. We shared calamari and halloumi starters, along with a delicious soup which came with two huge pieces of crusty bread. It was 2-4-1 on pizzas and they were absolutely delicious with a range of original toppings....

This is an ok pub in central Alnwick. I had a posh fish finger sandwich which was somewhat bland and the chips weren't particularly hot. They do have gluten free options and it's clean enough, it's not really a stand out place overall.

Called in on the off chance for a Sunday dinner, glad we did. Reasonable price £13 for a lamb Sunday dinner which not many pubs offer, nice to see a change from the usual meats. Roast potatoes to die for, I usually avoid pub roasties...

Went in on 11th July to have the 2 for 1 pizza deal. Great service and perfect pizzas. Lots of topping, great home made bases cooked to perfection and lovely, freshly made side salad. All in all, very good and we've already booked to go...

Fantastic food and great service for a reasonable price. Lovely to find somewhere dog friendly. Great Sunday lunch whilst up on holiday with husband and our three dogs .

Called in on spec for Sunday Lunch and we were very impressed with the quality. We all had a lamb dinner which was delicious. The vegetables were freshly and perfectly cooked, the meat tender, and the portions generous. All four of us enjoyed the food...

Fish with really crispy batter and mega chips with so much flavour. Steak and ale pie also delicious. Unpretentious but great service and really good food.

I was in last night 19 June and had its Steak & Ale Pie with creamed mash , kale & gravy . I who have lived for 65 years have not tasted such horrible food . My friends who also had some food but did...

Lovely Sunday lunch. Booked a table the day before which was good as it is a small pub and got quite busy when we visited. Lovely food at a reasonable price & the hosts were very welcoming.

I had an amazing gluten free pizza here, it was epic. Great pizza base and loads of toppings, It was bar service only, but the bar man was wonderfully helpful and friendly.

A good traditional pub, excellent service and very good food. What more could you ask for? It was very busy when e arrived on a wet Bakn Holiday, but we were immediately shown a table and menus provided. Food orders taken at the bar along...

The staff were friendly, however they didn’t have a menu for ready for children. After waiting a while I just asked them to tell me what the options were. The pizza’s, although tasty, we’re very wet and sloppy, the steak and chips were cold and...

Terrible it was busy which is fair enough can’t complain about that I am in a wheelchair and all top tables where reserved so my family left me near the door next to a table that was reserved while they went down the steps to...

The pub had quite a nice, vibrant atmosphere and was quite busy. The staff were friendly. However, the food was disappointing. We had a steak and ale pie which was nice but tiny. The steak frites (one of the most expensive dishes on the menu...

What can I say. …. The food was bland I was expecting something exiting like the last menu , come on every pub dose a curry chef please be more creative

Lovely place Lovely lady who served us Would have got a 5* only wood on the fire but not lit and it was pretty cold in here. Just popped in for a beer Toilets excellent

It seemed promising as the young lady that greeted us was very friendly, helpful and proactive so this is no reflection on her. However the food was bland, music too loud and it was really a bit run down, cheaply done. Not worth the visit.

Very nice little pub, great food. We stopped in Alnwick for a a quick bite to eat and found this little perl. The staff are very nice and the food was great. We will come back

I ate there a couple of times during the course of a week working up in Alnwick. The Black Swan is a bit of a local legend. I've been in there on rowdy nights with a DJ, and on quiet nights for a pint with...

Stopped in for a Sunday lunch and had the beef. It was very busy but they managed to find us a table not long after arriving. Will definitely be coming back, friendly staff, great food and a relaxing spot to sit down on the sofa...

Lovely hosts and fascinating building but could be improved. Booked for three nights. My room was just big enough for one. Bathroom and room very clean. Tea and coffee provided. I also had a view of the castle. However ... the bed was quite hard,...

Stopped in without a reservation on a Friday evening and were lucky to get a table right away. The kitchen was a little backed up, but we were told that beforehand. The tomato tarragon soup had maybe a little too much tarragon. The pizza was...

Came here for lunch and had the steak frites special and an “American” pizza. The steak was so nice, cooked medium rare and had Parmesan and truffle fries with a chimmichuri sauce 😋 the pizza was also really nice, was basically a pizza with like...

Lovely British Sunday dinner with all the trimming!! Went for the lamb shank!! The British know how to cook a tender Lamb shank!! Delicious!!

Called in with my wife and had a wine and tonic water for drinks. Staff were very slow and seemed uninterested and customer service skills non-exsistant.

Food great and staff friendly. Decor very dark and seating very hard and uncomfortable. Doesn’t tempt you to stay for more drinks.

This was in a lovely spot in the centre of Alnwick, nice choice of pub grub, dog friendly and a good mix of punters

Great pub, staff were superb. Very friendly. We booked a room for 3 nights and would come back. Well situated in the centre of town ideal for the whole area. Parking is free in the car parks behind the high street and is easy walking...

A great environment with good food, good drinks, and overall good people. If you are looking for a great little snack while drinking I highly recommend the truffle fries. Also in a great location where you are able to walk anywhere.

Visited for a quick meal on route to luna cinema. We both had the steak and ale pie and it was lovely! I had mine with mash which was creamy and full of flavour. My friend asked for his with chips instead of mash which...

Dropped in for coffee and teas. Twenty minutes to get lukewarm coffee, another five to get tea and another five to get milk for tea. No spoons. Apparently, they are short staffed - thought they were simply incompetent . Top Tip : Avoid like plague

Pleasant enough staff working pretty hard. Food came reasonably quickly so can’t fault them. Vegetable lasagne was basically pasta sheets and cheese sauce. Managed to find the odd carrot but that was about it. Makes no sense, surely veggies are cheaper than pasta and cheese?...

We fancied a meal out so thought we'd pop into the Black Swan... we both had the fish & chips and it was perfect. Lovely friendly staff and nothing was a bother for them. Can't wait to visit again .

Popped into the black swan as a table of 7 for lunch on the off chance after being turned away everywhere else as we stupidly didn’t book. When we walked in I thought no chance are we getting one as the restaurant was full however...

I visited with my partner for Sunday lunch and certainly weren’t disappointed, we both had the lamb shank which was cooked beautifully, accompanied with a variety of seasonal veg. Only downside was we didn’t have room for desert, highly recommend.

Attended The Black Swan recently for an anniversary meal. The vegetable lasagne was cooked to perfection. My husband had the pork belly which he thoroughly enjoyed too. Nice pub with great staff and lovely atmosphere. Will definitely return.

Visited with family for lunch. Fantastic service from great, friendly staff. They made sure we were well looked after without being overbearing. They are vegetarian friendly and served me a delicious veggie burger. Couldn't fault them! Definitely worth a visit. Thanks again 😊

Visited with a couple of mates for lunch today, they were extremely busy so waited half an hour for food but we were advised this when we ordered so didn’t mind the wait and managed to sample an extra local ale while waiting! I ordered...

My husband and visited early evening he had fish which he said was beautiful I had the burger which I thoroughly enjoyed. Just a shame I had no room for dessert. The staff were friendly and only to happy to help. Will recommend to others.

Waited 45 minutes, after which half a dismantled pie was put in front of me with a small piece of broken off pastry on the top, the same was done to a friend of mine,to make two pies out of one, mostly gravy, had about...

My family and I called in for lunch, staff were helpful, Friendly, ordered lamb shank and roast beef, Large portion came on small plate, which was impossible To eat comfortable from ! Firstly the lamb shank came off bone easily, was chewy, And completely tasteless,...

Nice but dim, when we walked in it was empty which we should have taken as a sign! we went for a Sunday lunch and the food had no flavour, we couldn’t tell the difference between the mashed potato and cauliflower, only flavour was from...

Great food and really quick and friendly service. Very welcoming and dog friendly too. The menu isn’t very extensive but this is quite often good as what they do, they do well. This was most certainly the case. Even though pizzas weren’t available, we all...

Enjoyed my visit to this pub. Menu was standard pub fare, there were no pizzas available which was a bit limiting as they are a major part of the menu, however this was explained from the outset. I had a good pint of local IPA...

I have been visiting the Black Swan with my family for a while now and never had a bad meal. We love the new refurb, it's very cosy and welcoming! Staff are always attentive, friendly and approachable even during busy times. Highly rate the fish...

Stopped in Alnwick on the way Home after a week in Scotland. This meal was our last holiday treat, more like horror. Firstly half the menu was unavailable but we went with it as super starving children. Ordered ‘bread selections with olive oil and balsamic’...

Upon entering we were greeted by fresh, modern decor, keeping the traditional features (which we loved for such a historical building) and friendly welcoming staff. We were served quickly from a menu which is set up well. Initially, I thought there was limited choice for...

Visited yesterday with my family, popped in on the way home from a trip to the seaside. We were seated promptly the pub was nice and clean and well presented. Child friendly too which is great. I require a gluten free diet and was guided...

Popped in on the off chance and was not disappointed, food was excellent, wide range of draught and cask and friendly staff, definitely will be back.

Everywhere else in town was full so we ended up here. We were not disappointed. We both had fish and chips and, although the mushy peas arrived late, it was very good. The staff were all top notch, friendly and helpful. Can’t fault them.

Good choice of menu, service friendly and food was really tasty. Great location for visiting the castle, exactly what we were looking for

Off the beaten track, but well worth the visit. We had a Ploughman's and ham hock toastie, both were fresh, good portion and quality ingredients. Very enjoyable.

Wow! What a transformation this place has undergone! Only had a quick drink in the previous Swan and knew it wasn't for us but now - looks amazing - classy, love it! It's not just the interior that's had a makeover, the ambiance is great...

Called in here on the off chance after driving through the town, they allowed us to take our dog in, the food was excellent, steak and ale pie with mash and veg was a good size portion, the 8oz burger in a bun with chips...

Visited after the pubs refurb, big improvement inside, feels clean and comfortable to be in. Food was fab, had the ham & cheese starter, which came with an oozing poached egg, then had the belly pork which was melt in the mouth. Can’t wait to...

Was told i couldn't vape in the courtyard out the back, so the barman padlocked the door, leaving no fire exit !!

Great pub. Set out well . Downside no rugby on ! Service very quick. Staff very friendly. Place was clearing. Food was piping hot and very tasty. Good prices as well

With many of the restaurants offering only takeaway we were running out of options on where we could eat. In the end the reviews for The Black Swan looked promising so why not give a go. From the time we walked in we were impressed. Their covid precautions were excellent and the only thing that was a problem was the size of the portions! We started off sharing a baked camembert and if we had known what was to follow we would have skipped this lovely course. The fish and chips was at east £2 cheaper than other restaurants but the haddock covered half the large plate with the the other half covered in peas which must have been half of the profit. Service was perfect and have recommended to the Westacres B & B where we stayed.

Visited this evening - needed to book in advance due to limited tables. Nice warm pub, friendly staff, good menu choices. Large portions so we probably didn’t need a starter but very tasty food at good prices. Dog friendly would visit again

Popped in for Sunday lunch on the off chance and had a lovely meal. The lady who looked after our table was efficient and attentive and the price was very reasonable.

Had three nights in the Black Swan, what a fab place, location to the castle and gardens excellent. Very Covid safe, always cleaning and sanitising the touch points, screens at the table. Room was clean and comfy and had a added bonus of a huge jacuzzi bath. Towels were changed every day and coffee, tea topped up. The full breakfast was one of the best and plenty, last morning we tried the eggy bread and bacon this was amazing. Evening meal was just as good, partner was impressed with the steak. Portions are large, food excellent. Staff were brilliant, very friendly and couldn't do enough for us, special thank you to Kieran and Corey you made our stay. We will be back and would highly recommend.

Arrived without a reservation but this wasn’t a problem. Staff greeted us straight away and took us to a table. All Covid guidelines in place with screens between the tables. We both had the roast of the day baguettes filled to brim with beef, served with the best homemade chips, freshly cooked vegetables and a jug of gravy. The portions are substantial. All delicious and a bargain at under £7.00. The staff were very friendly and efficient. Would definitely eat there again

Had a really nice meal here would recommend without hesitation. Just a shame to the COVID regs have just kicked in so it was really quiet

We arrived on Saturday 13Sept looks are very deceiving I walked in to the pub to be greeted by a lovely member of staff. so helpful we went up to our room .The room was small but clean and tidy we had a dog the bed was so comfy yes there was nose from down stairs but it was a pub and a Saturday night but it did not stop us sleeping same for my daughter and partner in the other room we had a meal at night it was so nice over the moon we were with it .In the morning we had breakfast that was fabulous fresh strawberries and fruit and a cooked breakfast was the best we have ever had. We would definitely go back back and we will from the cook to the cleaner everyone was lovely and spoke to us we are back in December so we will be going back thank you for a lovely weekend

The food arrived quickly and looked and tasted great. The menu widely catered as I had a good choice of vegan meals. We all had a generous portion and still no food left on the plates as it all tasted so good. The staff were also very friendly :)

Looking for dog friendly restaurant for tea and liked the menu but was unsure about a pub meal ,after looking elsewhere and finding nothing we went back .All 6 of us were delighted with our food choices ,portions sizes were more than enough and staff very pleasantValue for money was amazing

Found totally by chance on a wander around and they accepted dogs. Fabulous pub food at terrific prices with home made chips. Front of house staff amazing, huge portion of food well cooked and presented, absolutely 5 stars guys, thoroughly recommended, a very refreshing change, well done.

The food served is good, along with the beers which were also at a reasonable price. The staff are friendly and helpful. The location is right around the corner from Alnwick Castle.However the accomodation was below average. The room we stayed in was the Hufflepuff and it was in dire need of attention. I really wish I had seen the review of this place prior to booking. It wouldnt hurt to paint the room as there were lots of scuff marks. Top of the wall and ceiling had dust string visible which does make you question how well they clean the place. The mattress on the bed just needs to be thrown out as it well past its used by date. The shower did have good pressure and was hot enough but did require it to be adjusted frequently. The bathroom appearance was poor as there were holes in walls, the towel rail was rusty and the grout and seal around the shower was going brown. The carpet could really do with a deep clean. In general, it needs a good refurb as it is shabby.Given it was above the pub, there would be noise so if you are looking for a quiet room, this is not the place as it will sound like people are rolling down the stairs a lot of the time . Also as this room is above the ladies toilet, you will hear the hand dryer go on. The dish washer in the main kitchen may need a clean as the dining ware, although looked clean had bits on/in it. This was a very uncomfortable stay and thankfully it was only one night but had it been two nights, we would have left to stay else where.

Didn’t have a table booked so we’re lucky to get in for a lunchtime meal. We started with the sharing baked Camembert which was lovely, served with salad, chutney and bread to dip in the cheese. The gammon and eggs looked amazing. The scampi and chips was great - in fact the chips were excellent. Generous portions, reasonable prices, good table service, good range of drinks - what more could you ask for!!