The Swan in Basingstoke and Deane - Phone Number, Reservations, Reviews

Another great meal at the Swan. Good food, good value for money and friendly staff. There is a good amount of choice on the menu so there’s something for everyone.

Had a lovely lunch here with my friend, really good service, Ollie was great! Very smiley and friendly. Food was warm and tasty.

This was the first time we had tried brunch at the swan, Simon the manager gave us excellent service, as did Ollie I was very impressed with the level of hospitality and could not fault them on anything, also the head chef Richard was extremely quick in getting our food to us and gave us personal service by bringing our food to our table, I would highly recommend the swan and will be going back agin, thank you Simon Ollie and Richard

I can't complain about the front of house staff but the food at The Swan is in dire need of care and attention. To start the Calamari was like leather, increidbly chewy, oily and not prepared correctly. The Cottage Pie croquettes were ok, but tasted very oily, lik the oil in the kitchen hadn't been changed in weeks. For main courses we were brought out the incorrect orders, the kitchen took these back and corrected. My partners order was correct but was taken back also, her steak was left to stand whilst my order was corrected. We weren't shocked when her steak came out tepid and overcooked. I thought taking orders on ipads would take out mistakes like this, they seemed more bother than it was worth, maybe consider bringing back a pen and paper. The worst offender was the Halloumi fries, these were battered in clearly the same batter as the fish and chips. So we had to dine on fish flavoured halloumi fries, practically inedible and disgusting. We did tell the staff that we had no allergies at the start but thank god because this cross contamination could make someone incredibly ill. We were offered a complimentary dessert as an apology, this was fine, clearly a brought in Bakewell Tart. I did check the bill before paying and the dessert hadn't been taken off, so this was corrected.

Been coming hear for a few years and always receive exceptional service. Ollie, & cally always happy to help and serve with a smile. Recommend this place for a relaxing drink and excellent food

I ordered chicken leek and cheese pie the pie was stone cold when it came so I sent it back I was sat there like a lemon while everyone else was eating their food waiting for my food to come back.my son had a sirloin steak which he said didn't taste nice so he didn't eat it very disappointed used be lovely place for food but sadly not anymore.

Came here for breakfast and was so pleased to find a dog friendly pub. Service and food were excellent.

Went to the Swan for dinner with my daughter, the food was excellent and the waitress Honee was very polite and helpful. Will definitely be coming back.

We all had a great meal, food was very good, the atmosphere was spot on, lots of parking, staff are so friendly and helpful, you can’t find a better pub to spend a afternoon, 🍷🍺👍

Lovely pub. The food is really good and good value. The staff are friendly and helpful. It’s lovely sitting in the garden and there is plenty of parking. My favourite place to eat when I’m down that way.

Great food and service! Highly recommend going out for a meal here!

Visited midweek which might explain some of this. Distinctly average visit to what should be a lovely country pub. Several items were off the menu and what did arrive wasn't cooked well. I had the sausage and mash and the sausages were very small and very overcooked. The staff were arguing with each other and took ages to take our order.

Always feel welcomed at the swan. They know how to keep your drink topped up. Special mention to Ollie who goes above and beyond

Ollie behind the bar, very friendly, remembers the order! Top guy!

Gone from great to slow beenover an hour still waiting . Food. Gone from 5 star to 3

Amazing pub food, great staff. Im a carer who regularly takes my client here for dinner. They are very adaptive, my client is a wheelchair user who also requires a soft food diet. They are very friendly and will happily cook the food a bit longer to make it softer for her. We are regularly looked after by charlie, she is a lovely staff member and very respectful.

After visiting The Vyne, NT property my wife, brother and sister law and I decided to have lunch at The Swan in Sherborne St John. It wasn't very busy, but the service was slow. It took forever for our meals to arrive, my brother in law and I had lamb shank (delicious) and my wife and sister in law Sea bass. The vegetables we not cooked properly and their potatoes were nearly raw and the fish tasteless. They decided that they didn't want another meal and didn't pay for their meals. The two ladies were bitterly disappointed especially as they were looking forward to it. My sister in law, who's a chef said she would have been embarrassed to let those meals out of her kitchen. Needless to say we won't be returning. The only reason I gave a 2 star was because my brother in law and my meals were delicious, so the chef can cook. 😡😡😡

Beware, rocket leaves were so bruised and damaged it was mushy & discoulored. Steak sandwich was chewy & over done also served with bad rocket. Chips are good. Topped off the experience with graffiti in loo cubicle that I believe was there months ago. Waiting Staff were nice and smiley.

Food was very good. Let down by service, busy Saturday lunchtime but only 2 girls waiting tables. Strange way to serve Bacardi and coke,came as coke in pint glass with a shot of bacardi in small tumbler.

Amazing food for brunch. Food very tasty!!!! Brilliant staff nothing too much effort. We came for brunch and the food was very tasty. All freshly cooked, couldn't fault it. ❤️💙

Always come to the Swan and never have a bad word to say! Everyone here is so friendly and polite especially Ollie M who goes above and beyond to make my experience here a great one. I’ve been here many times and never had one bad experience here to date. I took my mum and a few family friends here and we all had finished our plates, the wait time was acceptable as i can also relate coming from a pub background and understand the demands of a busy friday evening! Finished my evening of with a lovely sticky toffee pudding who couldn’t complain! Date of visit: June 2024

Regular here and always have excellent service!!

I was cycling and saw this pub so popped in for lunch. Waited at the bar - no one was there to serve me - eventually someone came up and just said bluntly he couldn’t take my food order as a big table were about to order. I said I’ll find somewhere else then as he was so unhelpful - he just said ok - no apology or even asked if I’d like a drink! If you can’t cope with being busy you deserve to shut! Avoid unless there’s no one in there. You might get served.

BEWARE! Food cooked off premises and trucked in. All they do is heat it up! Husband had a lamb shank dinner (not cheap) and it was part FROZEN!!!! You have been warned! Reheated precooked garbage!!!! Server explained it was because they don’t cook it there, just reheat it. We could tell obviously though. My dinner was a chicken burger and chips on the side were stone cold and soggy. Probably microwave chips too! Unbelievable and diabolically BAD FOOD. Be amazed if we don’t get food poisoned from all this reheated precooked off premises food!!! ABSOLUTELY my worst food experience of the entirety of Great Britain.

Went to the Swan for father's day, served by Ollie, he was really attentive and cheerful, lovely service, food plentiful and atmosphere was nice.

Food was excellent. 5 of us all had very good meals and staff were great, all very attentive. Would highly recommend.

Good food, Great service from Charlie. Well worth the visit.

Fabulous family get together on Sunday. Joe looked after us so well and the food was delicious (especially the lamb shank roast dinner). Thank you .

Scott was our waiter for the evening. An asset to the pub. Professional, helpful and adding to a great evening. Thanks Scott.

Food was sub-par and the crispy squid starter was extremely small portion. Service was non existent. Good atmosphere.

Decent pub food. Hard to get staff’s attention. Perfectly fine if you keep expectations low.

Had an excellent meal here Service was good Atmosphere superb

The service and consideration shown on what was an extremely difficult and emotional day was very touching. In addition, the food was excellent quality.

Had the signature burger, fantastic. Our server Ollie was brilliant even tho the poor lad was carrying a sporting injury. Really nice fella. Get well soon mate.

We have been to a few Greene King pubs recently and have found the food and service to be poor. The starter was missed from our order and then told they had sold out. The mains took over an hour and when they arrived the meat was over cooked and had been left to stand the pork belly was more fat than meat and vegetables were hard.

Lovely little pub, very welcoming

We were there yesterday 5th May. We thought that the food was very poor quality. Roast Loin of Pork fatty. Roast potatoes were dreadful. All in all very disappointing

Staying at the Premier Inn next door for the rugby. The food is superb. Would definitely recommend the fish and chips. Massive portions and great value for money. Great selection of beers and ales. Ellie our server was an absolute delight and joined in the laughs and the jokes. A credit to the team. Would 100% recommend The Swan to anyone visiting in the area. Bar staff happy to recommend where to enjoy a drink after the rugby. We will be back next time Hull FC are in the area.

Went for a Sunday roast which was communicated to us that they had run out of roast. Waited 20 minutes for a drink to have the entire 2 litres of beer and other fizzy drinks spilt into my wife’s lap, all over my phone and other bits. Now, it is normal for accidents to happen and the waitress serving us was most apologetic but to not have anyone from management come over to us was not good at all. Not a word not a mention. Then to have to wait for replacement drinks, be told that everything including burgers was sold out is just not good enough service in general was sub par. Update. I since emailed the address in the reply and still no response.

Severely short staffed, was told we cannot order starters or deserts as short staffed in the kitchen. However, the main I ordered was delicious and have no complaints about the food. Maybe sort out your staff as many people were waiting at the bar to order drinks for a long time and there were no bar staff to be seen

It's a family friendly and dog friendly pub. Nice bar area, restaurant section and large pub garden which is lovely in the summer for drinks.

Our first time to this pub I am very reluctant to have sunday lunch when I go out as they are usually very disappointing. But having seen some of the lunches as we were being seated I thought I'd give it a go. I chose roast loin of pork. It came on a hot plate, well presented, decent home made Yorkshire pudding,nicely cooked vegetables, duck fat potatoes although a little pale, were tasty. Decent amount of pork which was tender, nice crackling too. Gravy although packet (all are these days) was ok. Really enjoyed it. I wouldn't normally have a dessert ,but on the strength of my lunch I decided to have one. A caramel, chocolate Sundae. Although a simple dessert it was very tasty. Usually desserts in other restaurants are a ridiculous price of £9 -£10 and are very poor indeed. So I was pleasantly surprised at £6.75. We really enjoyed our lunch and we definitely return.

Fabulous place to visit for a nice drink and have lunch. Staff so friendly and accommodating.

The Swan is always up and down in terms of quality of offering, I say this as a customer of over 20 years. Right now it is in a deep down phase. Popped in for lunch a couple of days ago. They have a small "specials" menu, but even one of these was "off". I chose another one, Salmon, and this was served with a tiny quantity of boiled potatoes which were green, only fit for the bin not a customers plate! From memory I think they were meant to be Hassleback and in which case they couldn't be further from the advertised menu. How this left the kitchen I have no idea, but nobody came to ask if it was ok and at the end of the meal nobody came to clear the table either. I asked for a glass of Chianti (from the drinks list) the barman said he had never heard of it and asked if it was red! Right now I would avoid the Swan and definitely not eat there. As it is a local I may return for a drink in the garden when the weather improves as I like to support local business, this place needs much better, or indeed any, management.

I like the swan, especially that they’re dog friendly. I ordered two portions of chips for a light snack for the kids and they came out as tiny portions. Not enough to go around which was disappointing. I asked the waiter if they could add a few more which there was plenty of room for in the bowl but he said no. Again disappointing as we don’t usually have a problem here

Unless you have no other option or you’re being forced to, never eat here! The food was the equivalent to what I might expect at a weatherspoons, in most cases this would be an insult to weatherspoons but in this case this restaurant is an insult to weatherspoons in comparison. Steak chewy, tasteless. Mash came out with a crisp outer layer so obviously microwaved it was shameful. My partner had chunky chips come out that were so hard you could barely unless with brute brunt force get a fork through them. Their gravy was lumpyyyy again - no one in that kitchen could care less about the food their serve. When we spoke to our waiter he barely sounded surprised, didn’t apologise but did get us some other chips, so credit where credit due. How the “chef” could let this food leave the kitchen is shameful. The fact that people have given this restaurant 5* is baffling - I can only think that they have never had the chance to eat good food before. The only reason this has got a 2* and not a 1* is that the pie to its credit was relatively nice, very crust heavy but at least didn’t make you question life as to whether is this really what food has become???? To the People in the kitchen please note there has to be some pride in what you serve otherwise why serve it at all.

Abbie was great! Very attentive and kind. We had a great meal.

Had great food and amazing service! Debbie was great and so was the food. All of the staff were attentive and very friendly!

Had a great meal at the swan, the food was amazing and our waitress Abbie made our experience even better! 11/10 would highly recommend!!

My wife and I went here yesterday when we arrived in Basingstoke as we are staying within walking distance of this pub… The food was okay and hit the spot (Just) We decided to pop in here today before we took our dog for a walk.. We both shared two starters and we also had the trio of meat roast. The starters were okay,the roasts were shocking… The vegetables clearly aren’t fresh and the roast potatoes were very opaque and were also clearly frozen. The stuffing was as dry as a desert and the “meat” had so much fat on it,it was almost inedible. The pigs in blankets were okay….other than the undercooked bacon…. The cauliflower cheese was probably the best thing about the whole meal…. The staff are very friendly and there is a good choice of beers and ales… I honestly wouldn’t recommend this place for food and I doubt we’ll return before we leave to go home.

Lovely service and delicious food. Quick service. Not an empty glass all night. Friendly waitress Debbie who was bubbly and very accommodating.

Debbie was so lovely and welcoming, the whole service between herself and Ollie was fantastic. Dinner was lovely and although it was busy they both asked if everything was okay.

Went into bar midafternoon on Saturday. Dogs welcome and rugby on big screen. Food good and plenty of choice. Will be visiting again soon.

Myself and my partner are regular customers, however, haven’t been since christmas so we were excited to be back for a Sunday roast for the first sunny day of the year. We were very disappointed by the food quality - the meats in the roast were very dry and vegetables clearly microwaved. They had a whole list of menu items out of stock which was disappointing for a Sunday afternoon (16:00hrs). We have had some amazing roasts and great experiences in the past so hoping this was a one-off and not reflecting a change in kitchen staff or ingredients. The waiters were lovely though and lovely atmosphere. We will be back but hopeful for better quality food.

Abbie was very friendly and helpful We haven’t been for a long time as the food had gone down hill but we thought we would give it a go and the food was good

Visited this evening with a friend, both hoping for a healthy option to eat. It was fairly slim pickings on this front but we both chose the vegetable patch medley. Interestingly this dish comes as a starter (£5.99) or a main course (£12.49). When the meals arrived I genuinely thought we had been given starters. The portions were pitifully small. The waiter was kind enough to query this with the kitchen who assured us this was “the Greene King spec” for the dish and that this was in fact the main course. They added a little more food to the plate but even so, the portion was meagre and certainly not worth the money. The waitress agreed and offered us free desserts as compensation which was very kind. Hats off to all the waiting staff tonight who worked their socks off in a very busy pub and remained friendly and helpful throughout. Just a shame about the food. Need to do better I’m afraid.

Visiting the Vyne but didn’t want a National Trust lunch! The Swan was perfect, great menu great food at reasonable prices with superb service from Abbie! Well done!

As always there's a warm welcome when we visit the Swan. Very friendly, with a great choice of ales and wines. There's a variety of freshly cooked food and is plentiful, presented beautifully every time we've eaten here. Thank you Kaley and staff for your attentiveness every time. A great country pub retaining it's charm.

Won’t be returning. Sunday roast with frozen roast potatoes is unacceptable.

I was served by Debbie and she had a very welcoming demeanour and great table service. She was lovely! The food was amazing especially the chefs special spiced caramel panna cotta

Good food we had the fish & it was well cooked. The service made the meal. Debbie & her colleague front of house need a rise….. GK …. This is where it counts ….

Excellent service at lunch today atThe Swan served by Abbie , food was amazing, great atmosphere in the pub would highly recommend five star service. Many thanks.

Lovely, friendly staff and some excellent food at reasonable prices. Definitely on the list of 'must go back again ' pubs.

Went on mother's day so was busy. But food is always good and staff are friendly.

Really lovely meal at the Swan. Delicious food and great service from Kaley! Would definetly recommend it for any occasion

Cannot rate the food highly enough the four of us in our party cleared our plates!! One of the best meals we’ve had in a pub for a long time. Our waitress Abbie was efficient, helpful and friendly. Well done The Swan

Lovely country pub. Lovely food. Lovely staff. What more could you ask for???? Well worth a visit👍

Good food served promptly with reasonable portions in a friendly atmosphere

Let’s face it the Swan has been flaky, but we took two of our grandsons there for dinner . Good food friendly service we will be back . Also good to see the bar busy with drinkers .

Very disappointing Sunday roast last weekend. We are local and would pop in with the family far more often if this was improved. Two very thin slices of Turkey for me, my partners beef was very fatty, roast potatoes were just tiny pieces of broken...

My Husband and I took my dad here today March 3rd for dinner my dad had fish which he really enjoyed, my husband and I went for a roast dinner I had the beef my husband had the beef on the bone we both really...

Had dinner on the Sunday evening for my mother in laws birthday, our waitress was Debbie and she was absolutely AMAZING nearly all of our party was deaf and Debbie couldn’t do enough for us! She was so patient, lovely and absolutely hilarious. Proper asset to the team! Will be back :)

A very nice Sunday roast at a very reasonable price. A good selection of other things on the menu to suit everyone’s tastes. The service we received from Claire at table 31 was excellent.

The best Sunday roast we’ve had in a long time. The presentation was spot on and the staff were very friendly and helpful. The cheese cake was delicious too.

Service by Debbie was excellent...so on the ball. Roast dinner was a bit fatty but dealt with, with no hassle. The atmosphere is what you make it! We always enjoy ourselves with all staff and other customers!

Thank you Debbie for great service. And being attentive.Food was delicious too. Great selection on menu Many thanks team.

Abbie was our waitress and she was attentive, polite. Professional and she served our Sunday lunch very quickly. I can fully recommend the Swan for a lovely meal and great company. Best wishes, Graham

Popped in for an unbooked Sunday lunch. The restaurant was busy but we were shown to a table in the bar and to order at the bar. Polite friendly staff, excellent value and really tasty food (we both had the trio of roasts) served efficiently....

Had a lovely roast dinner with great service from Abbie and the team! Really good atmosphere and looking forward to coming back again soon x

Great food and service reasonably priced. We didn't have a reservation but the stuff found a table for us despite being really busy. The food arrived after 15 min. Highly recommend.

Top quality food, the slow cooked beef is incredible. Great customer service by the staff especially Abbie Will definitely be coming back

Excellent food, quick service. Recommended to anyone passing

Didn't book a table but was told they are full so we decided to sit at the bar 5 min later a couple come in and asked if there was any tables available as we ain't booked and the same lady said yes and gave them a table after telling us they are fully booked . Poor service and would never come back .

Lovely lunch in a beautiful pub, our waitress Abbie was very accommodating, kind and helpful. Food was top tier. Would recommended. Also Boris served us the best beers I’ve had in a long time. Will attend again.

Family occasion booked for a table of 10. Pre ordered food and came out promptly but not dried up like it had been waiting for us. Wonderful service throughout the meal despite the pub being packed. Great food and very happy with whole experience. Main waitress was Abbie and she was fab!

We had a lovely family dinner with good food, excellent service and a welcoming atmosphere.

Was here the other night for dinner with my mum on a Tuesday evening. The service from my waitress was so lovely could tell she really cared about her job. Believe her name was Kaley

Delicious food, huge portion, staff nice and professional, quite big free car park next to pub. I will definitely be back!

Lovely Sunday lunch, friendly staff. Dog friendly too

Had a lovely lunch at The Swan today. Great service the staff were fantastic and friendly. Christopher behind the bar was very helpful and got our drinks very swiftly. The food was lovely and Clare was welcoming and they both made the experience very enjoyable....

Wonderful, pleasant visit. Warm greeting when we arrived which was fabulous. A totally phenomenal experience. Would most definitely visit again. Must say a very special thank you to Claire and Christopher who went above and beyond to make us welcome. Would Highly recommend.

Abbie our waitress was great! Very friendly & helpful. Nothing too much trouble. Food was great as usual too. Have eaten here many times and never had a bad meal.

The swan served by Abbie is amazing the food is always cooked lovely with the presentation so good !! it was my birthday I was made to feel special had the best afternoon. Thank you

Visited here and had a lovely experience. Food was lovely and was served by Kaley who was extremely attentive and definitely made us feel welcome and appreciated. Nothing was too much trouble and she went above and beyond to make sure we were happy. Will visit again!

The Swan is a nice looking country pub but 3 times in recent months I have had the worst version of my favourite beer which is Abbott. What I was served looked and tasted like a watered down version- it was almost tasteless and I could see clearly to the bottom of the glass. It should not be close to translucent. Either a bad batch or not well maintained. Staff are friendly but my minimum ask is a decent beer, especially when paying premium price.

TLDR: very poor allergy awareness and ridiculous wait times. My elderly In-laws drove up from Dorset to join us for a meal after work. Our table was booked for 7.00pm. There were 9 tables occupied, we saw 2 wait staff covering these tables. Our drinks were ordered and arrived at 7.20. That's ok, but then it went downhill after that. Firstly my MIL has allergies to shellfish and poultry. The waiter was thrown by this, and didn't seem to clearly understand what foods she could have. There didn't seem to be any written allergy information for him or us to use. Apparently, all the deep-fried food including fish, scampi and chips are cooked in the same deep fat fryer. He seemed to think the burger would be safe, but didn't seem sure. We ordered food at 7.30. We saw grilled chicken come out of the kitchen, but couldn't find the wait staff to ask about whether that was cooked on the same grill as the beef. Given my in-laws had to drive back to Dorset, at 8.30 they decided they needed to leave to get back to their house at a reasonable time. We explained to the waiter that we'd been waiting an hour since our order and they now needed to leave due to their drive back. We cancelled their orders. The rest of our food arrived at 8.45. My son's gammon was overdone, and we were comped his meal accordingly, but otherwise the food was pretty good. My review is 1 star due to the lack of allergy awareness and the really lengthy wait times for food.

Service was excellent, Debbie and Team were very friendly and the food was delicious. We will definitely be back! Relaxed atmosphere

Fantastic food, lovely place, I would definitely call again the next time we're down.

We have been to The Swan several times now and always have a brilliant time! Lovely good and great service by Debbie this time. Would definitely recommend to others and we’ll be back!

This is a great little pub and we often use it as a starting or finish point when walking our dogs around Malshanger Wood. Dog friendly, good parking & pretty good food