The Swan in West Berkshire

The Swan has been closed for 11 months due to flooding from its idyllic setting on the River Thames. We visited yesterday afternoon for a late lunch/early dinner, eager to see the refurbishment. We were not disappointed - in fact we were absolutely delighted! The men and food presentation has gone up a notch, the staff are friendly, the refurbishment tasteful and fresh looking. We are delighted to see The Swan up and running again as it is within walking distance for us, and for visitors to Pangbourne, just opposite the railway station (trains from Didcot, Reading and Paddington) Dog friendly - customer friendly - perfect! p.s. we were delighted by the prawn curry, cheeseburger, cherry and almond crumble, and rhubarb and custard knickerbocker glory ;D

We met friends for lunch and everything about our visit was excellent. The Swan is a combination of cosy and elegant. The staff were friendly and provided exceptional service. Good wine list and delicious food, especially the desserts!

After the major refurbishment , the Swan is back. Great food, excellent staff in a great location by the river. We will be back thank you for a great lunch.

Our first visit as a family with our 9 months old daughter. Food was delicious! We had roast pork and roasted lamb. Service was excellent and staff was kind enough to prepare a highchair for our little girl, who also enjoyed her roast. We've moved to Pangbourne not long ago and are really looking forward to visiting Swan more often. Lovely place!

Recently local Pangbourne residents. I came to the Swan many years ago and so when my Wife and I moved here we were excited for them to re open. We came on Sunday for Sunday lunch and booked online. We requested a highchair for our 9 month old Daughter and when we were seated the highchair was waiting for us. The service was quick and very friendly (all the staff were interacting with our daughter!) Food was really tasty and we were happy with everything on our plates. If there was anything to say to improve (and this is being picky) it would be maybe a steak knife for the lamb as a normal knife was a tiny bit of a struggle to cut it, but the lamb itself was perfectly pink and soft. The sticky toffee pudding afterwards for dessert again was amazing! Great portion sizes, very reasonable prices. We will be coming back again and again!

Great food, amazing service! What a beautiful job done to referb this amazing place! Defo worth a visit here!

Great vegan options. Lovely new decor. Will be coming back.

Table had a great view of the Thames and the service was very attentive especially from Lily.

We popped into The Swan after visiting Basildon Park. It was decorated beautifully and we were welcomed warmly. We had our newborn baby and 2 year old with us and the server (Hubert) was attentive, helpful, knowledgeable, and professional. The food was well cooked and tasted good. We would happily return. Thank you, Hubert, for making our visit even better!

The Burger was great and so was fish & Chips. Friendly staff, didn’t blink when we arrived early, made us welcome and helpful with menus suggestions.

Enjoyed our evening out. Nice atmosphere and not too busy. Hurbert, our waiter, was an absolute pleasure. Never felt rushed. He made small talk which was nice. He gave some recommendations on puddings and checked in on us occasionally. He asked why we were out and we said for our 20 year anniversary which he congratulated us for. Would recommend going there for a nice evening and dinner out.

Good food, good drinks and excellent service from Jennifer.

Great evening at the newly refurbished Swan. Lovely fish n"chips and espresso martini. Attentive and polite service by Jennifer. 5 stars!

Lovely experience at the Swan - Jennifer was amazing

A lovely evening, Jennifer was very attentive to us. It’s great to have The Swan open again and much improved on all counts!

Great step up on the reopening post the flood!

Beautiful renovation. Hubert was great

Just wonderful, the pub has recently reopened after 11 months due to a major flood. Parking There is some parking or there is a train station just a few minutes walk away Interior Wow wow wow the team have done an incredible job, the interior is beautiful, large bright open spaces with smaller cosy intimate side rooms with sofas and soft furnishings. Warm homely feel. Tables are spacious so you are not on top of each other, and the different sections both inside and outside caters for dining, drinking or just relaxing. Bathroom was clean and bright. The outside space is equally lovely and we cant wait for the warmer weather to sit by the river. Staff Due to newly opening, there were a few new staff, they all introduced themselves on approach, which made you feel immediately at ease, which was a nice touch and all staff were welcoming, attentive and eager to make sure your visit was memorable. The menu Everything sounded amazing and as food was being served on different tables we were constantly changing our minds as it all looked amazing. i had the poached duck egg and hubby and son (piglet) shared the Camembert cheese. We decided to try different mains, i had the flat steak, son had the burger and hubby had the King prawn and monk fish, wow all dishes were tasty, delicious and presented beautifully. Management Anna and Dave were amazing, Anna at front of house, keeps everything runny smoothly and makes sure everyone is having a lovely time, Dave is out back, cooking and keeps the kitchen delivering the amazing food with consistent attention to detail. Overall I would highly recommend, i have not had such a delicious meal in such a beautiful setting for a very long time and although we are 45 min drive away, we will definitely return to sample the rest of the menu and enjoy the atmosphere and surroundings. Well done team, we could not fault any part of our visit and look forward to returning.

Lovely food and service with a smile!

Came the first weekend it reopened. Such a lovely venue, really nicely renovation and fab service. Hubert served us and was delightful.

This is my first time to visit this pub. I had the roast pork lunch absolutely amazing. The public looks absolutely stunning fantastic service by everyone. I got to chat to the general manager and the host.

I recently enjoyed a fantastic dinner that was simply delightful! It was a filling meal that left me satisfied and happy, I highly recommend it for a cozy family dinner!

Amazing food and fabulous service-the best lunch we’ve had out in a long time. What a great pub and team 😊

Came for dinner with my boss and his family on Monday night. The service, food, ambience was absolutely spot on. Anna, Simone and the rest of the team were massively accommodating and the food, cocktails were superb. Since a change of management in the last year, The Swan has improved drastically. Whilst looking after diners, it also manages to produce a lovely atmosphere if you'd like to go and just a couple of pints. EDIT, 14/12/2024: Lovely to see The Swan back open for business after the nasty floods in January. The refurb has helped install an even even better atmosphere. Still a great pint and really looking forward to come and dine there in the near future- the food has always left me craving the next visit along with a well crafted menu. In addition, fantastic to see the the old staff team being maintained along with new additions who are polite, efficient and offer quality customer service.

Swan is opening soon!!!!!! Great news!

Such a beautiful pub. A real tranquil place to unwind with a drink. Drinks are a little pricey but it's well worth paying the little extra to spend some time here.

Best underpass in the country especially while the pubs closed

Excellent pub ideal for first dates I'm still with mine! Edit: second third, fouth and fifth dates too....

Seems to be closed at the moment, because of flooding. Hopefully not for too long.

👫 Enjoyed our 6th Christmas Lunch (2023) here at The Swan, Pangbourne and B4 leaving each year; we ensure we secure a reservation for our next years Christmas Lunch at our corner ⭕️ table # up in their Atrium Room! As expats without family in UK; the staff make us feel welcome from the moment we step inside, as well, as we walk through premises they’ll say a hi, chat when their time permits. & create the warmth of being their value guest. This year our server was helpful Mr.H. Nothing was too much trouble for him. This place is our favourite dining establishment; especially with friends. The staff are always so amazing; friendly and willing to accommodate! The food is delicious and never disappoints. The Panoramic views are stunning and create the perfect backdrop for all their values guests Having dined globally, including at ⭐️⭐️ Michelin Star Restaurants, and IMO:- The Swan, Pangbourne is your Michelin Star restaurant but without the official ⭐️ Title. Its that Good!! Staff genuinely make us feel welcome & their important guests. We Highly recommend this beautiful 17th century listed building in Pangbourne, offering a fresh and seasonal menu every day of the week. We always look forward to our visits to this place. It a special place!💝

The pub cancelled my long-in-advance booking the day before our trip for Sunday lunch with no explanation.

I booked this pub several weeks in advance for Sunday lunch on 14th Jan 2024 and was asked to confirm my booking via email 2 days before. On arrival at the pub, it was closed due to flooding. What a shame! I can imagine it's been a stressful time for the management team but I wish I had received an email or message to notify me. We had travelled over 1 hour by train to get there as part of a birthday treat (walk and roast dinner) for my partner. I had also mentioned it was for a brithday in the booking... disappointing.

Currently closed due to flooding

Nice little boozer for a pint. Highly recommend on a cold dreich night it was cosy and just what the doctor ordered.

Great riverside pub serving hearty food 👌 😋 👍

Our lunch here was a delightful treat! The food and service were excellent. The menu offered many interesting, tempting dishes. We cant wait to return.

After walking for hours and hungry this was the only place open on Boxing Day, £75 later we were left very disappointed and still hungry. The scallops were undercooked, park barely overcooked, the crab burger was over cooked and the cuttlefish spaghetti was flavourless but was covered in so much chilli it burnt my mouth. The pate was so runny it was like honey dripping off the knife. Menu looks interesting but to be honest it’s not cooked a it should be and overpriced, very disappointed

Staff seem very polite, friendly, and quick to serve. The music was awful and far too loud, but overall, it's warm, cosy, and welcoming Didn't eat but I'm sure it's delicious 😋

Lovely Christmas meal with friends on 20/12/23. Well looked after by the staff.

Had a lovely meal with friends at the Swan in Pangbourne. The food was delicious - I highly recommend a roast or the fish and chips. Our server was fantastic - she was so friendly and accommodating. She really went above and beyond. I'll be back!

Great pub with good service. Would recommend

Excellent service and a fab roast!

Great place to have a beer next to the river

I had high hopes but was left thoroughly disappointed. The starter took close to 1 hour to arrive and was lacklustre to say the least. The pate was pre prepared and obviously served straight from the fridge, and we had to enquire what the taste of the 'soup of the day' was as it was difficult to tell. The soft shell crab was smothered in batter and if I didnt know what it was supposed to have been, Iwe would'nt of had a clue. The sevice was so slow and a £22 + service charge was added to my bill. Rarely do I feel compelled to review so poorly but I found this place an absolute dissapointment. Being a Friday afternoon the restaurtant was very quite, so there was no excuse. Looks great from the outside , but prepare for a let down. £200 for 5, and it is no more than poor pub grub

I'll start with the good points. The staff were amazing. They were friendly and helpful, not intrusive but were there when I wanted them. They are truly a credit to this pub. It's an old pub but feels modern and well cared for inside. There are multiple dining areas so it doesn't feel as though you are crowded in as it feels as though you are in small cosy areas. Unfortunately the food lets it down. There was nothing really bad enough to send back but I was disappointed. I started with the Honey Butter Squid, which just looked like Chinese sweet and sour balls, greasy deep fried battered squid that mainly tasted of grease, at least the squid was not overcooked, but very little flavour to the dish. Main was king prawn spaghetti nero, should have been cuttlefish but the server explained when the menus were bought out that they were out of cuttlefish and had substituted King Prawn so no problem there, I was warned that you needed to like chili to enjoy this dish :-). To me the amount of chili was perfect, enough to feel the heat but not so strong as to destroy any flavour. Unfortunately there was no real flavour to destroy. Nicely cooked pasta but felt oily and no real other flavour coming through. Desert was Lemon meringue cheesecake, proper cheesecake not the baked American style. The lemon topping was delightful, as was the sorbet it was served with but the cheese was plain and didn't taste like it had been sweetened. This spoilt the balance of the cheesecake and felt like I was wading through a very plain tasting cheese. An exiting looking menu that just disappointed.

A local gem. Beautiful Sunday roast and friendly service. Thank you for a lovely afternoon.

Had a great Sunday roast last weekend. Our guests were very impressed as were we. The chicken was so tasty and the Yorkshire puddings were so big !! We will be back.

Beautiful location, great food and friendly staff. What more do you need? Suggest parking in the Railway Station when its busy as the pub car park is small.

Incredible food and service, best roast I've had in ages! Lovely atmosphere

The best gastropub in the area. Great views, reasonable prices, and really good food. I've eaten here at least ten times in the past year, and have never had a bad meal.

One of the best pub I came across. Tucking into Sunday roast, friendly and professional staff making sure we're all good (including my dog )While listening to old school funk. It's an evening that I wouldn't forget hopefully for a long time.

Really good! Would recommend the chicken club sandwhich on the lunch menu 😁 lovely views of the river and staff are great. Nice to do after visiting Basildon Park

Lovely pub! Friendly staff, nice venue and yummy food!!

This is out 8th visit to this lovely pub, we meet friends here annually at a half way point. Today was not quite up to the usual standard though, after iur lovely roast dinner tea was served in a teapot with no lid, and there were no teaspoons to be found anywhere. The poor waiter was very apologetic but it was a surprise to all of us that this was happening.

Great place to exit the Thames. Good food and service.

Visited here to meet friends. Lovely restaurant. Greeted with a smile by friendly polite staff. Quick service. Enjoyed the view of the river with a glass of wine. Very pleasant, Good menu and prices for light bites or something more fulfilling.

Enjoyed a lovely roast dinner here. Table looked out into the river and service was fab. Big thank you to Simone for looking after us and being so efficient and friendly. The food was equally as good and plenty of it too. So much so we were able to take some home with us and a box was provided. We had 2 roast dinners with some sides and grandparents were allowed a children’s meal which was perfect for them. Nice atmosphere and environment and will definitely come back.

Excellent Sunday roast. Large portions. Fantastic service from great staff. Good range of drinks. Highly recommended

We visited the swan for lunch one Saturday in October. Although the car park was busy, we were able to park in the disabled parking bay as my mother has a blue badge. The pub and restaurant are accessible and mostly on one level or with very slight ramps between levels. The restaurant is made up of several individual sections, each of which carries its own merits but all forming part of a very nice finish and look to the overall decor of the swan. We were greeted at the door by a friendly member of staff who quickly found our booking and showed us to our table. He was quickly followed by our server who brought our menus and took our drink order. She was friendly and knowledgeable of the menu. Our table was very nice and steady and right by a window which gave us a view of the river Thames. Seats were will padded and very comfortable. There was a large fireplace which was not lit today, but which one can imagine can only add a warm and friendly addition to an already warm and friendly atmosphere. Our server reappeared with our drinks and told us of the fish pie on today's special board. We questioned about the red mullet and muscle stew which she was able to answer and gave a good description of what the dish involved. She gave us plenty of time in which to consider the menu before taking our order. The restaurant was well visited this day but the tables were spacious and one never felt in a claustrophobic noisy atmosphere. Within 15 minutes of ordering our lunch arrived. We each opted for the same which was the red mullet and muscle stew incorporating sweet pepper fennel and served with a baked slice of sourdough with garlic puree sauce. The sauce was flavored for that Mediterranean stroke African coast full body flavor at the center of which was harrisma. Tasty but never overpowered. We ordered some additional bread to soak up the remnants of our stew which we had found to be a generous portion with fresh muscles and two delicious fillets of red mullet. Shortly after receiving our lunch another member of staff came to check that everything was okay and where we okay for drinks. Again, he was friendly smiling an added to the overall experience of dining at the swan. For dessert, I took two scoops of ice cream, honeycomb flavor and chocolate whilst my mother indulged in a delicious sticky toffee pudding served with vanilla ice cream. Overall the meal was very reasonably priced, the service was excellent, the ambiance delightful and we will definitely return again. Thank you to all the staff at the swan for making our lunch a perfect occasion.

Expensive but super food and ambience.

Very disappointed with the food, was much better when I went a couple of years ago, perhaps they didn't have their normal chef. In the good old British way, didn't complain but won't be going back.

Excellent food and friendly service

Great location next to River. Lovely pub and we had a great roast dinner....quality was excellent and portion size was very generous. We would maybe order children's portion to fit in a dessert next time. Friendly and fast service. No garden but a small terrace overlooking river and weir. Limited parking so you have to pay to park at railway station. Dog firendly.

Super pub with a traditional feel (and a wide range of ales) but with the added bonuses of good food, lovely staff and service, and a commanding a view of the rivier that is well worth a visit for itself.

Hi we had some great food. And the staff were amazing . And I would recommend going there. My Gran has a great day for her birthday.

Loved the fish and chips, best batter on fish I've ever had 🤗 even let the staff know to pass feedback on to the chef👍portion sizes are big too and good prices.

Beautiful location on the river

What a lovely place. We recently visited the Swan for a date night. The food was really nice with quick service from utterly lovely staff and the house wine was exceptional good. I would totally recommend this pub.

Just turned up to the swan, staff are very pleasant , however when ordering my food, the chef, in his own words, would refuse to give a alternative to the onion rings , little disappointed with that attitude .

Always a great venue. Great dining experience or just go for a drink and watch the world go with the view of the river Thames. Boats often moor outside of the Swan and her occupants pour out to have a well deserved break.

Excellent lunch on the terrace overlooking the Thames on a warm summer's day. Need I say more!

Absolutely loved my three course meal. I was actually too full for the pudding but enjoyed the starter and main so much that I thought I would try a dessert. The lady who served me was lovely and the pub it's self is lovely. Clean table ect and I had a local cider which was on tap. Would highly recommend, just a shame I don't live nearby to visit again!

Avoid this pub if you have food allergies. The allergen menu is not up to date and it's hard to match it to the actual current menu. The waiters did not want to help me deciphering what I could eat. In the end, the only gluten free option was an aubergine salad. There were no other dishes suitable for coeliacs so we finished our drinks and went to a different pub nearby. The view on the river is nice though.

Fantastic interaction with the server, she was great. Crab burger was excellent as was the normal one. Loved it thanks.

The Swan pub in Pangbourne is a delightful Riverside gem located by the lock. With its friendly service and welcoming atmosphere, it's a must-visit. Don't miss the chance to explore their unique menu offerings beyond the usual pub menu. The divine Crab burger is a standout, and for dessert, their Eton mess or the gigantic sticky toffee pudding is a perfect way to conclude your dining experience.

One of the best roasts I have had out. Great portion size. Excellent service by Anna! Great value for money, we will be back.

Really great fish and chips, the fish was so so crispy and the fish firm and flaky (and large). Ten years since I have had such well cooked fish and that was in the Gordon Ramsey Pub “The Narrows” in Limehouse

Lovely location on the riverside with very friendly and attentive staff. Special thanks to Salmone 😊

Great location adjacent to the river with a nice outlook. Excellent helpful staff with very good service. Very comfortable interior with lots of seating. Lovely menu, I had the steak sandwich which came in a panini roll filled salad and onion rings and steak along with fries. My wife had the chicken club sandwich, both of these were very good and generous portions. Would definitely recommend.

Good Pub and food but beware of the 12.5% service charge.

Food was good nice and tender roasts. Gll cooked to perfection. Will definitely be back.

Such a wonderful lunch. Sat outside overlooking the Thames. Great weather as well as food, service and ambience. Can't wait to go back again!!

We were safe in the bunker. The staff were patient and helped us get drunk and fed us pastry covered camembert and upsetting humus

Had a really great lunch with the family for my 40th. Food was delicious and the staff were all lovely - couldn’t do enough for us. We’ll definitely be back - thanks so much ☺️

Great lunch , friendly welcome, perfect table overlooking the river, excellent service from Hubert and Joe. Thank you

Great if you’re in the area! Great riverside terrace

The last time we came was a year ago and we're so glad we came back here for our anniversary. Anna, the manager, made us feel very special. The sticky toffee pudding rounded off a special celebration perfectly. The views are amazing... that's why we love it so much.

The Swan is a great place to eat. I booked a table online and asked to be seated by a window next to the river. Parking is limited and tight, so we parked in the town car park just up the road (parking is free after 1800). On arrival, we were seated exactly as requested. Staff were very friendly, happy to look after our every need. Eating at 1700 on a busy Saturday afternoon, the service, timings, and quality of the food were excellent. We've visited many times before and we'll return again in the future.

Nice pub, parkings not great though.

We enjoyed a nice pint by the water and when it started raining retreated indoors. Staff were friendly and I had one of the best Sunday roasts I've had in a long time!

Very good service and a nice atmosphere but the food in our group was overall rather disappointing and a bit random. When the soup is a highlight you get it.. Sorry but perhaps get some different recipes?

A decent and changing menu, friendly team and good ale, what's not to like. Plenty of choice for the vegetarian and even enough for a vegan. Though I am not sure what vegan fish and chips might be. Parking is a challenge, use the main village carpark -5 minutes walk away. In the summer sit on the terrace and enjoy the riverside view. The terrace on a summer evening is hard to beat, but can be a bit cool once the sun has set.

Lovely location, also where hubby first proposed... Sadly, food was a bit naff, but they didn't charge for mine - which was a bonus. Music was really a bit loud for "ambient", which spoilt the visit too. Not sure we'll be back.

Suburb food and superb service. We couldn’t have been made to feel more welcome. We live in cardiff and will miss the swan

Lovely place to visit. Service and food was amazing

We enjoyed the appetizers and entrees. The desserts were not as good. The perk of being able to moor here for the night was excellent. The service was kind and fast. Overall we really enjoyed The Swan.

Really great old pub. The scotch eggs were to die for. We had late lunch of burgers too. Splendid. But we cannot overstate the welcome and service we got when we moored for the night, the helpfulness we had over a illness we were fighting, the free taxi service to the doctors and the care Anna the manager afforded us at no extra cost. Congratulations to all at the Swan. Thank you. Michael and Elaine Rook on NB Puffin.

Second time I visited this pub in the last 6 months. Was just passing through the first time, but loved the chilled out vibe, amazing food and the team there were so welcoming and bubbly, I made an effort to visit again... if I'm ever anywhere nearby, will be sure to detour for a peaceful drink and bite to eat in this beautiful scenic pub on the River!

Came to this amazing pub by off chance after being out on a friends boat all day.... The staff are very friendly and could not help us more with helping with the mooring of the boat to giving us water for a little dogs (...

Fantastic location, shame about the staff’s attitude. Won’t be back