The Swan in Lewes

A good place to spend time with friends

Food not great potatoes burnt some just black unedible, when reported was asked if I enjoyed the rest!

A lovely pub with nice beer, great food, and friendly staff.

We had a table in their lovely garden sitting with overhead warmer. Food was well presented and good. The leek and potato soup was delicious. Service was very welcoming and sufficiently fast. Will definitely return on the next visit to Lewes.

On the whole food ok. One of us had smoked salmon which turned out to be far too salty. It was very noisy. Four of us could hardly hear across the table. Sitting by the ladies, door not closing and every time the hand dryer was in operation we had to stop talking. A great pity. You are just up the road for us.

Friendly service, good food, nice garden seating - perfect combination!

Superb pub - Harvey’s beer, great atmosphere, friendly staff and tasty food. Sunday roast was delicious. Very friendly towards little ones and baby changing available too.

Just a superb pub in every way. Great pub food, Harvey's Ales, brilliant staff, cosy interior with friendly buzzy atmosphere and lovely garden with covered area.

A pleasant evening in the Swan - first time there in at least twenty years, if not a little longer.

Lovely pub with really generous roast dinners Food is always lovely and fresh and served hot and even in a big group you'll all be served together Staff are friendly and welcoming

Really nice pub, great customer service, Food was good. Well worth a visit

As always, fantastic food and great service with friendly bar staff. Thank you x

Nice atmosphere and tasy food great for a lunchtime break.

Tuesday lunchtime and was looking for somewhere to have lunch whilst travelling. Checked out Lewis and chose The Swan Inn based on the feedback recieved on the Google Maps App. They have a small pub car park but at midday I had my choice of parking bays. Went into the busy bar packed with diners and made my way to the bar where I was warmly greeted. They have a good selection of beers and ales - I went for a pint of Harvey's Sussex which is well kept and was served with a friendly smile by the lady running the bar. Looked at the lunch menu and untypically for me decided on a sweet potato dhansak vegitable curry - big portions (I couldn't eat it all) with plenty of flavour. Delicious ! Prices were good £5 for the pint of beer and £15 for the curry - it is no wonder this pub is rated so highly. Recommended.

Visited for lunch with family. Excellent food and plenty for veggies and vegans. I had a delicious vegan bean soup.

Always one of the nice places to visit in Lewes. Food is excellent. Suggest you book as fills up really quickly. Good choice of real ales aswell.

Popular local pub. Best to book

Great pub for a Sunday Roast! Reasonably priced and a decent sized portion with loadsa gravy, how they used to do roasts "back in the good ol'days!" The menu also offers 3 veggie roast options! Quick service and beautiful decor. Will definitely be returning and recommending!

Lovely pub, nice staff, good drinks, cosy

Really great veggie roast. Nut Roast and Mushroom Wellington. Big plates of food and utterly delicious. Highly recommended.

Nice friendly pub with great food

I came here for the first time on my work Christmas do. It was possibly the best pub meal I've ever had, with lots of good veggie options. The roast and sticky toffee pudding were insanely delicious, but the staff made everything extra special. They were friendly and attentive, and we loved that they'd done a quiz for us to play at the table. Can't wait to go back next time I'm in Lewes!

Great food great people great beer

Nice pub and parking in Lewes would definitely recommend.

Lovely little pub! Cosy, spirited atmosphere, particularly in the winter. Very friendly and also welcoming to dogs. Had a very delicious roast (beef) and sticky toffee pudding here.

Great service, good food at a decent price. Had to sit outside because it was busy but they offered us tables inside multiple times. We were happy where we were but nice atmosphere and lovely staff. Would recommend!

Great space, when restrictions was up, the staff was well prepared, the pub was setled in accordance with distancing needs. Food is good, local IPA is great and service is outstanding. What more can you ask for

Sarah and Izzy are the best ever!

Really lovely place, nice atmosphere, good service and amazing food. Thoroughly enjoyed it, recommended.

Our first choice for Sunday lunch was full and the waitress directed us here. We hadnt seen this pub before, and what a find! Luckily, we were given a small table with stools. It's quite a roomy pub but advisable to book a table for Sunday lunch. Many, many people walked in just after us and were only offered outside seating, with heaters. I had the beef option and my partner choose the lamb. The food portions were huge! It was all delicious, and even came with a portion of cauliflower cheese, which I didn't expect and thoroughly enjoyed. I was planning to gave the sticky toffee pudding, but was too full to move. It's a very traditional, clean and welcoming pub, and clean too.

Delicious roast chicken! Great portions and reasonable price!

Popped in at short notice for lunch, for first ever visit. Managed to get table which wasn’t reserved. Had a wonderful pint of Harvey’s Bonfire, then tucked into great veggie sweet potato Wellington. Partner had very good chicken dhansak. Seemed to be a great atmosphere with varied clientele. My only gripe was that the place was chilly initially as we weren’t near the open fire.

Best pub in Lewes! Really good cheesey chips, the sticky toffee pudding is a must! Staff always friendly, good range of alcohol, cosy atmosphere, really lovely pub garden.

Great food cosy autumnal atmosphere always worth a visit Great roast dinner Izzy is the best at keeping things in order

Really lovely pub, cosy, friendly, and great food.

Very nice food, just delicious! Staff friendly and nice, had a really good time!

Amazing food, lovely beer. Great staff, especially Ollie -she’s fab!

Beautiful food, very hot, lovely atmosphere, very welcoming.

Good food, excellent garden. Only downside for me is I don't like Harveys, but worth it.

Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, great food.

Always a pleasure to eat at the Swan. We didn't book so ended up sitting just outside the back door. Not the best spot hence the atmosphere rating.

We booked the Swan for our wedding reception as it's within walking distance of the Registry Office, but also has a car park, From the start the staff could not have been more accommodating and helpful. The buffet was excellent and the staff helped us to decorate the discrete area of the pub set aside for ourselves and our guests, The best way to describe how the reception went would be faultless and I would highly recommend it.

Really great food & fantastic range from this small pub Meat eaters, pescatarians, veggies & vegans all catered for with equally delicious meals Busy pub, but good service

Great place to have a weekend meal, nice and relaxed atmosphere for all! Beautiful garden area. The food is exquisitely prepared and delicious! Good selection of draft beers and ciders

Went for dinner after a school visit. We ordered burgers which wass fine.... as you would expect. I had a small problem with the meal, which i discretely mentioned to the bar staff. Within minutes the manager was over to us, and very professionally sorted out the problem with no fuss and offered us a refund and a free drink. She was friendly, apologetic and incredibly professional. We have been before and will definitely return. The food is average i'd say, but the service and the garden are well worth a visit.

Nice old pub with friendly staff and busy atmosphere. Very difficult to get a table so recommend that you book in advance. Food was okay but nothing special (I had a special but it was rather bland and probably mashed up leftovers from the day before). I would go back but only if booked and with lowered expectations 🥰

Very rude and incompetent bar staff, completely unapologetic. With other great pubs in Lewes I would suggest a you avoid the swan.

I ordered “wholetails scampi” from the menu. Whatever I was served it was not while tail scampi, there was nothing recognisably scampi/langoustine or prawn within the crumb coating. I emailed to ask what I had been served (didn’t want to upset fellow guests at the time) but they have not answered my request.

Really good roast dinner and plenty of it Nice atmosphere Great staff Lovley outside space and garden

I gather from my friend and luncheon-companion that this pub has a high reputation among Lewes residents; I can see why. We enjoyed a good lunch among the flowers in the pub garden under a cloudless blue sky. My dish - a Thai-style curry made with tofu - was one which I shouldn't normally have chosen; it had been prepared with care and thought, and proved tasty. 60s jazz was on the turntable, the cover propped on the bar, a detail which took me back forty years. The members of staff were charming and put up with my unfamiliarity with the lay-out and procedure for ordering (choose a table first, remember the number and order at the bar). If I return to Lewes, I'll make a bee-line for The Swan.

We decided to stop in the Swan for a lunch on a sunny Friday at 12:10; something we have done dozens of time. We have always had a polite reception with great food, friendly staff making for an excellent pub experience. However, on the past three occasions; 3 month old baby in tow, upon entering the pub garden our reception was that of an old gardener informing us the whole side of the garden with the shade was unavailable in a rude and abrupt manner without a please/thank you. We were told to “sit over there!”. On the first occasion; we let this go despite the noise of hammering in stakes, trailing hose, shouting to his colleague across the garden as we thought this was a one off occurrence. On the second occasion the experience was much the same. On this third occasion we have had the same experience including being told where to sit despite explaining a shaded area is required for our baby. The gardener’s response being “this is the only time I can come”. We left feedback with the chef that we were leaving because of our experience with their rude gardener; he apologised and explained he can only come on a Friday at that time. He also stated he would only be half a hour more but we have seen him still there after 1:30 still working and monopolising the garden making for a less than enjoyable experience. The Swan is open for business from 12 and I don’t think it’s unreasonable for the gardener to be finished in the same way the pub has been cleaned before the patrons arrive. The fact that everyone seems aware that this gardener is immovable on his working hours sends the message of the Swan’s lack of consideration for their customers and their experience. How difficult would it be to get him to move his working time or find another gardener? We do not appreciate being spoken to like an infant as soon as we arrive by someone who does not own or is part of the staff of the Swan and will not be returning. This has left a bad taste.

Called here for Sunday lunch. Food was good and the staff were amazing. Despite being very busy, the staff were super hard working and efficient, yet friendly, helpful and accommodating. Highly recommended. First class service.

We visited twice this week while our relatives form The States were on holiday here. Once at their request as they had enjoyed it when they visited on previous years. The second time when we were let down by another venue as it had run out of most of its food by 5.30pm on a Saturday even though the pub was less than half full, with most people appearing to be drinking!!! As always The Swan came up trumps. We sat inside on both occasions as outside was heaving because of the weather but this didn't detract from the experience. Great atmosphere happy, helpful staff. On our first visit it was mid-week and later in the evening about 7.30pm. they still had enough of a choice of food for us to enjoy. The second time was on Saturday at 6.30pm.only one or two dishes, this didn't effect our choice. Good vegetarian and vegan options. As an omnivore and having tried these options in the past I could recommend these as well as very tasty. Can't wat for my next visit whenever we go it is always busy there is such a nice atmosphere. With music night and other events, it is a good place to go to if you want drink, food or just a good evening out. Easy parking, child and pet friendly.

Very easy to book and very efficient service. Nice traditional pub with a good choice of ales, lagers and cider. Thought the food was exceptional with a varied choice of smaller lunch snacks and a good offering of larger meals. Very wide range of vegetarian specials on our visit as well which was noted. Could not fault on our visit

The Swan is a fantastic place to eat or drink. All three of the staff we met were very friendly. I had beef curry. The flavours of the spices were very tasty and the beef was top quality meat. My wife had smoked salmon which was also superb. The Harvey's best ( ale ) was also very nice and went down well :~) We ate inside the pub but saw there is a very good outside seating area too. The toilets were spotlessly clean and even the hand dryer was excellent. We thoroughly enjoyed our visit to your pub. Thank you

Always great food and great menu. Delicious veggie and vegan options. All age groups love this pub. Best ‘go to’ all round pub in Lewes all year. Amazing mural on the wall… worth a visit just to see this. The pub has a really good outdoor area too with heaters for cold days. A small carpark too.

We had the humus and red onion jam sandwich was so tasty and filling Our family had the burgers Most enjoyable lunchtime Nice and relaxed

I have been here lots and always had a good time.Today was no exception, brilliant and friendly staff ,however our burgers were poor and dry and not what I've had before .I hope things are better next time as it's a blinding pub

Found this pub after not being able to book elsewhere and was very pleased we did. Great service, lovely food and very friendly atmosphere. Would recommend.

Meat of veggie roast, lipstick on wine glasses, inedible salty meats, filthy toilets , dirty bar pilled with used glasses, rude staff, £3.50 for a coke! Need I say more? Do not visit this dump

Great Sunday roast Always so much to get through Piping hot Nice to get a hot meal on the table A lot of places it can be Luke warm Keep up the good work swan

Fantastic Sunday roast. Very busy but didn't mind the wait. Suggest you book in advance.

Great food Chefs obviously know their stuff Bar staff are ok But could do with a bit better customer relations

Lovely. Beautiful food. Enjoyed the busy vibe.

Bank holiday monday lunchtime but only 3 bar staff on who have to take food orders, drinks order (on 2x bars), deliver food and collect empties. All smiling and had working but need more help! Food disappointing, I had the sweet potato veg burger, checked...

Had a great Sunday roast here. Good wine too.

Stopped there after a walk with my wife and we popped in for some lunch. The staff was friendly and very efficient. I had the tempura halloumi and it was one of the best meals I’ve had, my wife was also impressed with her chilli,...

Lovely pub grub. Nice garden area all in all recommend for good food.

Very nice pub with an assortment of real ales and an excellent beer garden.

Awesome pub and staff, great food and atmosphere, can't wait to go back.

Friendly staff. Gorgeous garden. Harvey’s on tap. Excellent varied menu with daily specials. Would recommend the satay chicken burger and the smoked mackerel fish cakes. Family friendly. Great albums on the vinyl player to add to the great vibe!!!

Nice lunch in the garden again we love this pub. Lovely food and drinks friendly staff

Highly recommend the fish fingers sandwich. Staff very welcoming and dog friendly.

Lovely pub with a spacious pub garden. We had a Sunday roast and it was delicious with lots of veggie options - 3! (not in picture.) Though they have walk in tables, I recommend to book ahead to get a guaranteed seat.

Had a great lunch here - fish finger sandwich - before visiting Anne of Cleve's House. It's a Harvey's pub so of course the beer is fantastic

A very old pub owned by Lewes brewery Harveys, The Swan is known in the area for its generous kitchen, reliable and practical menu, its large garden, and its friendly, welcoming atmosphere. Beers are well-kept, the fuss-free meals come at reasonable prices (including large Sunday roasts), and there are two traditionally-furnished indoor bar areas. Free car parking is available. For a local pub with a lively outlook, The Swan amply exceeds expectations. On colder days, the new heating arrangements for tables in the courtyard are effective.

Delicious lamb roast. Staff very friendly.

I used to visit this pub a lot but I haven’t been in for a while. The pub on a sunny weekend day looked shut from the outside with nothing to tell you that it has a garden you can sit in and have a...

Nice atmosphere, service, and drinks. Food was very underwhelming (everything we had was extremely dry, like hard to swallow dry). I also recommend that you don't arrive too late or many food items won't be available anymore.

Chilli con carne Yummy. Love this pub

A belated present from our daughter, was a roast Sunday lunch which we enjoyed very very much..A friendly atmosphere and good customer service from the bar to the table..Treat someone or youself and enjoy 👍

Always fantastic - our favourite local for dinner, drinks or an afternoon in the garden when it's sunny.

Amazing staff, food and ambiance

Excellent food 😋 and lovely attentive staff. Lovely outside space too

Quirky place with a good menu and decent range of ales and Harvey's on tap. I enjoyed this one.

Spot on. Great buzz always. Always buzzy. A dummy food. Cool music - vinyl!

Great lunchtime roast Good portion Was so hungry Was just the ticket Yummy Will be back Great place to eat

Lovely pub, warm welcome and food is absolutely fantastic

We heard good things about the swan inn but our visit was disappointing. Firstly, if you aren't going to include chips with the burgers - you need to make customers aware. We ordered a burger for one adult and a separate order of chips for a teenager.. the burger turned up with the bowl of chips on the same plate and not realising the burger doesn't have chips included (??) This caused some back and forth until the fairly rude waitress pointed out what had happened. Very odd decision, I heard 2 separate tables ask where their chips were after ordering burgers - no wonder the waitress was blunt she must get asked this all the time. Next up the lamb tagine, if it only has 3 pieces of lamb in the tagine its more of a veggie tagine. 2 stars for the nice bar staff and the good atmosphere but the food was hugely disappointing.

Delicious food, lovely outdoor space.

Happy faces when you walk in , all awesomely kind, and food well.... is Delicious 💟

This is not a good pub anymore The whole atmosphere has changed with the new manager and some of the new staff Terrible service and so rude Such a shame as it used to be a great place Lisa and Giulia have always been great people I don’t see them in the place anymore So sad all changed with unprofessional and undedicated people

LOSING MY RELIGION Booked a table for 3 at 8:30pm. Arrived at 8:30pm. Table wasn't ready. Staff not available. We sat at the table at 8:50pm. Went to order food at 8:55pm to hear them say: "Sorry, the kitchen is now closed. People here are very RELIGIOUS about closing at 9pm". I said: "Not even something little for my son? We booked!". They replied:"Sorry". 🤬

3 stars, and thst is for theservice. We had to take our used plates to the kitchen because, no one was monitoring the tables or give people customer service.

Good food at a reasonable price

Haven't been to this pub for quite a while which is definitely a mistake on my part ,totally amazed at the transformation.Great looking interior,friendly staff,atmosphere Only one small criticism,thought the tables were a little to close owing to the current situation but hopefully that won't last forever

This is a great traditional pub offering excellent food. Friday night and the pub was full.

Amazing service, food and all round pub, perfect for the end of our walk over the downs. Really good value for money and choice of food. Will definitely be going back

Great food and service. Very cozy place. Best pub in Lewes

Friendly efficient staff. Lovely food.