The Swan Inn Clare in St Edmundsbury

Nik and the staff were excellent hosts for our group of 18 cyclists. Coffee was available at the start when we arrived at 9am and lunch orders taken. Everyone thoroughly enjoyed their lunch on our return at 1pm after a beautiful ride through the quiet lanes of Suffolk and Essex. Will definitely return again.

Lovely food, served by friendly staff.

What a Gem of a place. Staff are friendly, food was amazing, fantastic value for money. Highly recommended, already booked to return.

Amazing food and very friendly service! I highly recommend the food as I’ve never been disappointed and the staff are very welcoming and enjoyable atmosphere

First visit here and looking forward to coming back. Great welcome and service. Good selection of beers. We ordered the vegan sausage and mash with veg. The best we have had. Highly recommended. Would not hesitate in returning. See you again soon. Martyn and Linda

Pre-booked lunch for 8 people. On arrival, a friendly welcome and our table reserved. We ordered the home made beef lasagne, homemade steak and ale pie, fillet of salmon and a mushroom linguine. We didn't have to wait long for the food to arrive. It was excellent. With drinks and a tip, the cost was £20 per head. Very reasonable. Well worth a visit.

Great food here, love the pizzas and the "Dirty Dog" (that's a hotdog, just to be clear!) and there's always a nice atmosphere. There's also a great pub garden and plenty of parking at the rear.

This is an excellent pub 👌 The food has been great every time with friendly helpful staff too. 💯 recommended

This is a small friendly pub, which we visited for lunch. The food was excellent. Among the range of beers were a couple of hand-pulled Timothy Taylors Yorkshire beers, which were very good. If you're in Clare, I recommend that you give it a try

Having been let down by another pub in Clare on the off chance we went into the Swan for lunch on Valentine’s Day. What an amazing experience. Nothing was too much trouble for the staff, friendly, attentive and extremely helpful. Food, drinks and atmosphere was brilliant. We enjoyed it so much we are booked in for Sunday lunch on the 25th February. Can’t wait!!

Excellent food and service, I would highly recommend The Swan and will return.

Fantastic Sunday lunch and deserts, perfectly cooked steak, great atmosphere, friendly staff and excellent value for money. Will definitely be returning.

First time coming here with family and we were all very very impressed. Fantastic range of vegan options, we all struggled to choose a dish. Food was absolutely delicious and service was perfect. We would all love to come back and try more options!

We originally had drinks then wanted some food. I asked in the restaurant and was turned down when only 2 tables were in use, no others reserved. So my friend tried to order bar food but was told they were too busy! When it clearly wasn't. Won't be going again.

We ate here on the 16/12/23, the whitebait starter was lovely, the main courses we chose were scampi and steak ale pie, both excellent, as was the summer fruits waffle for desert, excellent service too, thoroughly recommend The Swan.

Yet again the Swan never fail.went for a Christmas meal with friends and the food was fantastic they are very accommodating to vegans and gluten free aswell, which is important as we have a vegan in our group.we had a great night with lovely atmosphere well done team swan 👏

lovely character pub combining tradition with some clean modernity. Very nice menu choices and real value fr money food, with excellent friendly service.

Great place, Landlord and all staff were great... The food however ... was amazing, cooked to perfection my stomach was very pleased... Definitely will return.... Well done The Swan ❤️

Excellent choice of vegan options. Tasted great and service was spot on. A lovely meal

Food freash and well presented with good portions, service friendly helpful and welcoming. The dinner area is out of salt for the building, and does not do the food justice. It should not cost too much but if this lovely couple are tenets the landlord may not agree.

Food, drink and service was very good the restaurant area was not a great place to sit but overall well worth a visit

Nice town pub with friendly staff and excellently kept cask ales, have won awards from Timothy Taylor's too. Food looks excellent, although I haven't had the chance to try it yet and they serve a nice Guinness too. Events here are good fun with a great friendly atmosphere like the Halloween party for example.

Fabulous lunch amazing food Highly recommend great for families

Really nice Pub, Food was amazing and so much choice and the staff were very attentive. We will be back and I definitely recommend this place.

What a find! Just enjoyed a delicious meal. Pies were cooked to perfection and the staff were very friendly and attentive. Staying locally so had need of a meal within walking distance. Restaurant was small but well laid out. Service was very good. It's a good example of what a village pub/restaurant should be.

Must have, Sunday Roasf, Large, meai, with a plentiful side of various vegetables. Traditional.

Really lovely pub/restaurant : pleasant surprise after trying the other local avian restaurant the night before( big disappointment). Extensive menu, great value for money, great service : recommend.

Great service, delicious and very well presented dishes and good value. Staff were very friendly and helpful and served drinks immediately and the food was beautifully prepared, everything served in a reasonable time. Relaxing atmosphere ideal for our anniversary celebration.

Nice place good service and value traditional pub

Very good menu and I am really impressed with the choice of vegetarian or vegan dishes. Tasty food and nice staff. Reasonable prices as well. Would recommend with confidence if you are looking for a charming village dining.

We are not local and staying for the weekend! It’s always strange going into a country pub but the Swan was very welcoming we were a large family with kids it didn’t seem a issue very attentive friendly staff lovely food! In your in Clare try it out

Lovely friendly, welcoming pub, tasty pub grub. spotlessly clean and excellent service. Good value for money.

Always pop in for a pint when in Clare,

Nice lunch, good service and selection of food. They were especially lovely to my mum on her birthday and really appreciate that.

Best Sunday lunch I've had in a long time. Beef cooked perfectly, excellent roasties, homemade yorkie and copious amounts of veg. The only thing that let it down was the slightly undercooked stuffing ball, but apart from that the food was excellent! The staff were really nice and managed to fit us in last minute in the garden. Will definately be back. Well done, and thank you!

A party of 25 of us had booked for lunch today. The landlord offered us a very nice menu in advance so that we could pre-order starters and main courses. We took over the dining room and all felt The Swan did us proud. Excellent service, tasty, well-presented food in a nicely ventilated room on a very hot day.

We've eaten here 3 times this week ha ha, Very accommodating . Made me a great vegan breakfast baguette today. Thank you.

Lovely tomato soup, our friends enjoyed home cooked food, I had chilli con carne. Staff courteous with good service.

The greatest resto pub in Suffolk. We sat at the back garden since we were a large group riding our bikes from Cambridge and the staff were super friendly. There's a restaurant besides the pub so regarding the options are the best I 'd ever seen in a pub. I went in a Sunday and the pub area inside is very tiny so is very difficult to order. But thanks to the avitues they informed us of all the options available. It's also great that they have fixed menus available, specially when you are with kids.

Very welcoming, great landlord, food good. Reasonable prices.

Pie night!! This is my face when I see the pie arrive… 👍🤓

Came here for dinner. Luckily we pre booked as the restaurant was very busy, the service was excellent. The food was exceptional, the staff could not have been more helpful even if they tried. If you are looking for somewhere in clare to go for fantastic food and service, I fully recommend the swan.

Great Classic Pub grub meal last night for my Dads birthday. The greeting was lovely and the staff were friendly throughout. Menu is varied and the Specials board was good. I had the homemade pie which was delicious aswell as the mash and veg. Other choices from our party was Chicken and Chorizo pasta which again was fresh and plentiful. Homemade lasagna and Homemade Hunters Chicken. We also had starters where 2 had the fresh cooked shell on prawns with chilli and garlic and I had the homemade Spicy tomato soup all served with hot baguettes. Will return again

I have been to this pub many times in the past, great food, lovely traditional pub with an open fires. What more could you ask for.

Friendly environment & good food

My friends and I went to the swan for a christmas meal. The table was layed beautifully, the pub has lovely open fires and was decorated tastefully. We all had three courses and all seven of us could not fault any part of the meal. The staff are friendly and very attentive. All together a perfect place to enjoy good food and the company of friends and family.

What a warm welcome! Big open fire and our table decorated with candles and crackers, high chairs or booster seats for the little ones and children’s crackers for them as well as colouring. (The fire was guarded and candles battery operated) Pretty lights and tasteful fire mantle decorations. The staff were friendly, adaptable and attentive. We did not feel rushed in any way. The standard of food amazing for 15 people. Presented beautifully and clearly home cooked with care. Nothing was too much trouble. We all had a fabulous time and a really special family dinner. Thank you to Nick and the team! Highly recommend

Quite possibly the best duck I've tasted in my life. Well done The Swan Pub in Clare for making our Christmas meal a memorable one.

The Christmas menu was one of the best I've had not only pleasing on the eye but just as pleasing on the taste buds and also full of Christmas cheer and certainly put us all in the mood for the festivities ahead. The staff were very welcoming and the place was spotless. I don't usually leave reviews but this is well worth my time and I would recommend trying this place out if your looking for great food at a reasonable price. I look forward to eating here more often.

We had a lovely dinner before the Christmas light switch on . I loved the steak & Ale pie and my husband had toad in the hole it was all very nice with a side plate of veg which was included , I loved the...

Had lunch after walking the dogs. It really was a super lunch. Will definitely return. Everything was just delicious.

Could not fault the food....delicious steak and ale pie. with very tasty vegetables..service good..just lacked a bit of atmosphere. if the fire was lit. this would be a very different feel to the place.

Great lunch today, roast dinners were fantastic with lots of veg too. Desserts were great too. Glad we found it on our walk

Called at the Swan to watch Queens funeral, as we had no TV signal in the holiday accommodation we were staying in, very welcoming free tea and coffee, all credit to the landlord, I think his name was Mike, saved the day. Thanks Tony and Debbie, from Yorkshire.

Found this place for lunch after a ride up on the bikes from Folkestone. Great friendly staff... decent food and a lovely place to visit. @coastal.boyz

Very nice food, pleasant staff. Just good affordable pub food.

First of all best to book - What a lovely pub, in awesome Clare. The Swan in gives you that oldy worldy feel, with friendly helpful staff in clean and pleasant surroundings. The Gin and Tonic was ab fab, there is an excellent choice to...

Nice pub in the pretty village of Clare. Really tasty Sunday roast with all the trimmings

Went for lunch with friends on the Saturday afternoon. Ordered from the specials board a tuna and avocado salad with hint of lemon. The hint of lemon must have disappeared by the time it reached our table and between the two that had this I...

had a nice Sunday stroll around Clare to build an appetite for lunch decided to go to The Swan Inn WOW what a choice the best pub grub of anywhere i have eaten in many a long year fantastic and well worth the trip from...

Unexpectedly in Clare on a Sunday lunchtime, we came across this pub. We hadn't booked & upon enquiring we were offered a table in the marquee by a very pleasant couple of staff. Then we were offered a table inside as a couple had decided...

Extremely rude a d curt welcome, unbelievable rudeness, needs training on manners and how to greet potential customers, not impressed

We were a party of 14 "mature" adults . The Swan suited our needs perfectly. We arrived for lunch having pre-ordered. Sometimes when we pre-order the meals still take an hour, however, not at the Swan . We were served with our drinks and before...

Just called in for a nice pint of Guinness which was like liquid nourishing ice cream. Congenial host. Did not eat there but looked busy on the restaurant side.

Good service, good beer garden.

We recently held our daughters 1st birthday party in the marquee at The Swan. The buffet was delicious with a great range of food and the setting is perfect for a gathering - the marquee is huge and the play area and garden were perfect for the children. The staff were so friendly, accommodating and professional - the marquee was all set up when we arrived so all we had to do was throw up some decorations! We couldn’t have asked for a more wonderful day, thank you all and we will definitely be using and recommending your services in the future!

I ordered Cottage Pie for lunch yesterday and I can report that it was simply superb, in fact, cooked to perfection, so savory, excellent ground beef, herbs and spices. Well done the Swan and what a great chef you have in your kitchen.

Good food and friendly service, well worth a visit

This is our favourite pub, although we do not live in Clare. It has a good atmosphere and the staff are always pleasant and welcoming. The food is very good indeed, the Christmas vegetarian option was beautiful, the person dining with us was a London...

Nice meal and very friendly, helpful staff.

Let’s start with the positives, the staff were helpful, service was quick and a few of the meals were ok. We were a party of 11 (6 adults, 5 kids) and we were therefore asked to preorder our food the day before. That wasn’t a...

A great pub, really friendly manager with a good vibe and varied music in a beautiful historic building. The Swan pub does reasonably priced food, various beers, a range of spirits (try the lovely Dead Men's Fingers Mango flavour Rum) or just a good strong cuppa tea / coffee without judgement if that's all you need (some pubs hate serving hot drinks because it's a bit of a pfaff with milk, sugar etc for not a lot of profit). You can chat at the bar, take a table or get comfy in an armchair near the fireplace. Everything looked very clean and fresh. As a woman travelling alone I felt comfortable and safe spending a few hours there, reading a book and waiting for a taxi (try Triple AAA in Sudbury or Star Cars for Haverhill way). You can also hire out parts of the bar for meetings, parties, craft, WI or hobby nights etc. Recommended!

Always receive fantastic welcome, service and food.. Would never hesitate to recommend to visitors, friends and family.

Visited the restaurant part of this pub on two consecutive evenings: the first time for a family meal, and the second time to feed our hungry teenagers. The staff were really friendly and the second time the two of us weren’t eating but they had...

Homemade steak and ale pie was delicious .

This was our first time here and will definitely be coming back. We chose to have lunch in the beer garden, which had plenty of tables and seating. My wife had scampi & chips and for myself, sausage and onion baguette, which included salad garnish...

Good food friendly efficient staff

Lovely cup of tea. Very nice sausage baguette. Friendly atmosphere.

Food was absolutely gorgeous. Very generous portions. Staff very attentive and friendly. Felt very safe too. Highly recommend.

The Swan has the oldest pub sign dating back to the 15th Century. It depicts a Swan with a crown around it's neck, attached to a chain, a vine and other heraldic designs.

Good food great atmosphere and very friendly staff

This looks like it will be quite a nice pub with a good selection of meals available, however, in my opinion the wine choice is appalling and the food is not of a very good standard. There were 3 adults in our party, 2 of...

Very pleasant visit. Good, varied pub food menu. Our food was tasty and promptly served. Pretty, enclosed garden. Friendly, helpful staff.

A walk in for a beer and light snack as we were passing through Clare and fancied a break from driving. Still restricted by Covid regulations it was not easy to find places open, so this one didn't have much competition. Could not fault it. A shared baguette with excellent cooked chips and two drinks in a pleasant beer garden made for an enjoyable lunch break. England's pubs are one of its great attractions and it is gratifying to know that they are gradually awakening from their forced closure to serve the local and transient population of Britain. Let's hope life continues to full normality and pubs like this can thrive once again.

We really enjoyed this lovely pub during our week in Clare. The staff are all super friendly and the food was great. The Sunday roast was partially delicious!

Food delicious, served quickly and covid 19 rules followed

Always top food, fantastic service and lovely atmosphere and surroundings.

Lovely food. Very busy and didnt feel very socially distanced but would return.

Not planned, but this was at the end of our walk, and with my wife feeling tired after the walk, we decided to stop here for lunch.We ate outside, which was pleasant enough and fell back on our staple of ham egg and chips. Not expensive and sufficiently well executed.But, would we return....probably not

We booked a table for 2.30pm the following day but arrived 30 minutes early having viewed a property in the vicinity. The service and food were superb and I would thoroughly recommend this establishment if you are looking for excellent value for money. It is thoroughly deserving of it's brilliant reviews.

We have recently visited The Swan on three occasions since the end of lockdown and must say what a pleasant experience it has been. The food has been excellent and the staff very friendly and pleasant. They serve typical "pub grub" well cooked and presented - even with the building works going on around them they have managed to keep smiling and give an excellent service. Highly recommended.

Friendly service and great food well cooked and good size portion.

The Swan Inn is undergoing restoration but don`t let the scaffolding put you off. 6 of us enjoyed a very tasty lunch in the pleasant garden. The menu is nothing fancy, just good, honest pub grub. The staff were very friendly & sound Covid 19 precautions were in place. Much to recommend.

Good food - not like your average Greene King pub. Friendly staff - very good - no faults at all. Would visit again.

We sat in the garden and, although it was extremely busy, the staff - who wore visors - had laid out the tables, hand sanitizers, markings on the ground etc etc in accordance with government guidelines and thus everyone was able to feel safe. Also we were all able to enjoy the gardens and a drink in a pub for the first time in months.Well done the swan and thank you.

Very nice pub. Would recommend to anyone.

Me and my family visited the swan inn yesterday evening after visiting Clare. Food was lovely and hot and all fresh. Would recommend the sausage and mash!The two guys serving were attentive and friendly. Pub and toilets clean.Would look to come back again if/when we revisit Clare.

This was a most popular event, the restaurant being full each evening. there was a choice of eight different home-made pies- I had the turkey and cranberry, as my first choice was sold out. It was delicious and hearty!

Visited today as part of group of 20 for afternoon tea. Excellent fresh tasty food, good service, great value would highly recommend.

Good lunch... Good staff... Definitely revisit this place.