Swan W6

London’s Best Beer, Pubs and Bars updates
West London: Fulham and Hammersmith

The Swan, London W6

Traditional pub (Nicholson’s/Mitchells & Butlers)
46 Hammersmith Broadway W6 0DZ
T (020) 8748 1043 W nicholsonspubs.co.uk/theswanhammersmithlondon
Open 1000-2300 (2400 Fri-Sat, 2230 Sun). Children welcome until early evening.
Cask beers 10 (Fuller’s, Sharp’s, St Austell, Nicholson’s guests) Cask marque, Other beers 2 keg, 5 bottles, Also Some wines.
Food Nicholson’s pub grub menu.

This large landmark street corner pub, right in the centre of Hammersmith opposite the shopping centre and a short step from major music and comedy venue the Apollo, began life as an 18th century coaching inn, and was demolished and rebuilt in the early years of the 20th century when the District Line was routed underneath it. It spent recent years as an anonymous circuit drinking bar — “a bit of a s***hole,” according to one regular I talked to — before being splendidly refurbished by Nicholson’s late in 2009. The new incarnation has reclaimed the pub’s early Edwardian opulence — elaborate ceilings, big plaster arches, pillars, tiling, stained glass, mirrors, wooden partitions, a marble bar top and a distinctive double staircase leading up to the usual Nicholson’s dining rooms.

Beer choice is also impressive, with a row of ten handpumps dispensing Nicholson’s regular trio of London Pride, Doom Bar and Tribute plus, usually, Thornbridge Jaipur and interesting guests from the pubco’s seasonal list: beers from Adnams, Brains, Brentwood, Stonehenge and Thwaites occupied the pump clips when I visited. A few more bottles than usual — Duvel, Meantime Chocolate, Sierra Nevada Pale — join keg Pilsner Urquell and Suffolk Blonde among the other options. A very welcome addition to this busy west London town centre.

Underground Hammersmith Cycling LCN+44, Putney, Fulham, link to NCN4 Walking Thames Path