Overall good experience, though overpriced and using low quality ingredients. We visited for lunch and a beer and split the messy fish burger (beaded haddock with tartar sauce and pickled red onion on a bun) and a flight of beers. First of, there's nothing but praise for the beers - all excellent! The burger tasted delicious and the right amount of tartar sauce and pickled red onion gave it a nice, tangy, creamy taste and texture. Unfortunately, the fish was clearly frozen fish sticks and I found that very disappointing given the apparent care for the other ingredients. The fish was a bit tough and lacked the ample moisture of a fresh piece of fish. My bad, I should have known that having haddock on the menu would mean it was frozen, but with so much great seafood on the island, why go frozen!?!? This really let down the sandwich. The salad was fresh with crispy greens, and while the taste of the vinaigrette was pleasant, it had an oily mouth feel that left something to be desired. Overall a good visit though overpriced given the quality of ingredients.

I'm usually here only for holiday staff parties over the years. Decent atmosphere, servers are alright. I find the food barely average. Quite disappointed for the braised beef shank. I was hoping for the center bone with the marrow but it wasn't there while the sauce and mustard masks the semi overcooked meat. Not a good value considering the price, portion, taste ratio. My boyfriend's poutine tasted average. I guess other reviewers give higher ratings for the alcoholic drinks. Stayed for the crew, otherwise no particular reason to stick around.

If I could rate this in the negatives I would. Terrible service, horrible management, no people skills. Absolutely rude experience all around. Would not recommend to anyone unless they want to cry. A response to swans: these said laws were not communicated to the bride and groom prior to renting out the event space. There are many pubs around town that does not require ID upon entry, so if your establishment has these specific rules, you need to take responsibility to make this clear at the time of booking. Your lack of clarity caused grief to a wedding party of over 50 guests on a day of celebration that has been planned for over a year. Despite all this, we would have understood if your staff behaved appropriately. Instead we were spoken in a condescending manner, and rudely shushed multiple times while just trying to ask a question. Not sure if it’s a manager or owner but they kept saying “they would only make exceptions for the bride”. This makes me question - is this really an issue of liquor laws then? Compassion and kindness could go a long way regardless of the situation!

Awesome beer, big and nice pub and yeah, their happy hours do make me happy!

I went there for the first time in more than two decades and was happy to see not much change there. House brewed beers were great and food and service were all satisfactory. The bar facing the street is a very nice place to relax whether you are alone or with friends.

I have always been a fan of swans but haven’t been since we moved. I used to go 2 times a week minimum. I recommended it to a large group of friends and family who were visiting. They said it was awful which I felt terrible for because Victoria is full of great food and drinks. My wife and I just went for Sunday night dinner and it was definitely not good. Service was decent. They didn’t have their raspberry blonde beer which sucked, but no biggy. My wife ordered a kale Caesar with no bacon because she is a vegetarian, showed up with bacon. I ordered the chicken burger which I have ordered well over a dozen times. It showed up half the size of normal, and dark meat that was slimy. Added poutine which they charged $6 for as an extra. We will be back and hope the experience is better so I can change this score. $100 tab for 2 meals and 2 beers is steep for a pub. Especially for a sub par meal. Please don’t feed people dark, slimy, chicken sandwiches anymore.

Comfortable pub with a neighbourhood-pub feel. They make their own beers and also offer several guest beers. I like that there is a separate Vegan section on the menu. The vegan quesadillas made a good meal.

This is not a review of the pub but of the manager Graham. I met him in a parking lot today where he helped me with some car troubles while I was struggling to keep it together. I know the impact that online reviews and social media can have on businesses, and I wanted to make sure that Graham got the recognition he deserves for being such a wonderful human being. I have been to Swan's multiple times, have never been disappointed and will continue to visit them especially knowing what a truly kind person they have managing the pub. Keep up the great work!

Last minute family dinner on Thanksgiving weekend... five people and one had to be gone at a set time. Our server was super friendly, efficient and accurate, and made sure that we stayed on schedule without us feeling pushed. Our food was delicious -- everyone really enjoyed their meals, the Happy Hour drinks specials made it more affordable, and the atmosphere was warm, inviting with a good music playlist. I was very impressed and pleased with our experience.

I haven't been here in a decade, and although there have been some changes, the feel is the same, if only because of the portrait of PET on the wall, peering into my Québécois soul, like the portrait that comes to life in Ghostbusters 2. Anywho, the beers are great, with a lot of variety. 4 beers served on nitro, you don't see that very often anymore. Great service, didn't try the food this time. Specials were good value. Just a classic brewpub to visit when you're in town.

One of the best classic pubs in Victoria. Excellent happy hour specials and great beers and food.

Came in for an afternoon snack and had such a wonderful experience. My server, Ruby, was attentive and extremely personable. She is what made the experience so stellar. The bacon in the kale salad alone is enough to keep me coming back. Not enough good words to say about this place/staff.

Went in for beers which were good and tasty. Servers nice as well. The food was weak. Crinkle cut fries with a tiny portion of fake cheese were $14 and way over priced. Onion rings seemed like they were from Costco as well. Otherwise a nice spot for some beers.

We run our social events for our sports leagues at Swans and the staff is accommodating and kind and very helpful, ensuring an awesome experience. The food and drinks are also of top-tier quality. We highly recommend Swans for group bookings or simply going for a beer with a friend! Great spot

Enjoyed a nice meal and pint at the Swans yesterday evening. I was told the burgers were good and it really didn’t disappoint. However, we were let down a little as whilst we were eating we noticed a rather large mouse shoot across the floor and hide in the darkness. It put both of us off our food a little and when we told our server she didn’t seem too concerned… which we felt was a little odd.

We stopped by as part of a food tour and were introduced to a local favorite drink, the shaft, which includes Kahlua, espresso and vodka. So good. The fish dip with fresh bread were excellent. It was quiet and pleasant in the afternoon. We'd stopped by the night before and didn't stay because it had seemed too loud for us. Looks like a place with a great night life, maybe not the best for a romantic dinner!

Our server Halee was great! Such a nice atmosphere and awesome service. Came in for late night happy hour: $13 burger cannot be beat. Had the grilled chicken burger, the warehouse burger, and the fries were yummy :) Definitely recommend if you are looking for a chill place to grab a bite!

Swans pub is a great spot to chill and hang out with friends! It has an aesthetic vibe with the red bricks and the bicycles on the wall. We walked in around 7 pm on Saturday and it was pretty busy but the host was kind and managed to get us a booth for our party of 5. The booth is very comfortable. Our waitress was very nice, friendly and provided excellent service. I ordered the Nitro Shaft and the hostess asked if we had allergies or intolerances and suggested that I get the vegan Nitro shaft. The nitro shaft was very enjoyable and I truly appreciate that she mentioned that the bartender could do that as it didn’t upset my stomach. In addition, we got the onion rings and 2 Lbs of the vegan nachos to share. The onion rings were very crispy and appetizing. The vegan nachos were tasty and the portion size was huge! Highly recommend Swans Pub if you’re looking to have a great night with some delicious bites and drinks! 🥂🍾🍻

Good beers. Even better food. The first bite of that mashed potato and gravy was almost sensual.(Hmm slather me in mashed potato and lay me to rest) The buttery crusted Tourtiere with maple roasted root veges utterly divine.

I love Swan's. Come here at least once everytime in I'm Victoria. A few changes since I was last here but the pub still has the same vibe. Definately in my top 5 of pubs in Victoria.

My extended family had brunch at Swan's last Saturday. 4 kids 2 adults - everyone was hungry after a morning of downtown wandering. We were warmly greeted, the service was prompt, the team was very kind and attentive and made thoughtful recommendations when it came time to ordering.. One of my benchmarks for good service is attentiveness to water service during a meal. The Swan's team was on it. They supplied several bottles for the table and checked back often. The food was excellent and we noted the menu was easy to navigate and had a good selection of gluten free and vegan options and options that worked for kids and adults. I have often enjoyed Swan's as an evening destination but this was first brunch there and it was excellent.

Got the fish dip, you know that really good pub seafood with chunks baked on top and delicious cheese? Yeah not that, this was mild flavored cream cheese that should have cost less than half its menu price... and then a salad a few drinks was more than $70...

This is a friendly, pretty pub, with some sidewalk facing tables perfect for people watching. We got a pepperoni pizza that was big enough for 4 people to split, and a couple of Swan’s West COAST IPA’S. All were quite good. Service from all, but especially Marina, was excellent.