The Swan

Walk across the bridge from town centre into Hampton Wick and you've found where Kingston's real community hangs out. The Swan sits right on the High Street with the river practically on your doorstep—you can clock the water from the beer garden if you time it right. It's the kind of place where regulars know the bar staff's names and the crowd ranges from after-work drinkers to families grabbing Sunday lunch. The food's uncomplicated but solid, and they take their ale seriously without being insufferable about it.