TV Restaurants

Is The Swan Still Open? Best Local Restaurant Update (West Malling, UK)

The F Word: Britain's Best Local Restaurant, Season 1 West Malling, South East England

Current status

Open

As of October 2026, The Swan is listed open on theswanwestmalling.co.uk, reviewed by our team on October 20, 2026; not yet independently confirmed through direct contact.

What the source shows: The restaurant's own site, last modified 2026-07-03, lists private dining menus for October 2026 to March 2027 and Christmas 2026 menus, and offers online reservations. How we decide a status →

What happened after The F Word: Britain's Best Local Restaurant?

The Swan, an independent bar and restaurant at 35 Swan Street in West Malling, Kent, lost the British heat of Britain's Best Local Restaurant on Gordon Ramsay's The F Word (Channel 4) in the episode "British Restaurants - Christmas Special" shown on 2009-12-22, scoring 79 out of 100 against 80 for The Pheasant of Keyston, according to Wikipedia. Wikipedia's series table adds that the finalists served signature dishes to panels of diners at their own restaurants, and it does not list The Swan among the semi-finalists. The restaurant's own website, last modified 2026-07-03, describes The Swan as an independent bar and restaurant offering dining seven days a week.

It lists private dining menus running from October 2026 to March 2027, Christmas private dining menus for 28 November to 30 December 2026, a members club, and a What's On section that included a Halloween quiz when read on 2026-10-20. The site does not name an owner or head chef.

The episode The F Word: Britain's Best Local Restaurant, Season 1

Episode 8
Aired
Title: British Restaurants - Christmas Special · What was featured: British heat; scored 79 against The Pheasant's 80

Also in Season 1 The F Word: Britain's Best Local Restaurant

Season 1: 9 of 18 still open · 2 renamed, moved or under new owners

  • Ep 5Simply Thai

    Teddington, UK

    Closed

  • Ep 6El Gato Negro

    Ripponden, UK

    Relocated

  • Ep 6Lola Rojo

    Battersea, UK

    Closed

  • Ep 7Discovery Bay

    Huddersfield, UK

    Closed

  • Ep 7Santa Maria del Sur

    Battersea, UK

    Open

  • Ep 8The Pheasant

    Keyston, UK

    New owners

  • Ep 9Doukan

    Wandsworth, UK

    Closed

  • Ep 9Retsina

    Belsize Park, UK

    Open
All 12 Season 1 episodes →

Nearest restaurants By distance from 35 Swan Street

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  • Fraser's

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  • The Oakland Hotel

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All 39 TV restaurants in South East England →

Before you go: Businesses change fast. Always confirm directly with the restaurant — call ahead, or check its own current website or social media — before making plans around anything on this page.

Sources we checked 2 references

  1. Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_F_Word_(British_TV_series)
  2. theswanwestmalling.co.uk https://www.theswanwestmalling.co.uk/
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Record fwl-018 · checked by Cal Marchetti.