Swiss Cottage Re-Visited

I made a trip up to London on Friday; my first visit since the summer. I'm not sure why I left it so long, but with Christmas and then the calamitous start to the year, it's perhaps not surprising. The attraction which drew me to the capital, was an invitation to taste Budvar's Fresh Hop Imperial Lager.

This is a very special beer, brewed once a year using freshly harvested hops, and then matured for a period of 200 days. I will be writing about this special tasting event later on, but as it wasn't scheduled to start until 1.30pm, I had a few hours free time on my hands.

I decided to use the spare time by making a nostalgic visit back to an area of London which I knew well from my childhood days. The area known as Swiss Cottage, is named after a famous landmark pub. My maternal grandparents lived just up the road; their house being situated in a small side street, off the Finchley Road. I have fond memories of visiting them and of staying with them during the school holidays.

My grandparents were regular pub-goers, and their local was an imposing Victorian pub called the North Star, situated opposite Finchley Road Underground Station. I imagine they would also have visited the Swiss Cottage pub as well, from time to time but, of course have no proof of this. Reading up on the Swiss Cottage I discovered it is now owned by Yorkshire brewers, Samuel Smiths, so this seemed a good enough reason to make a return visit.

I had been in the Swiss Cottage on a couple of occasions as a teenager. This was when a school friend and I had stayed at my Nan's place during one of the summer holidays. Neither of were legally old enough to drink, but that wasn't too much of a problem back in the early 1970's. Even so, we'd been refused service at a small pub just up the road from my grandmother's, so with only our pride to lose we decided to give the Swiss Cottage a go.

I remembered from earlier visits to my grandparents that the pub had been re-built just a few years previously, so when we stepped inside we were impressed with what we found. The Swiss Cottage was a free-house and, given its modernity, stocked all the latest keg brands. We were served without any trouble, and whilst I obviously can't remember which of these beers we drank, I have a gut feeling it may have been Worthington E.

We returned to the pub a few days later, this time with my Nan and her friend Kit in tow. It was a good evening, and my Nan really let her hair down, especially after she'd had a few G&T's. Pub visits would have been a rare occurrence for her, following the death of my grandfather who had passed away a few years previously, so it was good to see her enjoying herself. There was some good old fashioned singing on the way back to Nan's, including a couple of rather amusing and slightly risqué ditties.

That visit would have been in the summer of 1972, and until Friday, it was the last time I'd set foot in the Swiss Cottage. It was therefore with a mixture of excitement and nostalgia that I entered the pub. Before describing my visit, it's worth taking a look back at the Swiss Cottage, and its impact on the area named after it.

 

The Swiss Cottage was built sometime between 1830 and 1840; depending on which history you read. There was an earlier pub on the site known as the Swiss Tavern. This functioned as a coaching inn, and seeing as the Swiss chalet look was popular in the first half of the nineteenth century, it would have been no surprise for the  new pub to have been built in this style and given its current name.

During the latter half of the 19th Century the area grew up around the pub. In 1850 it was the terminus of the General Omnibus Company for their route to London Bridge, and in 1868 the underground railway arrived; the station being named after the pub. The current station, which today serves the Jubilee line between Finchley Road and St John's Wood, opened in 1939.

In the 1960s, the Swiss Cottage was redeveloped and extended as part of a local road widening scheme — a far cry from its roots in the fields surrounding London, but still maintaining its alpine charm. Today the pub is a chalet-style building, with wooden pillars and balconies. Shutters surround the windows and hanging baskets complete the alpine look.

This wasn't really how I remembered the pub, but then the surrounding area also seemed much altered and certainly much smaller than it did when I was a child. I arrived just after 11.30am to find the doors well and truly locked and no signs of life inside. I guessed that the pub would be opening at midday, so to kill time, I crossed the road and took a walk along Finchley Road.

Across the road I could see the aforementioned North Star, where my grandparents used to drink. The pub looked tacky and unloved; the Sky Sports posters plastered over the outside not helping its image. I then walked past the former John Barnes department store, where my mother had worked prior to starting a family. John Barnes was part of the John Lewis group, so it is not surprising that it is now a large Waitrose store. The upstairs floors, which were once part of the store, appear to have been converted into apartments.

It was time to turn round when I reached Finchley Road Underground station. Before doing so, I noticed the flower stall was still there. Back in the day, it had been run by my Nan's friend Kit, and then by her son Michael. My grandfather also operated a flower stall, up on Hampstead Heath.

The Swiss Cottage was open when I arrived back and there were already a couple of customers sitting inside. This was a good sign, as I hate being the first customer of the day/session. Any seasoned pub-goer will know the trepidation which comes from the thought of, has the beer been pulled through properly, or even at all! Will I be served a pint of dull-looking ditch water, or will that pint be the one I am looking for to quench my thirst and set me up for the day. It was then that I noticed the other customers all drinking lager, which wasn't such a good sign.

Being a Sam Smith's pub there was just the one cask ale on offer; the legendary Old Brewery Bitter. My pint took a fair bit of pulling through, but I don't know whether this was because the beer was overly lively, or it was the effect of pulling it through that tight sparkler which Yorkshiremen seem to love. When the beer finally settled in the glass it was slightly cloudy, but it tasted fine. I scored it at 3.0 NBSS. It was priced at £3.20 a pint, which although slightlymore than I remember for Sam's Smiths, was still good value.

I was spoilt for the choice of a table to sit at; choosing one within sight of the bar. It was quite dark inside the pub, and I had trouble reading in the dim light, but I sat there enjoying my pint along with the packet of Sam Smith's "own brand", ready-salted crisps. The lattice windows with an imitation oil-lamp on each window sill, added to the effect of a Swiss Chalet. I only stayed for the one pint, as I needed to get back into central London for the Imperial Lager tasting, so I left the pub and headed back down to the Underground.

I'm pleased to have made a return visit to the Swiss Cottage after four and a half decades, but having done so my curiosity has been satisfied and somehow I don't think I'll be going back for a second time.