Swan And Cygnet

Surprisingly quiet in the restaurant for a Saturday night. This was perhaps due to excessively loud noise from customers in the bar which made conversation difficult. A great pity as the food was excellent and the service was good.

Very disappointing experience. The food is expensive in comparison to similar places and does not live up to the price. I expected hot, well cooked, tasty food. The food took a while to arrive, even though it was quiet. My steak pie was much anticipated but the meat was chewy and dry with not enough gravy. The “ triple cooked” chips weren’t! They just looked so unappetising! They were undercooked, anaemic and tasted stale as if par cooked then put aside for a too long period of time. No crispy exterior and unctuous soft centres here!!!!! Dessert? I had a strange concoction of rock hard pastry tart case that took some breaking, filled with toffee sauce and mushy, watery apple sauce, then strangely topped with cold, sliced, fresh Granny Smith apple. The accompanying brandy snap was good. Our friends had the belly pork and said it tasted lovely but the “ crackling” was soggy which spoiled it. Maybe it is supposed to be, but crispy crackling would definitely be better. Would I return? No.

The scene was set when the waitress tipped a full glass of wine over me because of how she held the tray. She literally just stood there and had to ask That she got me a cloth as the napkins were useless. She did apologise. Came for Mother’s Day lunch. Only two other tables full when we arrived. Despite this it took over an hour for food to come which was mostly awful. The meat on the Sunday dinner was full of fat. The dogs will like it though. The veg was barely cooked and was hard to cut up. Soggy roast potatoes. We were told there was a vegan Sunday dinner option of a nut roast. Then we were told there was none left so asked for a Normal roast with the meat on the side. Instead an anemic huge lump of soy arrived which wasn’t even cooked properly. No questions by staff about any allergies nor did they know it was not a nut roast. So my mum only had cauliflower peas and broccoli for her dinner. No potatoes. Complained about this and was offered some chips which arrived undercooked. No vegan dessert available. The waitresses are very young but in urgent need of training and couldn’t answer any questions about the food. No idea if the gravy was vegan or not so it wasn’t eaten. Used to come quite regularly a while ago but this was a totally different experience. The tables were crammed in with little room. We were also all cold. We won’t be back.

From booking to leaving we had a great experience. Booking: suggested to arrive a little earlier than we originally suggested as there were two large parties already booked in and would be busy a big tick from me! Mains: Sunday lunches all round. Meat nice lean cuts and plenty of it. Veg, good selection and nicely cooked (not boiled to within an inch of it life! , roasted potatoes and Yorkshire puds all equally nicely cooked. All piping hot including the gravy!! Puds: All lovely.... particularly the pear and blackberry crumble with custard! Service: polite, prompt, attentive without being in your face. Cost: £25pp for two courses including drinks.... say no more. First Sunday Lunch we've been out for for ages. We weren't disappointed far from it!

Service was slow even though not many in restaurant. Food was good though no complaints from us on that! However, it was so cold in the restaurant I was glad to get home to warm up we sat right next to a beautiful fire that was not lit! Will go back but only in warmer weather!