Swan

April 12th, 2011 CJH

16 of us went for lunch today, 8 of them being Abbeyfield Residents all in their 90's. A beautiful setting and a very pleasant immaculately kept Inn. We were all seated around one big table in a delightful airy conservatory and could see everyone which was much appreciated The food arrived hot and we were all served together. The staff were very attentive and helpful. The comments made by all who attended were very positive, everyone enjoyed the meal they chose. We all had a wonderful day, thank you to Archie and staff.

We certainly will return.

We went to The Swan for the first time for dinner and it was excellent.

I have seen the poor reviews re service, but based on my experience, this has been sorted out.

The bar person was immediately friendly and she and the waitress were helpful, unpushy and efficient. We took ages to decide and they didn't mind. We also took hours to eat and they didn't hurry us along even though we were the last in the pub.

The food was lovely. We had the steak and the hake. Both cooked beautifully.

I will definitely go back.

22nd October
Really nice lunch whilst in a bit of a hurry - one of the best mackerel dishes I have ever had. Very convenient off the A40.

Visited the Swan for the second time - the other occasion was almost a year ago. Little has changed except the service which had previously been very friendly (and efficient) but now its nothing like it. We visited on a sunny weekday lunchtime when the pub wasn’t very busy and tables were available both inside and out. On arrival, both the barmen were less than welcoming with no friendly smile or greeting, then asked if we had booked a table and then making a bit of performance of this when we said we hadn't - as if we were lucky to be allowed in !

There were lots of waiting staff and the two who served us were also somewhat ‘cold’ and appeared to be just going through the motions. The food, however, was good though expensive. The Hook Norton Hooky Bitter was OK.

Not sure we will be visiting the Swan again.

Stayed and ate here last Sunday night. The location is fabulous and if you're into the Mitfords, it's perfect (check out the church!). The rooms are very recently finished and nicely done though pretty darn small for the very high price. Decent modern bathroom, everything worked though we couldn't turn off the extractor fan, a pet peeve.

The pub interior is small and basic, the bar was full of locals and dogs. We felt the barman didn't much care if we were there or not although the food waiter was very attentive. We were then seated in the dining area which was pleasant though a bit small.

Then the fun began. Yes, it was Sunday night but this is supposed to be a dining pub. I had the devilled duck hearts (a special): the hearts were completely tasteless and the toast was simply burnt bread (I notice this is a recurrent comment) while the devilled sauce was cornstarch and caterer's gravy. My main was a very nicely cooked sole, accompanied by broccoli and potatoes which had been boiled to death and were almost certainly left from lunch, Still hungry (and still optimistic) I ordered the crumble. This turned out to be a compote with a scattering of crumble mix that had also been burnt - you could smell it before the plate hit the table. I sent it back and had a Twix in the room.

My guest had a goat's cheese salad to start which starred a dressing which was overly acidic and which, taken with the cheese, completely overpowered any other taste. The main was the chaps (pigs' cheeks). Here the taste was good but through a basic cooking error, the skin had been left on the cheek and had, as it always will in such a case, the texture of sticky dead paste.

By the time we had finished the staff had indeed laid up breakfast: when we got to it next day it was very competent. I would have had a word about the dinner when I checked out but noone seemed very interested then either.

This could be a great location for a good pub but I would give the current version a big miss.

Visited for dinner on Friday 23rd October.

Tried to have a drink at the bar but we were rushed to our table (we were on time by the way).

Music (slightly too loud at times) playing in the background throughout the whole establishment – unusual for a Cotswold pub

Stark interior with little comfort – small dining room probable the best option

Lit with lots of clear light bulbs which gives a stark feel

Lots of noise form staff setting-up breakfast from 9.30pm onwards. Rather odd to see a display of breakfast cereals while eating dinner

Starter - Crab based and served with bread that had been seared to give it a grilled appearance. The tool used to do this was obviously too hot leaving the bread smelling and tasting burnt. Good food, shame about the grill effect.

Main course – Steak with same grill effect as above (expensive too £19). Side salad was tiny (£3.50) and nearly half was parsley (bitter). Can’t remember what my partner had.

Pudding – OK but can’t remember what we had.

Total cost, including three glasses of wine and three pints of less than average Cotswold Lager (not much choice unless you happen to like Cotswold Lager), was £82.00 which bearing in mind local competition, is expensive.

Overall – expensive, cold atmosphere and not very memorable food. Might explain why on a Friday it was at best half full.

Visited the Swan on 9th September 2009 - which was a gorgeous sunny day ! Set in a lovely location by the River Windrush in a small Cotswold village, the Swan is well worth a detour. The pub has been nicely refurbished and has the feel somewhat of a gastro pub. The young bar staff were very friendly and efficient who served 3 different types of lovely lager from the Cotswold Brewing Company which is a small independent brewery just a few miles from the Swan. Local suppliers were also very much part of the lunch time menu which along with the 'Specials Board' offered a huge choice of snacks and lunches. My fried cod was very well cooked with a lovely light beer batter and moist fish though at £13 it seems expensive. Our other dish was the slow braised salt beef with Cheltenham beetroot which was nice though something more than watercress as the salad would have made it a much better dish.