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The
Swan Inn
Tel: 01908 665240 |
Type: pub / restaurant For – nice bar area, recent renovations to a good standard, good quality, classic "gastropub" fare, attentive service, interesting wines Against – not much |
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A lovely old (ancient) thatched pub in an increasingly urbanised Milton Keynes Village, I have been eating and drinking at The Swan for more than 25 years now. I took my parents there for some Champagne on the evening of the birth of my twins (they recently turned 16!). It was the first place I had a beer with my babies when they came out of hospital, a beautiful sunny afternoon in the garden. We make a point of visiting every Christmas day morning for our Xmas beer with friends. So I have seen many incarnations of eatery here. Some good, some not. I was therefore pleased when The Swan was refurbished in early 2007 and the kitchen given a complete makeover. The renovations were handled very tastefully, keeping the pub area a comfortable place to drink, some good hand pumped beers, a selection of lagers for those that don’t actually like the taste of beer and some of the best wines by the glass available in MK. The dining area has been renovated to be a nice airy place to eat, with a raised indoor / outdoor patio area and an open kitchen where you can see your meal being prepared, if you so desire. This also adds to the atmosphere of the place giving a pleasant but not overpowering smell of food to the room as you enter. My early ventures to the new restaurant were equally promising on the food front. Dishes such as guinea fowl cooked two ways, confit leg and pan fried breast; slow cooked belly pork; venison carpaccio; pigeon breast salad. Adventurous cooking by MK standards, extremely well executed and all the sort of updated English classics that I love. In late 2007, however, standards started to fall quite badly. Poor food and poor service seemed to be the norm. I made several visits over the ensuing months with similar results. I'll refer to this as their "dark days". A recent visit has given a much brighter picture, though. Speaking with one of the staff, she suggested that the "dark days" were the result of the restaurant manager at the time. This highlights a problem with the business model of the pub. Owned by an outfit called Little Gems, they own a couple of other country pubs. It's obvious that they care about their establishments, but at the end of the day the stake owners are not on site and the standards are down to the diligence of the restaurant manager. For now the management is back to a good standard. I hope the young man stays a while. They bill themselves as a Gastropub. Not a term I like very much, but it does suggest a certain style of food, which The Swan succeeds in offering with their new menu. A slow braise, a confit, a slow roast, some seasonal fish. They're all there. And from our recent experience, they are done well. Starters of some very fresh sardines, an excellent Greek salad, and a plate of chicken livers which were very tender and moist. A good beginning. Our mains included a 24 hour braised shin of beef, very tender but a little dry - the beetroot fritters were a nice touch; Denham venison - a very gamey flavour, obviously as a result of proper hanging, my wife found it a shock at first comparing it to the milder flavoured Woburn venison usually served in the area, but it was very good; an aged rib-eye steak cooked medium rare as requested - this may not seem too much to ask, but it always amazes me that many restaurants cannot cook a steak to order (The Old Beams, for instance) - I could teach a six year old too cook steak properly. Desserts are a little short on choice, but did highlight the recent improvements. During the "dark days" the cheeses were served refrigerator cold; these had been allowed to reach room temperature allowing them show some flavour. A reasonable but not great wine list, with too much emphasis on New World wines, which copies the annoying habit common to a number of local restaurants where the wines are classified according to style. I find these classifications arbitrary and often inaccurate. Obviously aimed at people who don't know much about wine. (The Crooked Billet should be a required visit for all those looking to construct a wine list....). We had a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino, which was too thin to justify the £45 price tag. This gripe aside, it was a good evening. Good food and reasonable service mean The Swan Inn is back on track and well worth a visit. Addendum: I won't mention every time I visit this place, but I must comment on the new autumn menu. Included on this are appetisers of pigeon breasts, devilled kidneys and a mains of 48 hour cooked ox cheeks which are fabulous dishes. Service has improved as well. There was a matronly looking lady directing the waiting staff on the evening of our visit which seems to have them moving smartly.... As a result, I have now move The Swan Inn into my top category of recommended eateries. Give it a try! |
take look a the cookbook: |
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