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This restaurant review was undertaken on
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Having eaten
in The Black Horse in Woburn and enjoyed our experience, we
decided to try The Swan in Salford, as it is owned by the same
company. We were not disappointed.
On opening the
door, we were greeted by smiling bar staff and a buzzing
atmosphere.
Décor
The stripped
wood flooring coupled with large brown leather chairs and comfy
sofas, cream and dark red painted walls make this a contemporary
chic setting for not only an evening out but a great venue to
meet friends for lunch. The seating in the bar area is well
placed to not only entice groups for chatting but also provides
space for more intimate discussions. The music played in the
background was not too loud, a mixture of classic pop and up to
date chart music - in keeping with the modern feel to The Swan.
The restaurant layout sees tables nicely spaced with some set at
angles; we were shown to our table set for two, but could have
seated four, as many other fellow diners were enjoying-lots of
space in a very full and busy restaurant. The leather chairs
were extremely comfortable.
Atmosphere
Even in the
current climate this venue was bustling, lively and full. With
lots of loud chatter and a variety of clientele ranging from the
young to a more mature crowd (us included!) this is clearly an
ideal venue for an enjoyable night out.
Food
Our choices
were taken from the winter menu - which focuses on the ‘best
seasonal ingredients, freshly prepared.’
A fresh
assortment of bread, balsamic vinegar and olive oil was brought
to our table, which we enjoyed while making our selections. Our
waitress happily gave an in depth description of the special
choices. After much deliberation, my guest and I made our
decision….hard as personally I wanted to try the majority of the
menu! My partner chose a selection from the Deli Board, (£1.75
per item) which contains a wide selection of cheeses, Inidan,
Antipasti, fish and charcuterie. Spoilt for choice, he
eventually opted for the humous and smocked mackerel pate with
both rustic and pitta bread. The humous was a delight, lightly
seasoned and extremely tasty, the only disappointment was that
there was not more. Smoked mackerel pate can often be a tad dry
but the kitchen have their version spot on. My guest seasoned
this with some black pepper and was clearly delighted with his
choices.
My choice to
start was the baked Camembert with tomato and onion chutney and
rustic bread to share (£11). Before you ask, yes, my guest did
enjoy some of this too! This had to be left for a short while –
the Camembert had been slightly over-heated and was too runny
for my liking, making it difficult to eat without making a mess.
However, within a couple of minutes it gained that desired gooey
texture and combined brilliantly with the chutney. Simply
delicious and extremely moreish!
Pinot
Grigio delle Venezie,
Giulia,
Anselmi Italy (£17.75) was our choice of wine. Deft, mineral
quality. Single estate wine whose maker recently came to visit
The Swan and see who’s drinking his wine – now we’re all welcome at
his place, apparently. Pinot can be lovely and crisp - whilst we
did enjoy this wine, it was not as crisp as some we have tried
and lacked that “wow” factor.
I had tried
the Fishcake, spinach and chive butter (£9.75) at The Black
Horse (see
that review by clicking here) and could not resist
sampling something similar again. I am not convinced the slice
of lemon was needed, it added colour but I was never going to
use it so I am not totally sure why it was there. This fishcake
was larger (deeper) than the one I had tried a week before and I
enjoyed this more which is a huge compliment in itself given how
I raved about the one I had tasted previously. The sauce was
delicious and I wished there had been more of it - the chive
butter was much tastier than the butter sauce I had a week
earlier. With a
fantastic range of flavours and textures, this is definitely a
favourite of mine and I would not hesitate in recommending this
to anyone.
My guest was
very quiet and clearly enjoyed every mouthful of his slow roast
pork belly, sweet potato gratin and winter greans (£13.50). The
pork with apple sauce was placed on top of the potato with two
sticks of crackling leaning against it. This was soft, moist and
broke away with ease. The potato had a very real and lively kick
to it which some might not enjoy but this was very much to my
guest’s liking.
I finished my
meal with the delightful Amaretto Latte, Maple Maracca Nut Shake
(£4). This arrived with an accompaniment of Minstrels and
Smarties. The coffee, with crushed nuts on top, was very
inviting, creamy and full of flavour. This was a great way to
finish.
My chocolate
loving guest was never going to choose anything but the
Chocolate Mocha Pot, Butter Shortbread (£5.00) for dessert. Very
rich and almost gooey under a crispy top layer, we would defy
anyone to finish this dessert. My guest insisted he would have
done so with a third biscuit; and I believed him. Why? Because
my Minstrels began to disappear at a rate of knots!
Service
Our waiting
staff went about their business in a professional yet friendly
manner; and like the week before at The Black Horse, they worked
well as a team. We were asked all the right questions at the
right time. You always know you’ve had good service when you are
not actually looking for a waiter at any point during your meal.
Service now is more important than ever and I appreciated the
way they were so busy yet not once did they looked rushed.
In conclusion,
I simply cannot wait to return. I think that says it all! (Click
here to read our previous review of The Swan Salford). |
