The White Swan describes itself as a pub but don’t be fooled by that. In reality, this is now a restaurant in what was once the village pub. Everyone here is eating the delicious food – no-one is popping in for a swift half and a game of darts. We were last here in 2019, not long after it was awarded a Michelin star. Then the food was by way of a short traditional three course menu. Now, it’s a set no change affair. It’s fair to say we’d always prefer a traditional menu but this is about the right length for a set menu – long enough to give you an interesting meal; not so long that it becomes a chore to eat. And flavours are bang on - everything on the plate makes sense. But, as ever with a fixed menu, you have to hope that dishes are to your liking. Unfortunately, my partner found three dishes with ingredients that she really didn’t want to eat or not eat beyond a mouthful to confirm her dislike. Still, that did mean I did well for “seconds”.
First up is a single bite “croustade” filled with a rich chicken liver mousse. Then a bread course – a mini-loaf to share – with butter and goat curd with basil oil for slathering over. The next offering may have been our favourite. A tomato consommé that was, in itself, the essence of tomato. It surrounded three cooked cherry tomatoes that had a slight “sweet and sour” infused into them. Delicious
Dexter is, perhaps, my favourite beef. There used to be a guy at my local farmers market who sold his own farm’s meat and it was always really tasty. Here, it’s served as a tartare, spiked with a heavy hit from horseradish. The final savoury course featured Bambi, in the form of fillet of fallow deer, cooked to medium rare. Alongside, there’s a ball of long cooked meat, mushroom, mushroom puree and a Jerusalem artichoke puree. But the damson sauce is, perhaps, the star on the plate. But it all works so well.
There’s pear as the first of two desserts. Honey sweetens it, whilst verjus gives it a contrasting sour edge. If the opening tomato consommé wasn’t our favourite dish, then the second dessert was. There’s a thin base of sponge soaked in Pedro Ximenez sherry, topped with flavoured cream . At first bite, it seems too boozy but the other flavours, miso and orange, kick in to mellow it down into a not too sweet but lovely ending to any meal. There’s good espresso to finish along with a dark chocolate and caramel petit four.