It wasn’t the original plan to eat here but a phone call from the place where we had a reservation saying that they were having to close for a few days made a revisit to Google essential. A look at Maps showed the Swine to be literally opposite the Headingley Premier Inn where we were staying overnight. A look at the online menu confirmed it looked interesting. And a review in the Good Food Guide suggested it was likely to be a quality experience. And so it proved. The lovely, friendly and on-the-ball front of house is just what you want from your local bistro (if it was our local bistro, we’d be regulars). And there’s a seasonally changing menu packed with stuff you want to eat (yes, I know that’s a cliché but it’s true here).
Not everything hits the bullseye. For instance, Padron peppers are at their best when hot from the frying pan tasting of themselves, the oil they were fried in and a generous sprinkle of salt. These were a bit undercooked and came lukewarm at best. There’s some chopped pickled peaches for a sweet and sour contrast. And stracciatella – an almost sauce like mix of mozzarella and cream. It all distracted from the simple pleasure of eating fried pepper with your fingers. The other starter was a flavoursome merguez sausage with a red pepper, tomato and onion salad – it all worked.
Bavette steak was excellent. Tasty meat, perfectly cooked at medium rare, with a herby green sauce. And a squash puree that was also lukewarm and overly spiked with chilli. A sliced beefsteak tomato with a balsamic dressing worked nicely as an additional order. A pork chop was a beast of thing – occupying half the plate. Again, perfectly cooked – the meat juicy, with a nice thick rim of fat nicely crisped. And a dollop of rhubarb puree made a nice seasonal change from the more common apple sauce. A cracking sauce and shreds of cabbage complete the dish. A “side” of new potatoes provided the much needed carb.
We were too full for dessert but did have coffee, this making for the second “bit of a surprise”. First had been that they use paper tablecloths which doesn’t exactly shout “modern bistro” at you. And the coffee? They only do filter. And they serve it in mugs. Can’t recall having a mug of coffee in a restaurant before. Surprises make for conversation. As I indicated at the beginning, we had a really nice evening.
