The Swan, Marbury
Rating ***** Cathy Stanworth considered upping sticks and moving north after a meal to remember.
considered upping sticks and moving north after a meal to remember.
That's it . . . pack your bags boys, we're moving to Whitchurch!
It's not often that I give five stars in a food review, so to find myself giving two in a row is something of a miracle.
A trip out to visit The Black Bear in Whitchurch with my other half Simon, a fortnight before The Swan, being a five starer, I hadn't expected to be giving the same to the next one on my list. I mean, how often are you going to get food of this quality at a pub with main courses under a tenner?
But there was no doubt about it, after sampling the delights from The Swan, it was on a par. It must be great to have such wonderful pubs on your doorstep.
This time, instead of visiting a high street pub, we had ventured out a little further afield, deep into glorious Shropshire/Cheshire border countryside.
AA Autoroute had estimated the driving time from Telford at 45 minutes but we made it in just over half an hour.
I knew the place was pretty, after looking it up on its comprehensive website.
The pub, near the village green and overlooking a little mere, started life in 1740 as an English farmhouse pub. It made The Good Pub Guide in 2008 and 2009 and was taken over by David Manning in July of last year; he employed Lee Williams to manage it.
It has just two rooms, the bar and the restaurant, and it was the entrance to the restaurant that we walked through after booking a table for two earlier in the week.
A lovely traditional old building, with a lit inglenook fireplace, the restaurant also featured a large wooden bar and a handful of tables, with about three already occupied by couples or groups that night.
After ordering our drinks at the bar, a large glass of red for me and a pint for Simon, we were shown to our table near the fireplace.
We were handed the menu, with the specials board also mentioned, and left to make our choices, as Simon and myself remarked how nice the place was.
The food was very tempting indeed, especially on the specials board. And it was from here that we chose our starters. I ordered garlic mushrooms with goats cheese and a pesto sauce (£5.25). Simon went for mackerel pate (£4.95) with crusty bread.
Our main course choices were Classic Lamb Henry braised in red wine and root vegetables, finished with a rosemary, mint and redcurrant jus (£12.95) from the A la Carte menu for myself. Simon ordered off the specials board a T bone steak (£14.95). We both ordered chips and vegetables (included).
Our pleasant waitress returned a few minutes later to apologise that there was no T-bone. Would Simon prefer a combination of Sirloin and Rib Eye steak (£12.95) instead? The answer was yes.
There was no long wait for our starters and I was very pleased with mine. I had plenty of mushrooms encased in crispy fried crumbs. The mushrooms were fresh and still firm, not overcooked. There was a pleasing pesto sauce round the edge of the dish and a strip of goats cheese that melted beautifully on top of the mushrooms. The mushrooms were good on their own, with the cheese giving an extra umph! Delicious.
Simon's mackerel pate was very light and fresh and he enjoyed it very much. Both of these starters were to a high quality restaurant standard.
And again, our mains were to match. I smiled on having my plate of Classic Lamb Henry put before me. It looked and smelled delicious.
I had a beautifully browned lamb shank served with a delicious jus. The meat fell off the bone and was pink on the inside, and dark on the outside - in other words - perfectly braised. I really enjoyed it. The vegetables, being chunky carrots, leeks, cabbage and broccoli were again tasty.
Simon's meat was very good and nice and pink in the middle with little fat.
By the time our plates were cleared and the waitress had checked that everything was alright, we had agreed that this was another five star review.
Although I don't normally 'do' puddings as I'm usually full at this stage, I surprised myself by ordering an Eton mess (£4.95) while Simon plumped for the cheese board, having four locally sourced cheeses, being Shropshire Blue, Cheshire, Sage Derby and Brie (£6.95).
My Eton mess was absolutely delicious, with broken up pieces of meringue, bits of chewy toffee, strawberries and strawberry sauce, cream and being decorated with small red berries . . . yum yum.
Simon's cheese came served with grapes and rocket leaves and a chutney. He had plenty of biscuits and ordered a coffee as well (£1.50). Simon enjoyed his cheese and he had his coffee cup refilled for free again, so smiles all round.
It had been well worth the journey out. Now which estate agent should I call?
ADDRESS
The Swan at Marbury, Wrenbury Road, Marbury, Whitchurch SY13 4LS
Tel: 01948 665447
MENU SAMPLE
STARTERS
Homemade salmon and herb fishcakes served with a sweet spicy salsa, soured cream and fresh salad leaves (£4.95); Black pudding and crispy bacon, locally sourced, served with apple, cider and sage cream (£5.25)
MAIN COURSES
Chef's pie of the day, topped with a rich short crust pastry (£8.50); Thai red curry chicken curry, served with pilau rice, naan bread and mango chutney (£9.95)
DESSERTS
Baileys and white chocolate cheesecake (£4.95); Apple and blackberry pie (£4.95)
ATMPSOPHERE
Warm, welcoming and relaxed. Really pleasant.
SERVICE
Friendly, professional, considerate and courteous.
DISABLED FACILITIES
Flat access for wheelchairs
