The Swan Hotel - Almondsbury, Bristol
Posted on: 2015-07-25
Our rating:
The service at The Swan was excellent; all the staff were friendly and attentive, and the pace of dishes was spot on. The Sunday roast was tasty, and we were certainly more than happy. I would definitely like to return and try more from the menu.
The day we visited The Swan Hotel at Almondsbury was absolutely gorgeous so we took full advantage of the sunshine and sat outside in the garden. The garden is a real suntrap, with lots of tables and a small climbing frame for children, making it a great pub for families or groups.
It’s always lovely to have a choice other than a roast on a Sunday, and The Swan’s menu does not disappoint. As well as roasts, you can choose from burgers and ‘pub classics’. There’s also a great selection of starters.
For our starters we chose to share a Wild Boar Scotch Egg, and the Wye Valley Asparagus. The Scotch egg is served with tomato chutney, watercress and red onion salad. We both absolutely loved this Scotch egg! The crunch on the outside was fabulous, and the yolk was the perfect consistency. The tomato chutney was also excellent and was just right accompanying the rich boar sausage-meat. The only missed mark on this plate was the shard of crackling; it looked wonderful but was so hard that I couldn’t bite through it, so it was sadly uneaten.
I love asparagus, so I was really glad to catch the tail end of the Wye Valley’s season (March to July). It was served on a generous slice of toasted Hobb’s House bread, with pickled quail’s egg, crispy pancetta and hollandaise sauce. I initially thought I wouldn’t be needing to eat the bread as this is a very generous portion, but it proved too delicious to resist! This combination worked perfectly, and I loved the addition of the peas. This dish was great. I couldn’t fault it at all.
For our mains, I chose the chicken and Simon chose the beef. All the roasts are served with a Yorkshire pudding, roast potatoes, seasonal veg and gravy. My chicken was delicious and had a marvellous salty, crispy skin. It was a generous breast portion, and very tasty. Simon’s beef was tasty and tender, but was served well done and he would have preferred it a little pinker. The seasonal veg was roasted beetroot, swede, carrot and onion. It was delicious; the carrots and beetroot had just the right amount of bite remaining. It was very moreish! If we’d not had starters, we would have definitely taken up the offer of more veg. The roast potatoes had a good crunch, and soft insides, and the Yorkies were suitably impressive in size.
After a brief rest sunning ourselves, what could be better than home-made ice-cream for pudding? I ordered one scoop each of pistachio, ginger and peanut butter. I also allowed myself to be (very easily) convinced to try some of the Stilton and walnut flavour… While all the ice creams were great, with really distinct flavours and a velvety texture, the peanut butter was absolutely phenomenal! I’d happily drive back to Almondsbury just to have that again! The ice-cream comes with a lovely chocolate chip cookie, providing that lovely crunch that you can only get from a freshly home-made biscuit. I was also (very) pleasantly surprised by the Stilton and walnut. It has just a hint of sweetness which went beautifully with the creamy Stilton and the pieces of walnut. I was very unsure about a savoury ice-cream but I was so wrong. It would be perfect as a cheese course. Or for anyone who doesn’t consider themselves as having a sweet tooth. Or for anyone who likes ice-cream. Or Stilton. In fact, everyone should try it.
Simon ordered the Eton Mess which looked stunning; a veritable cloud of meringue, cream and strawberries. I’m not sure anything could better than peanut butter ice cream, but this lovely pudding gave it a very good run for its money.
The service at The Swan was excellent; all the staff were friendly and attentive, and the pace of dishes was spot on. The roast was tasty, and we were certainly more than happy. The starters and puddings deserve additional praise because they were really excellent; I would definitely like to return and try more things from the menu.
5/5
Reviewed by Sarah Millington for 365 Bristol - the leading events and entertainment website for Bristol
Article by:
Born and raised in the suburbs of Swansea, Jimmy moved to Bristol back in 2004 to attend university. Passionate about live music, sport, science and nature, he can usually be found walking his cocker spaniel Baxter at any number of green spots around the city. Call James on 078 9999 3534 or email Editor@365Bristol.com.
