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People have been
dropping in to
The Swan Inn
at Newtown for
centuries.
Since mediaeval times, thirsty and hungry
travellers have been given a warm welcome.
And the nod to its illustrious past is evident all
through this charming inn these days – from
Edwardian and Victorian pictures on the wall,
which show its heyday as a coaching inn,
to gentle scenes of Newbury and the inn’s
association with the racecourse.
But there’s nothing old-fashioned about its food
and drinks in 2017 – they are bang up-to-date.
The Swan Inn was taken over in January
by genial business partners Mike Evans
and Karen Baskett, who have worked in the
hospitality industry for more than 30 years.
Sammy M, their chef, worked in the kitchen
before, but all the rest of the very well-trained
staff are new and eager to implement Mike and
Karen’s ethos of a family-friendly pub.
Says Karen: “We want to create a great family
pub with good food and a good atmosphere.”
And in such a short time it seems they have
done it.
Both are keen to stress they are still working
on it, but the doors are open and that warm
welcome is still key.
Outside and inside, traditional muted colours of
pale greys and greens look fresh and inviting
and the bar still has its ancient beams.
The food has had a lot of attention.
There’s an extensive restaurant menu with a
specials menu too, and bar snacks include
sausage rolls, honey and mustard-glazed
chipolatas and sandwiches.
Children can have fish goujons, spaghetti and
more, as well as a little rib eye steak so as not
to feel left out.
We loved the Pimp Your Prosecco menu –
great for girlies and ladies who lunch.
We could imagine clinking our Purple Sparkles
together – Prosecco, sloe gin and lemon
– or getting giddy over a Lemon Sherbet,
prosecco with lemon and lime juice, or a
Twinkle, prosecco and elderflower, and much
more. Prices range from £5-£9.50 so there’s
something for every budget.
We settled down at a table by the window
overlooking the garden on a Sunday and the
pub was pretty packed.
One of us went totally traditional with a classic
prawn cocktail, £7.25, and the roast beef,
£12.95.
The prawn cocktail was fine, but did not reach
the heights of the garlic king prawns, £9.25,
my companion had. These were swimming in a
rich buttery sauce with a side of tangy home-
made tartare sauce and some hunks of bread.
The prawn cocktail was filling, though, and
a generous portion with heaps of shredded
lettuce and a good sprinkling of paprika over
the top-notch Marie Rose sauce.
The roast beef – on Sundays you can have
beef, lamb, pork or chicken – was cooked
beautifully.
The large slabs filled my plate end-to-end and
only their height showed there was something
else on the plate. And under this mound of
delightfully pink in the middle with a slight
char on the ends beef were perfectly cooked
carrots, a rich squash purée and some red
cabbage which sang with spices.
The roasties were nestling under too and were
excellent and the Yorkshire pudding – sitting
proud atop the meat – held its crunch until I had
eaten as much as I could of this generous plate.
My companion had a Brie and Beetroot tart
with salad and skinny fries, £11.50.
An obviously crunchy home-made shortcrust
base held oozing Brie with a beetroot chutney
in the middle. The top was on the good side of
crusty too and the side salad had been given
thought – cos lettuce, rocket, tomatoes and
cucumber in a light dressing.
For dessert and just to help the review (of
course) we had an assortment – a vanilla
crème brulée, £5.95, which arrived at the table
flaming, sticky toffee pudding, £6.50, a lemon
tart with crème Anglaise, £6.25, a brownie with
chocolate sauce, £6.50, and two sorbets, three
Swanning
around
HILARY SCOTT follows in the footsteps of
travellers through the ages and calls in at
The Swan Inn, Newtown
Garlic king prawns
Prawn cocktail