The Swan Stafford: Brasserie & Restaurant

peggy

Well-Known Forumite
lovely meal as ever. Staff were polite and welcoming.
We did have a couple of little issues though.
The first was the salt pot which fell apart over my husbands starter. When the waiter came over he commented what a common problem this was and how we wouldn't believe how much they cost. Perhaps he was just trying to make My embarrassed husband feel better.
Secondary, when the main meal came my husband asked for some vinegar. The waitress returned with a vinegar pot, she advised my husband to be careful (perhaps she had heard about the salt incident!) because there wasn't a stopper in the vinegar jug and it ran a risk of pouring out. I have to say vinegar dripping is a skill, one my husband doesn't possess. He quickly gave up and took a stopper out of a vinegar pot on the table behind us. Spoilt my entertainment but far safer.
 

My Name is URL

Well-Known Forumite
Went into The Swan for afternoon tea on Saturday afternoon and it was FANTASTIC!!!

The staff were great and couldn't do enough for us, the food was lovely - if you've never had afternoon tea here then try it - I had a "Gentleman's Afternoon Tea" which is a great idea as a change from the "Traditional Afternoon Tea" which was also available.

Will definitely be back!
 
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db

#chaplife
Went into The Swan for afternoon tea on Saturday afternoon and it was FANTASTIC!!!

The staff were great and couldn't do enough for us, the food was lovely - if you've never had afternoon tea here then try it - I had a "Gentleman's Afternoon Tea" which is a great idea as a change from the "Traditional Afternoon Tea" which was also available.

Will definitely be back!
me and the missus defo want to check out the afternoon tea, so thanks for the recommendation :up:
 

db

#chaplife
a few of us went to @The Swan Hotel for a friend's birthday meal on saturday.. i've never had a bad word to say about the swan, but i have, on occasion, found the restaurant staff to be a little surly or hurried.. i don't know if they've been told to buck their ideas up, or just an overall changing of the guard, or what, but they could not have been any better whilst we were there this time round!

important-looking tall, skinny, well-dressed chap was flitting around the place, and looked as if he was generally co-ordinating things and keeping everything in order, without getting underfoot.. plenty of table staff to bring us menus, drinks, take orders, recommend food, etc.. and all of them did it with a genuine smile, and never once made us feel hurried (despite us being in high spirits, so less than efficient when ordering), taking time to describe things, make note of allergies & special requirements, confirm orders, etc..

the food was up to the usual standard - i.e. excellent.. although i do wish restaurants would realise that bigger/thicker does not equal better when it comes to burgers! two of us had the beef burger, and neither of us could finish it because it was just so thick that it was impossible to eat sensibly, and the flavour of the beef overwhelmed everything else.. this isn't a shortcoming of the swan, though - as i say all restaurants do it (worston mill are the worst for it, imo).. This is one of the reasons why @Bean enCounter get it so right, imo - their burger patties (apologies for the americanism) are nice and thin, so you can actually taste all the accompanying bits and pieces and you can actually eat the whole thing without getting the meat sweats!

anyhoo, i digress.. massive thumbs-up to the swan.. loves it..
 
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Andreas Rex

Banned for smiling
a few of us went to @The Swan Hotel for a friend's birthday meal on saturday..
I was one of this rabble. The service was indeed fantastic, and the food was even better.

I'd never go for a burger in a restaurant which offers so much more, and I'm glad I didn't. It did look amazing, though. I had the Gravadlax starter...which was extremely tasty...then I had the Rump of lamb main....which was double-tasty. The lamb was pink, sweet and juicy; the dauphinoise was probably the best I've had (and I've had a lot, as my waistline will confirm); the Chantenay carrots and confit onion couldn't have been better. We all shared a pudding platter...everything on there was lovely. Just dribbled on my keyboard.

Best meal I've had in a long time.

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Gareth

Well-Known Forumite
Never had a bad evening meal at the swan nor s bad breakfast for matter. Lunch times however ate generally a poor affair and that includes xmas meal lunches.
A half a dozen of us went last and all had some kind of turkey ball which we agreed tasted strange. 4 were ill the next day.
swan fantastic for a night out, stay, breakie just avoid lunch never a good one.
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
The lunch I had with a client at the Swan yesterday was very nice and, to my knowledge, neither of us has come down I'll as a result. Breakfast there, on the other hand can be a bit hit and miss, quality wise I have found.

At the end of the day you can only speak as you find and people have to make their own minds up.
 

Slainte

Quizmeister
I went for dinner recently and had a lovely meal, after previous complaints the food was lovely and well presented and nice service
 

ChrisLewis

Well-Known Forumite
I have only been in the Swan in recent times and find it very austere.

Satis,
many thank for your feedback, I pondered on how to reply to your comment, I even googled "austere" -
"The adjective austere is used to describe something or someone stern or without any decoration. You wouldn't want someone to describe you or your home as austere."
So I question is it my staff who are austere or is it our decor, please enlighten me.
But thanks for the feedback
Chris Lewis.
 

ChrisLewis

Well-Known Forumite
I went for dinner recently and had a lovely meal, after previous complaints the food was lovely and well presented and nice service
Thanks Slainte for the feedback, very generous of you to comment so favourably after past experiences, we do always strive to improve & rectify situations, learning from forum feedback
Thanks again
Chris Lewis
 

sarsaparilla

Well-Known Forumite
I know the meaning of austere and used the word to describe my impression of the Swan. I feel it lacks that cosy feeling that places like that should have. Sorry, I am just being honest. As for the staff, they were great ... no complaints.
 

ChrisLewis

Well-Known Forumite
I know the meaning of austere and used the word to describe my impression of the Swan. I feel it lacks that cosy feeling that places like that should have. Sorry, I am just being honest. As for the staff, they were great ... no complaints.

Thanks for your feedback, I think back to when I took over The Swan a dark miserable place, where your feet stuck to the carpets, the toilets were at best worse than any public toilet, the courtyard garden an overgrown patch filled with drug users needles and the establishment was certainly the dodo in the high street,rooms of a standard they couldn't be sold, then yes your comment might have been warranted.

Now The Swan is an asset to the town,I believe, cosy chic town house hotel we are not, but as you might acknowledge Stafford is not Oxford, or Chester as such we know our market and as such design our trading space to maximise it. Hence over the last three years you will have seen we have refurbished the whole of our ground floor trading space, giving it plenty of character in the Brasserie, coffee shop, bars and courtyard area.

However as you say, you have only been in The Swan during recent times, so forgive me if this post appears defensive but The Swan is my business & hence I feel I'm justified in defending it on public forums.
 

db

#chaplife
I know the meaning of austere and used the word to describe my impression of the Swan. I feel it lacks that cosy feeling that places like that should have.
wow, i would say completely the opposite! i love the way the swan is like a little labyrinth, with lots of little cosy booths & sofas to sit in if you want a bit of privacy, or plenty of open restaurant space if you need it..
 

proactive

Enjoying a drop of red.
I take no pleasure in posting this, being a huge fan of the Swan particularly with regards to the atmosphere, the staff friendliness and evening meals there. I have said in the past that I have found breakfast to be a bit up and down, but by that I meant that sometimes the bacon can be coldish when it arrives, nothing more.

However, I went in for breakfast with a friend this morning and I am afraid that if I had been a new customer, you wouldn't see my money again. We were greeted in the coffee shop by a member of staff who could not have been more obvious in showing that she was fed up of customers. Her attitude and tone of voice made it clear we were interrupting her by placing an order and throughout our time at the counter we kept having to wait for her to have a break in her conversation with another member of staff.

Our coffees were brought quickly to our table in the lounge, but it took an age for the breakfast to arrive and when it did mine had an item missing. The young lady who served us at table couldn't have been nicer about sorting it out but by the time we were ready to tuck in, much of the items on the plate were either cold or luke warm. To make things worse, the butter for the toast that came on my breakfast plate had been put right next to the only thing that was truly hot (the baked bean pot) and had liquified meaning that it went all over my hands and into the breakfast plate, but not onto the toast as intended.

I came away thinking that whoever was managing the place this morning really needs to get their act together and ensure that front of house staff deal with customers as if they are valued, not an inconvenience at that kitchen staff ensure that food arrives at table in a condition that fits the reputation of the place.

I'm sorry to be having a moan Chris, but this morning really wasn't on! If you would like the name of the member of staff who treated us so dismissively the I am happy to provide it via pm.
 

ChrisLewis

Well-Known Forumite
I take no pleasure in posting this, being a huge fan of the Swan particularly with regards to the atmosphere, the staff friendliness and evening meals there. I have said in the past that I have found breakfast to be a bit up and down, but by that I meant that sometimes the bacon can be coldish when it arrives, nothing more.

However, I went in for breakfast with a friend this morning and I am afraid that if I had been a new customer, you wouldn't see my money again. We were greeted in the coffee shop by a member of staff who could not have been more obvious in showing that she was fed up of customers. Her attitude and tone of voice made it clear we were interrupting her by placing an order and throughout our time at the counter we kept having to wait for her to have a break in her conversation with another member of staff.

Our coffees were brought quickly to our table in the lounge, but it took an age for the breakfast to arrive and when it did mine had an item missing. The young lady who served us at table couldn't have been nicer about sorting it out but by the time we were ready to tuck in, much of the items on the plate were either cold or luke warm. To make things worse, the butter for the toast that came on my breakfast plate had been put right next to the only thing that was truly hot (the baked bean pot) and had liquified meaning that it went all over my hands and into the breakfast plate, but not onto the toast as intended.

I came away thinking that whoever was managing the place this morning really needs to get their act together and ensure that front of house staff deal with customers as if they are valued, not an inconvenience at that kitchen staff ensure that food arrives at table in a condition that fits the reputation of the place.

I'm sorry to be having a moan Chris, but this morning really wasn't on! If you would like the name of the member of staff who treated us so dismissively the I am happy to provide it via pm.
Proactive

Many thanks for the feedback

Apologies for this lack of care & attention this morning, I'd be gratefull if you would PM me with the information


Chis
 

markpa12003

Well-Known Forumite
I agree with Chris, Stafford is not Oxford, Chester or Shrewsbury. However, these are the sort of places I would like Stafford to aspire to be like in terms of quality of shops and eateries etc. I hope one day SBC may also share this aspiration and do more.

I personally think the Swan is a fantastic establishment and it would not look out of place in any one of those locations. The Bear is also very good.

I've never had a breakfast at the Swan, however I regularly eat and drink at the Swan and I have never been disappointed. It's always the place I visit when showing outsiders the 'best bits' of Stafford.
 

Feed The Goat

Well-Known Forumite
Yes, the Swan sits like a fine diamond, right in the centre of a steaming cowpat.

I will be enjoying a drink or two in there tonight.
 

kyoto49

Well-Known Forumite
Had a meal in the Swan today (Sunday).

Postives:
Service was excellent
Food arrived very quickly
It wasn't too busy - guess that's less of a positive for the Swan!!
The food was very edible, meat eaters said their meat was tender.

But,
It isn't cheap is it considering the portions weren't big - all 4 in my party could have eaten more and we're not massive eaters!
My own personal preference would be for more simple food - the mains are all a bit..........well......pretentious:(

Would go again though if I was feeling rich :)
 
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