Full! So very full! But wow, was it worth it. The food was amazing.

The drive from the hotel to the restaurant was a little horrible. It was dark country lanes that twisted and turned and all I wanted to do was just get to the restaurant. Once I arrived at the restaurant, I did struggle to find the car park. It wasn’t clearly sign posted or if it was, I didn’t see it due to limited visibility (6pm on a Saturday night in January with no street lights on the country lanes, oh dear).

I entered the restaurant to be greeted by a roaring fire and receptionist/waiter. I gave my name and was told to take a seat so chose an empty seat right next to the fire. The drinks menu was promptly brought over along with something else- Kombucha if I’m not mistaken- which I was told was to get me started. A copy of the taster menu soon joined my ordered beverage at my seat.

The canapes were served downstairs in the bar before I was escorted to my table, and comprised of lobster and strawberry tart and a small brioche and truffle. The lobster tart shell was crisp, thin and beautiful as was the tart as a whole, but I couldn’t differentiate between the strawberry and lobster textures but my god, the flavours of the canape…wow! The brioche in comparison was golden, but the truffle was a little messy to eat. I ended up with truffle stuck to my bottom lip for the whole evening and only realised once I had returned to my hotel room after the meal.

Upon arriving at my table, I noted that there was a copy of Tommy Banks’ cookbook- Roots- on the table for me to peruse throughout the night. I also noted that although the other tables were set up for two or more, no copy of the cookbook was on the tables except for mine. Maybe this was because I was on my own or not, I’m not sure.

The first course served was beetroot, goats curd and rhuboshi. I’ll be the first to say that I’m not a huge fan of beetroot so this course wasn’t something I was looking forward to, but I have to say this dish was rather delightful. The goats curd came in the form of a smooth. creamy quenelle of ice cream , kept in place by golden sourdough crumbs. The chef who brought this out informed me that they don’t waste anything at The Black Swan so they use everything they can. One can only presume these crumbs came from the chopping board of the sourdough course. The beetroot itself was beautifully soft, the knife cutting through it like butter, and had been brushed with heavily reduced beetroot juice to enhance the colour and glaze the centre-piece of the dish. The pickled beetroot sat on top in the shape of a rose, provided acidity and the chewy beetroot was exceptionally dark against the vibrant purple. The rhuboshi gel was the perfect drop of sweetness in this dish.

Whilst waiting for the next course, I dragged my eyes up from the book I had brought to entertain me and looked at my surrounding. Artwork on the wall depicted root vegetables. The focal point of the restaurant is the farm across the road where food is grown and reared and the artwork reiterated the self sufficiency of the restaurant. Hardwood flooring throughout the restaurant echoes the heels of diners waiting to be thrilled and the footsteps of staff working tirelessly to ensure the expectations are met.

Warm sourdough was placed in front of me with cultured butter waiting to be lathered on the bread. I’m so glad it was only one slice of sourdough which was served. Having been to other fine dining establishments, when it gets to the bread course, I normally end up with a full loaf of sourdough, which as an avid bread lover is fantastic, but when you are eating 7 or 8 courses minimum, you do feel a tad overwhelmed by the sheer amount of bread in front of you. Cultured butter is essentially butter which has live cultures such as buttermilk or yoghurt in, the outcome is a beautifully sour butter. Bread and butter, what more could you want.

The first of the mains was scallop. truffle and celeriac. A plump juicy caramelised scallop sat on top of a smooth silky celeriac puree. The scallop itself had been caramelised to perfection. I always get nervous whenever scallops are on the menu, just purely due to the raw scallop fiasco at The French last year (it was the only time I have ever come close to throwing up in a restaurant, and yes ,the scallop was intentionally raw). I’m sure other patrons across the dining room could hear my sigh of relief when I saw the scallop was cooked. Atop the caramelised scallop sat celeriac shards and a light dusting of truffle. I never did ask if the truffle was from the farm or not, but I digress. The scallop and celeriac was a brilliant introduction into the ‘meaty’ section of the menu.

The second and final fish course was halibut and was easily the best dish of the night. From the moment the dish arrived, you could smell the beurre blanc, which promised to be flavourful. The halibut fell apart without much assistance from the knife. Crispy kale adorned the plate and dissolved on the palate, but the star of the dish was that beurre blanc, velvety, buttery, salty, sweet, just incredible. If I had been told at that point that the kitchen had run out of everything except the halibut, I would not be complaining.

In between courses, I took another look at my surroundings, candles on each table stood in the old fashioned candle holders, you know the ones that wouldn’t look out of place in a Charles Dickens adaptation. I had thought about stealing a candleholder but resisted… it wouldn’t fit in my handbag.

My next course, was beef, fermented carrots and stichelton (cheese). My first thought was ‘where’s the beef, there’s just a fluffy cloud on my plate’. The chef serving the course explained it was a play on shepherds pie and then promptly sprinkled something on top of the dish. At this point in the night, the dining room was very loud and I struggled to understand what the chef was telling me about the dish. I just did a penguins from Madagascar (smile and wave). The dish was very cheesy, definitely a positive but there wasn’t enough beef in the dish for me. The small pieces of beef I did have were beautifully cooked, I just wish there had been more of it and then it would’ve been a perfect dish.

The final savoury course of the night was the pork dish. I had seen this on my social media platforms throughout the week leading up to my visit, so I was very excited to try this. Glistening pork adorned the plate in the form of a pork faggot (meatball essentially), pork jowl and pork tenderloin. The pork jowl had crispy crackling (hooray), the jus which accompanied the pork was glossy and incredible. I just wish I had left a little of the sourdough for me to mop up the plate. Dollops of black apple provided a sweet bitterness and the turnips, acidity. The black apple , I was told, takes 6 weeks to make but all the hard work is worth it. The expectations of this dish were definitely met.

The palette cleansing rhubarb and rosemary course swiftly followed the hot towel I was given after the pork course to refresh myself, the towel took me back to being on that Emirates plane to Sydney, Australia (Sydney, I miss you). The young chef who served the palette cleanser looked extremely nervous, I just wanted to give him a hug and tell him he didn’t need to be nervous. The colours of the palette cleanser were all pastel colours and I’m pretty sure I had a striped jumpsuit in similar colours. The rhubarb wasn’t overpowering, neither was the rosemary. The tuille was brittle, thin and the rhubarb sorbet was beautifully pink.

The final course was woodruff and mushroom. Now I know what you are thinking ‘mushroom in a dessert!’. Yes I was fairly sceptical too, but there was a mild, almost nutty flavour in the dish, to me, the main focus was the chocolate ganache and tuilles. I will forever dream of those chocolate components in this dish.

Petit fours are included in the tasting menu, tea/coffee is extra, the petit fours were a lovely end to the night. Thank god there were only 3, anymore and I would’ve needed rolling out the restaurant. A pine and dark chocolate cannelle, miso and hazelnut tart and sea buckthorn and chicory truffle (I hope I managed to remember these correctly). All perfect.

Once my latte had been drunk, I settled the bill and started the 20 minute journey back to the hotel. The booking required a deposit of £170, which is the total cost of the taster menu. This was of course deducted from the overall total, leaving only the balance of my beverages and a discretionary 12.5% service charge to be paid.

At the start of the night, I did wonder if the food would live up to the reputation the restaurant has, but I can definitely say it does. It’s a Michelin starred establishment which grows its’ own ingredients. I’ve been to places that are not Michelin starred which cost £200 and the food was terrible (this is a place where all the reviews said it needed a star… trust me it did not!)

Although The Black Swan is known to be Tommy Banks’ restaurant, the other chefs in the kitchen need to be recognised. They clearly know how to treat the incredible ingredients they use and it shows in the dishes which leave that kitchen. The Senior Sous Chef even had time to check my LinkedIn to see what I do for a living. I think he suspected I was a food critic. I mean I would love to be but alas no. I’m just a girl who loves fine dining and food in general. I can definitely see this as being a place Mum would love so there maybe another trip to The Black Swan later this year.

If you haven’t already been to The Black Swan, what are you waiting for… just go!.