We used to come to the swan regularly, but about 3years ago we stopped as it appeared to have gone downhill. We are so pleased to say that when we returned today for Sunday lunch it was great. The roast potatoes were crispy and full of flavour, the carrots and parsnips were so tasty, and the meat was perfect. We were served by ‘Paris’ who was extremely professional and friendly. We will definitely be returning.
I visited the Swan for lunch on 23 October. I asked to sit by the fire and the table was perfect next to a roaring fire. I had the sirloin steak and asked for it to be done medium rare. Whilst it was a little overcooked, it was tender and I was really happy with the food and service. I returned for dinner on 3 November and had the same meal. I asked for the steak to be done rare this time in case it was overcooked. It was murdered. My steak was fatty, chewy, sinewy, dry and I would say medium to well done. Really disappointing, consequently I left half of it. I love the Swan and I think the staff are great and provide a good service, but this is let down by the chef/kitchen/quality of produce. I think this needs to be addressed as steak is not cheap on the menu. Our food bill for two was approximately £70, not good enough for the price! It’s been a very long time since the Swan has provided consistently good food and service. I’ve been going there for over 10 years. I’m hopeful they will address the quality of food provided. Reading the reviews, I think the quality and cooking of steak needs to be addressed.
A really good example of a chain pub run well. Enough staff on who all had their areas and responsibilities but were still helpful when it was clearly busy. We were told that there would be an hour wait for our two burgers so we settled ourselves with our drinks in the sun in the garden next to the canal. A very pretty place to relax 🦢 In the end, the food took around 20 minutes and the waiter was really friendly. Another waitress brought us sauces when we asked. It's also good that there is an outside ordering area so you don't have to go in and queue there. The burgers were decent for pub grub, the chips and onion rings were great too. Everything was hot and fresh. We were passing through to London otherwise we'd definitely return!
Delicious lunch, chill atmosphere with plenty of areas to sit down depending on the mood. It wasn't too busy although the staff looked busy. Perfect if you are using the canal as a middle way stop to have food.
This pub has always been a favourite, and when we came on bank holiday Monday, they were busy and gave us the heads up about the food wait (45 mins) and the bar seated area only, meaning we order at the bar instead of table service. This was not a problem. We were happy to wait. Whilst waiting, I went to the ladies loos, (went in the first set near the front, which were busy, so I went to the set near the back, both of which seemed tired and a bit rough around the edges). Its definitely an area i would recommend updating/dusting/painting. After our mains (which were perfect), we went back to the bar to order puddings. No mention of a wait this time, and I specifically asked if they were served hot, and the answer was yes. With a small baby, we were busy sorting them out and then it was another 40 min wait gone by so I asked where our puddings were. They suddenly bought them out straight after my query. Beautiful puddings, delicious, but cold. And the ice cream on top of them was mostly cream as that had melted. Whilst starting to eat the pudding, a waitress came over to tell us we couldn't pay for our bill a certain way, I told her we had already paid and our hot puddings took 40 mins and were cold, with no apology. She said "I'm sorry about that but I don't have the authority to reduce or refund you, you'll have to sort that with management"......and walked off! Felt like she washed her hands of that, instead of trying to resolve the issue, and get management over to speak to us. (Side note - by this point the busyness had started to die down, so no excuse there). To be honest, we would have tried to sort it out ourselves, but having a small baby who was now at the point of screaming as we had already waited 1.5 hours for both courses in total, plus eating time of both courses, baby had had enough of being there! I still would return, and I would still recommend. All places need reminding of updating their bathrooms at some point. But we will endeavour not to come when it's busy again (on a bank holiday) if that's how waitresses solve the issues they are presented with (or leaving puddings in the kitchen and not noticing then for 40 minutes!).
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Ash Vale, Aldershot, GU12