It is hard to miss The Swan in Woburn Sands, sitting as it does on the roundabout that is so central to Woburn Sands. People who follow The Swan on social media will be aware that it shut in mid-May for a refurbishment. This was a serious re-vamp of everything from the decor to the menu. With it now all bright and shiny and new, I went along, with my friend Steven, for an evening meal to see what it is like now.
It's been a while since I've been to The Swan so I was surprised as I turned into the car park to find that it is now pay and display. I suppose since the Tesco Express opened across the road, they have suffered from people using their car park whilst shopping. It did say that pub customers could get their parking fee back but I didn't get chance to find out how this works because the car park was completely full. This was something of a surprise, it being a Thursday evening, and it was slightly embarrassing to have to perform a very tight three-point-turn in front of all the dinners on the patio! After that I managed to find some roadside parking on the road to Woburn.
Inside, the first impression was very good, as you might expect from somewhere that has just been redecorated. The table was nicely set too and the waiter was attentive. I asked for a soft drink, something along the lines of a J2O, but was offered a slightly weird selection of juices. I plumped for the Apple, Raspberry and Sloe juice and that turned out to be a good decision as it was really tasty - a mental note to try making that combo next sloe season.
For starters I selected the chicken liver, sherry & balsamic parfait with crostini and when it arrived it was just as I expected - pate and toast. This is always one of my default starters where available and I enjoyed this one. The pate flavour was good, the crostini were suitably crunchy and the portion size was appropriate for a starter. Steven enjoyed a plate of scallops.
Next came the main. I had left the house in the mood for a burger and so I selected the wagyu burger. To be honest I didn't know what a wagyu burger was but Steven explained that wagyu burgers are special, with the animals reared in just a handful of places across the world and the animals are of a particular rear breed and they are fed beer and massaged to produce the best quality meat. It turns out the wagyu cattle produce a meat with a high content of marbling and this is supposed to provide a superior flavour. We asked the waiter if he knew what the country of origin was for the wagyu burger and he went off to ask the chef. When he delivered my burger, he said that the chef has told him at length about the burger and its origins but the answer was Australia. Not the most desirable Japanese wagyu then but that is hardly surprising at the price.
I was asked if I wanted any extras on my burger but as it already came with smoked cheddar, crispy onions, relish, sweet potato fries and aioli, I decided that was quite enough. I was disappointed to see that it came in a brioche bun. This is a food trend that I never took to and is so over-used that it is now positively boring. Why pair a savoury burger with a soft, sweet bread? I don't get it. When I make a burger at home I make fresh crusty bread rolls or toast a bun to crisp it up. Bun aside, there was plenty inside - although the burger itself was somewhat lost amongst the heaps of salad - masses of lettuce, a big slice of tomato and a couple of slabs of gherkin. So, having suitably adjusted the contents of my burger bun to make it possible to taste the meat, I tucked in. The burger itself had a great flavour and I enjoyed the sweet potato fries, onion rings and garlic mayo (or should that be aioli?) too. In the meantime, Steven tucked into his seafood linguine. The menu has plenty of fish dishes on it so I think I shall have to go back at some point with my husband as he loves fish dishes and is often disappointed by lack of seafood variety on menus.
Finally onto dessert and, being the fan of cheesecake that I am, I went for the Baked New York Cheesecake with strawberry coulis. The waiter was pleased with my selection as he said this was his favourite. This was a decent slice, served with whipped cream, a sliced strawberry and a sprig of mint. I was surprised by the lack of sweetness of the dish. The strawberry coulis had a lovely fresh strawberry flavour but wasn't very sweet and the cheesecake was verging on savoury; so much so that I would have been happy to spread it on some crackers. Given that I don't have much of a sweet-tooth, it was surprising that I would have preferred this to have been sweeter - maybe not the cheesecake itself but the strawberry sauce. Steven didn't have such issues with his sticky toffee pudding.
That was the meal over and I had had a very enjoyable evening. The setting was pleasant and the staff had been excellent. The menu and food is a notch up on what you might expect for a pub meal although not faffy or overly cheffy. If you fancy an evening out and a decent meal then you could do a lot worse than the newly refurbished and revamped Swan in Woburn Sands. I'm pretty sure I'll be going back soon.
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