The Swan — Restaurant in Ashford

Went to The Swan for the first time yesterday for Sunday lunch. Not great I'm afraid. Starters: My friend ordered the halibut which looked pretty but she couldn't see or taste any fish. I ordered foie gras terrine which again looked pretty & tasted ok. Mains: My friend ordered the grey mullet. I was shocked when it arrived. It was barely a starter portion. Half of 1 fillet at most. I ordered the beef which tasted ok but was also a pretty meagre size. There were 3 small roast potatoes 1 of which was overcooked/burnt. 1 very small side dish of vegetables was presented to be shared by both of us !! Mashed swede & carrot, 1 beetroot quartered & a very small amount of grated cabbage. The whole dish was tepid/luke warm. I ordered a bottle of the flint dry white at £25. It was pretty good. The downside is they sell it in their shop at £11.50 a bottle. A restaurant mark up of over 100% is scandalous & just greedy profiteering in my opinion. I went to the loo which clearly had not been cleaned that day. Dirty sink, dust around the soap dispenser & a hand drier as powerful as a sparrows cough. Although full, the general atmosphere was subdued & lack lustre. This restaurant purports itself to be top quality dining. Unless I was unlucky yesterday it really isn't. I've had a much better Sunday lunch at a cheap bog standard Toby carvery...

I was really looking forward to treating my 82 year old auntie to lunch at The Swan but the experience was truly lacklustre. The staff at the Chapel Down shop were lovely and helped my auntie up the steep stairs on arrival as she walks with great difficulty. They then took care of my pram for me so I didn't have to hoof it up the stairs. I must say that the service went drastically downhill after that, and I agree with the previous comments..a bare minimum! Not particularly helpful, we were only asked once if we'd like a drink, dessert took an hour to arrive with no apology. It total we were in the restaurant for three hours (fairly tricky with a nine month old baby!). When it came to leaving, my elderly aunt struggled to get out of her chair but no assistance was offered. Infact, the staff just stood around watching as we tried to leave. In the end I had go back downstairs to ask David, the lovely chap in the shop to help us. Shockingly bad! The waitress only asked if everything was okay when she presented us with the bill, and looked noticeably cross when I remarked that I would not be leaving a tip. The Vineyard/Shop looks like a great experience but I would avoid the restaurant. The only reason I have not given a poor rating is because...

We went on 19th December 2014 for my birthday celebration. The food was very ordinary and the portions small. My beef was tough and chewy. I didn't want to send it back and fall out of sync with my fellow diners so I ate it but told the waiter about it subsequently. His response was to patronise me with the comment that this particular cut of beef is 'always rather chewy Madame'. He then added that perhaps this fact should have been indicated in the menu in order to preclude disappointment on the part of the diner. All at the table agreed that this was an unacceptable and truly laughable response. Who would ever order a dish that was billed as chewy? The meal was very expensive compared to any other restaurant in which I have eaten, including London ones, over the past year, so needless to say we won't be returning. I should have listened to the friends who tried to warn me about The Swan's poor reputation - something that was also reflected in the number of empty tables on this the Friday before Christmas, and interestingly, a day on which all other restaurants in Tenterden were fully booked. The one plus was the...