The Swan Inn, Rowberrow — Restaurant in Great Britain

We visited the Swan Inn for a meal a few years ago (Pre-pandemic) as it was widely recommended. Back then we were disappointed and couldn’t see what the fuss was about. Recently we decided to give it another go as again, the reputation locally is generally good. We booked online via the website – no issue there. Table for 6, early evening which was confirmed by email. Upon our arrival the weather was beyond bad, so I dropped the family off right outside the pub and then went and parked in their car par opposite and made a healthy sprint back to the pub. Once inside we were shown to our table which was, annoyingly, right next to the toilet door and an open outside door, so we had a constant flow of customers pushing past and blasting us with cold, slightly damp air for the duration. Not ideal, but I accept you can’t have it your own way all of the time – someone has to sit there! It took a long time for the drinks order to be taken, and a long time for them to come. We weren’t offered any kind of drinks menu, but the staff seemed knowledgeable – and remembered the order without writing it down which is always impressive. We ordered food, which again took a while. Had a good range of the different dishes between us. All were fine. No complaints, but also nothing to write home about. We were going to stay for pudding, but as things were taking so long we decided to get the bill and head home via the local shop to pick up some ice cream. Took an age to get the bill – to which a 10% service charge is automatically added. – so once we had paid I bid a hasty retreat to the car park to recover the car and collect the rest of the family. So overall, it was a very average meal out – fine, but not something we would rush back to. However, this is where is gets interesting. On the way home, my wife started questioning the bill amount as it seemed higher than expected., so we took a closer look at the receipt. Turns out there’s a reason no drinks menu was on the table. The drinks prices are astronomical. We were charged £9.75 for a glass of wine., £3.50 for a glass of coke, and best of all, when one of our children asked for a glass of squash, £1.50 for bottled water. Given that these prices are all subject to the 10% service charge, that’s £10.73 for a single glass of wine. Given that the main meals are approx. £14.50 each, these are hardly proportional. Don’t get me wrong – you never expect the drinks to be cheap when eating out, but these are just silly prices. So we arrived home with a slightly bad taste – average meal, average service, ludicrous prices.

Fast forward 2 weeks and we have forgotten about the whole experience. That is, until through the post arrives a £100 parking charge notice for daring to use their car park. That just adds pure insult to injury.

If it is a requirement to register you car with the pub to avoid this, then why oh why was it not pointed out? There were numerous chances to do this – The online booking form, at the point of arrival, when we were shown our table, overpriced drink order, food order, bill payment - or even a note on the menu. But no – nothing. So for the effort, the value of my future custom will also be that – nothing. And I can only recommend to anyone reading this that you also give then nothing. Clearly it’s policy to screw as much out of the customer as possible, rather than create an environment where they would wish to return. A great shame as we are local and were also keen to visit the recently refurbished Langford Inn – owned by the same people. Suffice to say we won’t be bothering with there either. And a note directly to the Swan before you ask – Yes – I am disappointed. And no, I don’t want to call you to discuss this as is your standard reply to every...

We stayed here for one night this weekend, after a good walk at Cheddar Gorge. (Highly recommended, but be prepared for the steepness/distance!)

On arrival, we were greeted and shown to our room by a reasonably attentive member of staff.

First impressions were good! Room was clean, and well presented, albeit quite snug! (Being a Butcombe Loyalty member, we were hoping to have one of the ‘upgrades’. - unfortunately not.)

The complimentary Prosecco was in the fridge, which my wife was pleased about, but the stateside IPA was missing. - I took the craft lager instead, but was actually expecting a freshly poured pint of my choice at the bar (I prefer traditional ales).

In the evening, we came downstairs, having booked a table online at the same time we booked the stay, well in advance. - I’d asked for somewhere cosy and quiet, to enjoy a meal and a couple of beers after our days activities.

Unfortunately, we were shown out of the main pub area which was nice and warm/cosy to the side-bar, which was far too brightly lit, and really echoey. We were stuck in the cold corner table, and felt like whatever we had reserved/requested had already been taken by someone else.

Staff at dinner were friendly, although felt like we were forgotten a little after food was served.

Food was great! I had the Pie of the week, and my wife had the vegetarian curry. Really tasty, good temperature, and decent portions. Beer was ok, although it seemed a bit flat on the first pint.

(We’ve visited other Butcombe pubs, had mail-order beers during lockdown, and have a relative who works for the brewery, so knew what to expect food and drinks wise.)

Unfortunately, a large group came and sat in the same area we were in, and they were quite loud. Given the volume/echo in this area, we chose not to stay downstairs any longer - it was a shame to not be able to.

When paying, I forgot to present my loyalty card, so missed out on our 10% discount / loyalty points. - I think the noise, added to our tiredness just meant we wanted to get back to the room.

With regards to the room, the bed was lovely and comfy, we had a great night’s sleep.

Unfortunately, the television was a fairly pointless addition to the room. The location wasn’t that great for visibility, and it only appeared to have very limited freeview channels. None of the “smart” functions worked because it didn’t have an internet connection - bit of a shame, we ended up having to resort to watching things on our iPad.

In the morning, we had cold showers… Not out of choice, there seemed to be absolutely no hot water, which was quite disappointing.

Breakfast (included) was very good again, good choice, tasty etc. Coffee was good, and nice selection of Teas.

Generally a nice stay, but just a few things that let it down. - certainly worth...

Stayed at the Swann in for the bank holiday weekend and also to celebrate a birthday and we had a great time. The rooms, food and staff were all amazing and really couldn’t fault it.

The rooms are really well designed and loads of space. Lots of thought has gone into the decorating and we even considered trying to replicate the hotel room when we redecorate ourselves! Really spacious too, there was a sofa at the end of the bed which was really useful on the evening whilst watching TV. The TV was also a smart TV so we could use Netflix/Amazon account which was great for an evening in having a few drinks.

There is also a mini fridge in the room which was stocked with various bits and bobs. We didn’t end up having any of this but we did use it for our own drinks that we bought with us!

The Swann inn is located quite well, it is less than 15mins from Cheddar Gorge and not too bad to get too from the motorway. If you are using google maps you will be taken straight too it.

Food in the restaurant was great quality and a nice diverse menu. I had Calamari to start, which was battered, covered it salt, pepper and chillis. This was lovely and would happily order it again. For main I had the burger which again was very nice. Great portion size too with plenty of chips on the side. I also had a side of onion rings which were huge! Slightly overdone but were still very tasty. My partner had the steak, which already came sliced which was a nice touch and was cooked to perfection. The peppercorn sauce was also great being very smooth, and without actually peppercorns in there which can often be unwelcome. Finally for desert, we had the brownie and the Nutella donuts with ice cream. The Nutella donuts were nicer than the brownie and they were also hot which was a nice surprise.

Staff here are all really friendly, special mention to Tom who helped us out with a issue with the card we used to pay and he sorted this out for us at the table with a laptop which was good.

Full English breakfast which was included with the stay was also really good. Very high quality produce is clearly used and again the portion sizes are very good.

This is a second stay in a Butcombe pub and we can’t wait to book our next trip. Big thanks to...