The Swire Inn — Restaurant in Middletown

Hard to give The Swire much more than this rating due to this particular visit, which was our 1st visit. We had Saturday night reservations at 630 pm for an 8 pm show across the street at the Sorg. Everything went well with the reservation timing. But our reservation for 4 was at a high top right next to the musical entertainment for the evening. Maybe that's good for a walk in that is just wanting drinks and an appetizer while listening to the music, but for a dinner not so good. And there were tables available in the other room. Once the music started at 7, we really could not have any type of conversation.

I preface the next part of the review with the restaurant was busy but not slam packed with a lot of waiting patrons. The waitress was friendly and we did get our appetizer and drinks in a reasonable amount of time. However, we ordered about 640 and thinking that this was pub food and shouldn't take but 30 minutes (45 at the most) to get our food, as we really didn't order anything too complicated off the menu. Should be good timing to get our food, eat and get back across the street.

At 720 I asked about the food and was told it would be another 10 minutes and that the kitchen was really busy. We also heard that there was a relatively new kitchen staff. At 730 still no food. 745 no food and at that point we knew we couldn't eat to be at the show, so we asked to have the food boxed to go. And that took another 15 minutes. I'll also note that we were not the only table that was in the same situation. There were a couple of other groups that were having the same experience. I'll also say that it would have been nice for the waitress to provide us a frequent update on our food, though she did refill the soda frequently.

The floor manager did reduce our bill by 20% which is some consolation. I really can't speak for the food quality and flavor since it is in the refrigerator for a daytime snack and I haven't tasted yet.

We really don't get to Middletown with any frequency, but this experience really soured us. Maybe the staff will learn, maybe it will get better. But for me, I won't chance it again. Even if we weren't trying to make the show, 90 minutes to get pub food is just not acceptable. Obviously from other reviews the spot has been good. I had read the reviews and was looking forward to the menu. However, I really can't see giving The Swire another chance for our dining in the area.

As an aside, I will say that The Swire does have a nice old-timey pub feel. But our overall experience...

First visit. Friendly staff. The walls need some soft decor to help absorb sound. Found the noise level of four tables in the very high ceilinged room (and likely plaster walls) and an over-loud, albeit friendly server a bit off-putting. The server likely had to be loud as she spoke to other tables as well as ours and this was distracting as we tried to converse with our dinner partners.

I ordered potroast which was served with carrots and potatoes with gravy, just the way I make it at home except the roast did not have any trademark flavor. The portion was generous. It was good, but slightly bland. Salt and pepper helped. (A lot of restaurants don't do much seasoning, especially when serving pub style food, which is what we were expecting from our research online. However, I was pleasantly surprised by a different menu than one usually found at a pub.) My spouse had the chicken and waffle which he seemed to enjoy, but it wasn't a huge portion, and for the price, seems like there should have been a vegetable or fruit included. We also shared the bread pudding, which was good, in an understated way. It came drizzled with caramel, but could have used a tad more of it.

Even though the food was tasty, the prices dictate more attention to detail, menus and cleanliness. The wall next to our table needed a bit of a wipe down. Dinner entrees were plated on heavy, flat white dinner plates which were rather stark and left hubby's chicken and waffle looking a bit sparse. The plates seemed oddly formal against the informal black wood table with no table decor or condiments. An order of onion rings and a cheeseburger were served in plastic baskets, so there is some disparity of presentation.

Didn't visit the restrooms.

Would love to know more about the history of the building and the Inn name and history. We plan to return and will try...

Not a bad experience, but not great either. Service was attentive and the waitress gave us a good understanding of what was available and seemed really familiar with the food. The atmosphere was nice and cozy while still feeling open and not cramped.The food was alright, but a little expensive for the quantity and quality.

My girlfriend and I split the pretzels and beer cheese as an appetizer. The pretzels were soft and pillowy on the inside and nice and golden brown on the outside. The beer cheese was kind of one note and didn't have the nice bite I've come to expect from having it elsewhere. She got the Cobb salad and I had the pot roast sandwich.

The salad was exactly what your expect from a cobb and the ranch dressing had good flavor, but overall wasn't anything special.

My sandwich was just okay. The pot roast had a nice taste, but there wasn't much else going on. The mushrooms and onions, while present, didn't give any extra flavor or texture and the Swiss cheese was nearly nonexistent. If the bread had been crisper when it was toasted it would have maintained it's structure instead of becoming slightly soggy from the sandwich giving you a nice textural contrast as well. The addition of mayo on the sandwich, a jus to dip it in akin to a French Dip, or a more liberal have with the seasoning of the mushrooms and onions would really help the sandwich have more flavor.

The sidewinder fries were a great upgrade to the sandwich, but hardly worth the $3 upcharge when other restaurants do similar moves for $1-$1.50 and reserve the higher priced upcharges for more "premium" sides.

All in all there's a lot of promise here and Middletown seems to be lacking in the restaurant department so I hope they do well. It seems like it wouldn't hurt to check back in a couple months to see if they've worked...