Swan with Two Nicks - Little Bollington
Discussion
Hi, I have recently started to here about this place through friends from different clubs. Apparantly they have 7 hand pulled ales and nice food.
Also my dad goes to the classic Mercedes club their on the first monday of every month.
Anybody have any opinions of the place, just a tad to far too make the effort if its going to be c**p.
Regards,
James
Also my dad goes to the classic Mercedes club their on the first monday of every month.
Anybody have any opinions of the place, just a tad to far too make the effort if its going to be c**p.
Regards,
James
Thought I'd better write a review of sorts given the topic was my creation.
Firstly, i went to the pub tuesday night with a completely unbiased view of what to expect.
Extra information :-
I love real ale
I am not tight but know value for money
I appreciate GOOD service.
So where to begin... The Walk.
I live between Lymm and Grappenhall via divorced parents and a fairly "come and go" attitude to where i stay.
Some friends and I decided to walk down after a quick beer in the Crown in Lymm village (Crap beer/Clientele - Cheap) Down to the penine trail and towards Dunham Massey stopping off briefly at the brewery to become "Accustom" to the local brew!
Upon Arrival at about 8 Pm we were greated by a friendly woman in her late 30's asking us if we would like to dine or just a drink. To gain the best of the experience we decided to skip the pre-meal ritual of drinking in the bar first as last food orders beconned (9Pm).
After being seated and asked for drinks (very uncommon i find in most pubs these days) We eack asked for a different bitter and informed a young waiter we would sample them all throughout the night. He appeared very informative and even told us to steer clear of the Abbot Ale, to try the "Swan" first which he informed us was brewed in Warrington.
So the food, one thing that annoyed me slightly was that we were asked if we were ready to order after the arrival of our drinks, but the waiter was apologetic at out response. I wanted to sit and relax before ordering taking note of some old stone cast fires (Which looked though they would be amazing in winter).
Looking at the menu i noted one thing "Core blimey, that is EXPENSIVE" not wanting to be knocked i kindly declined the £5.10 glass of wine!
To eat i had a Goats Cheese pastry with roasted vegetables followed by the (Heavily reccommended) Steak and Ale pie. My friend a little more delicate then myself ordered a 1/2 pint of prawns followed by a smoked haddock dish.
The starters arrived and my initial thought was "Tell me i haven't just paid £5.50 for something so small!" However, it looked simple and classic so we tucked in with no further complaint. The tastes were magnificant and i felt the roasted veg complemented the goats cheese perfectly however, my starter was nothing compared to the prawns which arrived in a beautifully fashioned old handle pot with a fresh seafood sauce!
At this point beginning to get giddy from the ale - Having had each 3 Pints of swan and one big tree, we left for a cigarette. I noticed at this point that the pub is situated between several farms and that unique "country smell" that middle age people refer to as brilliant whereas i merely gag!
Returning inside at this point are meals swiftly arrived (a little too quick for my liking, but i'm the type to spend 2 - 3 hours over a 3/4 course meal.
"Jesus" i exclaimed at the waiter, the size of the dish was enormous! It did look good though, classic and simple.
My friends smoked haddock then arrived with a nice side order of vegetables and we were informed that the side order of vegetables was included with the dish so we could cancel our initial order. Now that looked fantastic, a simple piece of fish pearched on top of a generous serving of mash with a simple poached egg on top, drapped with a creamy sauce.
My meal was fantastic, i was nervous after reading a few review sites that the onus was "The menu is large enough to back up my statement concerning the freshness of the food" however, it was fantastic the chunky chips were without a doubt chunky and the pie was the best i had had in a pub. It was an actual pie not just some sauce with a piece of puffed pastry ploppped on top! I tried some haddock and that too was phenonminal. The reason becoming clear after we asked the waiter, i fresh delivery of 3 or 4 of each fish everyday!
We decided to skip desert as the 7 or 8 beers and huge portions had rendered us "incapable" so moved through to a strangely queit bar area which seemed littered with 2 or 3 couples and a few of what appeared to be locals. Sitting at the quiete bar we engaged with 3 gentlemen and the waiter that served us earlier having finished his jobs for the night. Everyone was full of praise for the pub and enjoyed the area and the beer. The barman appeared very informed about each product we questionned him about and honest; then something brilliant happened......
A beer went! Usually in a pub serving real ale, someone would pop downstairs and put a new barrel on he merely said to us "Sorry lads, you need to pick a new beer it'll be an hour or so before this line is clean" then on questionning said the lines are cleaned as and when each barrel goes!
So the end bill -
2 people, 2 coarses, 9 or so drinks each...
£65 - £75 after tip.
The good points -
Good service (even though the restaurant was busy)
Brilliant food, could find zero fault!
Great beer - I have been to dunham today and bought some bottles from the brewery
Beautiful surroundings
The bad bits -
Price even though the food was very very nice it did seem a tad expensive
The plates to are main courses were very hot, which says to me they were ready shortly after are starters left the kitchen!
Price again - £5.10 for wine!
Distance from anywhere, the main reason i have never visited before and the reason why i need a sunny day to visit again!
Anyway, thanks for reading the useless drivel i have written!
Firstly, i went to the pub tuesday night with a completely unbiased view of what to expect.
Extra information :-
I love real ale
I am not tight but know value for money
I appreciate GOOD service.
So where to begin... The Walk.
I live between Lymm and Grappenhall via divorced parents and a fairly "come and go" attitude to where i stay.
Some friends and I decided to walk down after a quick beer in the Crown in Lymm village (Crap beer/Clientele - Cheap) Down to the penine trail and towards Dunham Massey stopping off briefly at the brewery to become "Accustom" to the local brew!
Upon Arrival at about 8 Pm we were greated by a friendly woman in her late 30's asking us if we would like to dine or just a drink. To gain the best of the experience we decided to skip the pre-meal ritual of drinking in the bar first as last food orders beconned (9Pm).
After being seated and asked for drinks (very uncommon i find in most pubs these days) We eack asked for a different bitter and informed a young waiter we would sample them all throughout the night. He appeared very informative and even told us to steer clear of the Abbot Ale, to try the "Swan" first which he informed us was brewed in Warrington.
So the food, one thing that annoyed me slightly was that we were asked if we were ready to order after the arrival of our drinks, but the waiter was apologetic at out response. I wanted to sit and relax before ordering taking note of some old stone cast fires (Which looked though they would be amazing in winter).
Looking at the menu i noted one thing "Core blimey, that is EXPENSIVE" not wanting to be knocked i kindly declined the £5.10 glass of wine!
To eat i had a Goats Cheese pastry with roasted vegetables followed by the (Heavily reccommended) Steak and Ale pie. My friend a little more delicate then myself ordered a 1/2 pint of prawns followed by a smoked haddock dish.
The starters arrived and my initial thought was "Tell me i haven't just paid £5.50 for something so small!" However, it looked simple and classic so we tucked in with no further complaint. The tastes were magnificant and i felt the roasted veg complemented the goats cheese perfectly however, my starter was nothing compared to the prawns which arrived in a beautifully fashioned old handle pot with a fresh seafood sauce!
At this point beginning to get giddy from the ale - Having had each 3 Pints of swan and one big tree, we left for a cigarette. I noticed at this point that the pub is situated between several farms and that unique "country smell" that middle age people refer to as brilliant whereas i merely gag!
Returning inside at this point are meals swiftly arrived (a little too quick for my liking, but i'm the type to spend 2 - 3 hours over a 3/4 course meal.
"Jesus" i exclaimed at the waiter, the size of the dish was enormous! It did look good though, classic and simple.
My friends smoked haddock then arrived with a nice side order of vegetables and we were informed that the side order of vegetables was included with the dish so we could cancel our initial order. Now that looked fantastic, a simple piece of fish pearched on top of a generous serving of mash with a simple poached egg on top, drapped with a creamy sauce.
My meal was fantastic, i was nervous after reading a few review sites that the onus was "The menu is large enough to back up my statement concerning the freshness of the food" however, it was fantastic the chunky chips were without a doubt chunky and the pie was the best i had had in a pub. It was an actual pie not just some sauce with a piece of puffed pastry ploppped on top! I tried some haddock and that too was phenonminal. The reason becoming clear after we asked the waiter, i fresh delivery of 3 or 4 of each fish everyday!
We decided to skip desert as the 7 or 8 beers and huge portions had rendered us "incapable" so moved through to a strangely queit bar area which seemed littered with 2 or 3 couples and a few of what appeared to be locals. Sitting at the quiete bar we engaged with 3 gentlemen and the waiter that served us earlier having finished his jobs for the night. Everyone was full of praise for the pub and enjoyed the area and the beer. The barman appeared very informed about each product we questionned him about and honest; then something brilliant happened......
A beer went! Usually in a pub serving real ale, someone would pop downstairs and put a new barrel on he merely said to us "Sorry lads, you need to pick a new beer it'll be an hour or so before this line is clean" then on questionning said the lines are cleaned as and when each barrel goes!
So the end bill -
2 people, 2 coarses, 9 or so drinks each...
£65 - £75 after tip.
The good points -
Good service (even though the restaurant was busy)
Brilliant food, could find zero fault!
Great beer - I have been to dunham today and bought some bottles from the brewery
Beautiful surroundings
The bad bits -
Price even though the food was very very nice it did seem a tad expensive
The plates to are main courses were very hot, which says to me they were ready shortly after are starters left the kitchen!
Price again - £5.10 for wine!
Distance from anywhere, the main reason i have never visited before and the reason why i need a sunny day to visit again!
Anyway, thanks for reading the useless drivel i have written!
Hang on ........ as at best its an OK pub if quiet and even you said its expensive for what you get.
My recomendation is if your in the area and you want a cute place, don't mind paying over the odds and are prepared to live with the chance of rubbish service and awful food 'try it' but please dont make any special trips or book any special days.
I live locally and know that somtimes its OK somtimes its not. But as consistancy is important, we just walk there for a pint, leaving the food for the uninformed or the people who like risk with ther roulade.
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