The Swan Hotel
BURIED away in a sleepy
village on the edge of
Leeds, lies a bustling bar
with a menu so huge the
whole family can have their
favourite dish.
The ‘Big Bar’ spreads out into several
rooms throughout The Swan Hotel
where there’s also the Cygnet
Restaurant for fine dining.
But forget fine dining, the bit we’d
heard most about was the mammoth
bar menu which boasts an incredible
300 dishes.
And this spot can only really survive on
recommendations as it sits a few miles
off the A1, tucked away in the village of
Aberford.
Variety
It seems there’s already a strong fan
base as we almost struggled to get a
table – despite aiming for an early
dinner at 6.30pm.
The bar area was full of couples of all
ages as well as large family groups
with kids – probably all attracted by
the huge variety and very reasonable
food on offer.
Whatever your taste, whether it’s
Chinese, Italian, curries or carvery, this
place really has got it all and there’s
even a choice of 18 dishes for kids
which were mainly under a fiver.
The first impression of The Swan was
its impressive 16th century building.
Behind the doors, lay a real English
traditional pub-style with patterned
carpets, brass ornaments and stuffed
animals adorning the walls.
It looked a little in need of updating and
a lick of paint but this didn’t appear to
bother the crowds of diners all tucking
into huge portions of food.
The Swan probably has the biggest bar
menu I have ever clapped
eyes on. Where else can
you have the option of a
curry, a T-bone steak, a
homemade pizza, a
Jamaican banana chicken
or a beef hoi sin?
This is the place where you
can actually feed the kids,
dad, mum and the grandparents and
everyone feels like they’ve had their
favourite meal.
The starters weren’t the most
appetising or creative, featuring a
strange mix of tastes like pate (£4.30)
to egg mayonnaise (£4.30) to smoked
mackerel (£4).
Add to the list, meat samosas (£4.50)
and onion bhajis (£4.50) and it seems
the chef is trying to give guests a
sample of everything on the mains
menu.
We opted for crispy-coated king
prawns (£6) which came
with two delicious dips of
sour cream and a divine,
really salty soya sauce.
Already any doubts over
Chinese food featuring on a
pub menu began to
dissipate – this Orientalstyle
prawn dish tasted
great.
There is literally everything you can
wish for, fish dishes, meats with
sauces, without sauces, Yorkshire
dishes, grills, cordon bleu dishes and
“Big Meals” which included Desperate
Dan’s platter of Rib Eye, Pork loin,
Chicken Breast , Lamb Rump and
Venison (£17.90) or Daffy Duck – a 5lb
Duckling roasted, with Orange Sauce
(£22.90.)
And the list goes on with Mexican
dishes, continental and European
dishes, including pastas and pizzas as
well as oriental, Caribbean, Asian and
Middle East Specials.
It’s exhausting!
I went for the surf and turf which
included a fillet steak (12oz) and
prawns cooked in garlic for £21.50.
I was a bit disappointed as the garlic
was in fact a dish of thick tomato and
garlic sauce which was just too rich for
me especially as the steak was sitting
in the middle of it.
But the steak was absolutely beautiful;
so tender and tasty, it was real melt in
the mouth stuff.
My partner went for a huge slab of
American-style ribs which was
hanging off the plate and smothered in BBQ honey sauce for £14.50.
The sauce was so good, he asked for
another portion which was devoured for
lunch the next day as half of it had to be
brought home in a doggy bag.
These fabulous mains were washed down
with a light Kleine Zalze Gamay South
African Red, which was reasonably priced
at £11.95.
We also sampled a richer Rioja – Don
Jacobo which at £15.45 was at the higher
end of the prices for wine.
And this goes to show how great the value
for money is at The Swan.
Wines start at
£7.95 a bottle which is perfect for anyone
on a budget.
After spotting the homemade desserts
standing proudly in a fridge, there was no
way we could leave without sampling one.
Raspberry Meringue Roulade was the
victim and it was lovely – for me it just
needed a bit more meringue and a bit less
cream, but that’s just personal taste.
Attractions
Meanwhile the smell and sight of the
delicious-looking beef carvery was also a
feature throughout our meal.
It’s just £5.95 for a main course in the
evening or £5 for lunch, there was loads of
choices for potatoes and veg and it seems
to be one of the other star attractions of the
bar.
Staff and service was fine but it was busy
and we sometimes had to grab the
attention of staff to get served.
The Swan is a full evening, family
experience.
The décor is old-fashioned but
the atmosphere makes up for that.
The menu does leave you wondering how
the standards can be kept high in so many
different types of cuisine, but they get good
marks for the dishes we chose.
And we will probably be visitng again, just
to check the standards of the other dishes.
| FACTFILE | |
| Tel: 0113 281 3205 The Swan Hotel, Main Street North, Aberford, Leeds, LS25 3AA Website: www.swanaberford.co.uk | |
| STAR RATING | |
Food 
| Service 
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| Atmosphere
| Value 
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