Review: The Swan Inn, Islip

The Swan Inn is somewhere I’ve wanted to try for a while (I can’t believe they’ve been open over a year and I’ve not been!). Located in Islip, just off the A34 near Kidlington, you almost stumble across it coming out of Islip if you are going towards Headington, or you see it pop up over the bridge if you are heading Bicester/ Kidlington way, avoiding the joys of the A34. Living in Headington, it took me less than 15 mins to get there, so it’s surprisingly close.

This is an everyday venue to visit…

Looking at their menus and social media, you might get the feeling it’s a destination venue for a special occasion and more of a ‘fine dining’ experience. Speaking with Paul Welburn, who I am sure you remember from the fabulous ‘Oxford Kitchen’ that was in Summertown, he hopes The Swan will be a restaurant people can visit regularly. They are accessible for a mid-week lunch with friends, business meetings, or if you want to impress someone with genuinely excellent food and don’t want to break the bank, this is a venue you have to visit.

Attracting a wide variety of custom to the venue has been a challenge, as the passing trade isn’t so easy to come by, but if you are driving past, be sure to pay them a visit. The offering is a set 2 or 3-course lunch menu for £37 and £42 per person respectively, which I feel is very reasonable for the quality of food on offer. This lunch menu is available from Wednesday to Saturday. They also have a 4-course dinner menu at £65 per person.

The cocktail menu is a nice touch with some great sounding boozy drinks, as well as some tasty looking non-alcoholic options for the designated drivers.

Multiple menus for all occasions

They have a bar menu that can be sampled in the cosy ‘snug’ area, which looks fab. I had the chance to sample the chicken croquettes and black cow custard cream biscuits, which were amazing hits of flavour and I would have eaten a fair few more if I’d had the chance.

The menu is succinct with options that should appeal to all, which changes with the seasonal ingredients available.

After far too long a time trying to decide on my choice, I went with the cured chalk stream trout to start, followed by the lamb shoulder – however I was really temped to go ‘double fish’ as they had monkfish on the menu which is one of my favourites. The homemade ‘country style’ bread is soft and rich in flavour, served with both a yeast butter that has a real marmite tone, and a honey and smoked sea salt butter that felt very light and sweet.

Fabulous presentation with great depth of flavour

The trout was beautifully presented, with a lot of care going into the ingredients spreading through the dish. It was sweet and crunchy and the addition of a pickle vibe was a delight. The soft trout was cured perfectly, which paired well with the crispy ‘scraps’, all brought together by a wonderful herb emulsion – yes please!

Next up, the lamb shoulder.

This came with a breadcrumbed piece of cauliflower, aubergine ketchup, and ewes curd. The mix of flavours and textures was amazing. The perfectly cooked lamb shoulder fell apart, coupled with the slight bite from the cauliflower, which was then brought together by the balance of the sauces. Each element really held its own. I really don’t like any kind of ketchup, but the acidity and sweetness this brought to the dish was fantastic.

It would have been rude not to have a dessert, so I went with whipped praline mascarpone with pear and iced chocolate.

This was a strange choice for me as I don’t like pears, but it was brilliant. The mascarpone was the star of the show, with the pears adding a subtle crunch and freshness to the dish. The iced chocolate was rich but didn’t overpower – it was a perfect dish to end on. I also got to try a piece of the miso crunch, which was a fudge – like sweet treat.