The Swan Inn

This beautiful Cotswold pub just outside Burford in the village of Swinbrook was a fantastic find. The starting point was a reference in a book to the pubs previous ownership by one of the Mitford sisters. As you enter the building, the Mitfords, in all their one time splendour are all about you. The pub itself is exquisitely a Cotswolds pub. Golden stone and old oak are all about. The beer was excellent both in choice and in condition. There is an extensive garden at the back with outside bar areas for times when the pub is full. When we arrived it was quiet and inhabited by a dozen very funny chickens who chose to sit on the tables. Although no food was taken the menu looked eclectic and interesting. Something for another time. There are also a number of tables out the front of the building across the road which had virtually no traffic. The village of Swinbrook is very worth a walk and the churchyard is home to the graves of most of the six Mitford sisters and their parents. Fascinating historical insight to English society at the end of the 19th and up to midway through the 20th century.

A wonderful idilic village in the Cotswolds. We rented a cottage “Bewick” which is to the side of main the main Swan hotel with its own parking. The staff are very helpful and attentive. The food was excellent but was standard issue for hotels in the “Fullers Tavern” group. The cottage was very cosy and clean with two bathrooms, bedroom, a sofa bed downstairs with the second bathroom. There was a kitchen with very basic equipment, no bowls for cereal and no toaster for the bread all directing you to use hotel restaurant.|Would recommend staying midweek as the small village is invaded at weekends by tourists which really takes away from experiencing this lovely village. Good base to explore the Cotswolds.

We stopped for lunch on our way back to London after a weekend wedding and had been recommended The Swann Inn by family who are local to the area. It did not disappoint. The food was delicious and freshly prepared, the decor and restaurant warm and welcoming like all the staff who work there. I left my handbag with most of valuables(including my passport) and only realised when back in London. After a phone call they kindly assured me they had it & would send on the next post run and not to worry about postage. My bag and all the contents arrived a few days later much to my relief. Thank you to all at Swann Inn not only for the delicious food and service you provide but also for taking care of your customers from afar.

The service in the restaurant is of a very high standard. The young man who looked after us on our visit, was charming, helpful, and had a good sense of humour. The food was excellent, and well prepared, and presented. Our only comment is that some of items on the menu are quite expensive for basic ingredients. Have no hesitation in calling again. The ambience, and situation are first class

So we stayed opposite the pub in 'riverside' which although it had a lovely view was very run down e.g curtains missing material,stains on tables and generally unkept and unclean. The worst though was the noise from a cottage that is above us which even with ear plugs in kept us awake...I did tell reception in the morning but they were not interested!|Considering the amount of £215 for 1 night it would of been cleaner quieter and cheaper to of stayed in the Premier Inn!

We met at the Swan specifically for lunch. All four of us agreed this was very special food. All had three courses which were balanced for size and flavours The wine list was ideal for choice and price Atmosphere and Service is spot on and the staff a delight. We have been before a number of times and I would thoroughly recommend you try it.

Stopped here for dinner for the third time. Wow it did not disappoint. Sat outside for a main course of haddock which was fluffy white heaven wrapped in crispy delicious batter with beautifully cooked chips. The location was superb as we sat there watching the bee’s gently caressing the lavender, hens pottering around the tranquil garden whilst the breeze gently kissed our legs under the table. The music was spot on just soothing us whilst we waited for the lovely ladies to bring us our tukka. Overall amazing experience yet again and I shall be back on my journeys. Take care all

Hi we popped in for a drink and a meal. The pub was lovely. Great atmosphere.Great service. The food was amazing. A special thank you to Stephen our host !! Highly recommend. Looking forward to coming back with other members of our family X

The first time, maybe 3 years ago? was with the boyfriend's (now husband) school friend, during the week, for a pint. I thought we were going just down the lane but it felt like through a valley, into the woods, across a dale, on a dark, dark (also one way) road. I fell in love with the building, old of course, but with new additions. Sat next to the warm fireplace and had a pleasant conversation but also listened in on others. Love the old men who brought their dogs and kept their hats on. The next time it was just us and the food! Oh, the dreamy, local, gourmet, yet hearty food. I ask the husband very nicely to make sure it is on our list of places to visit and we go every time. The menu is seasonal but you'll always find a nice pasta dish, a wonderful fish dish and some hearty meat plate. I'm very close to saying it's my favorite place to eat in all of England. It is pricey--even without alcohol, it's usually over 20 pounds per person and the service can sometimes be slow (always busy). But I love that I can always order something that I know I can't make or get anywhere else and I love that it's out of the way. My secret place that's not so secret.

We had a nice short stay at the Swan when exploring the Cotswolds. It is a lovely, charming old stone inn by the River Windrush in the village of Swinbrook. Our room was very nice and comfortable, in the old converted stables. Overall, the food was great, the only two disappointments being no fried bread at breakfast, which we were told they had some time ago stopped serving, a small but definite negative, and the burger was just ok, a bit dry and bland. They had excellent cask ales, including a local one. Service was very good but mixed, one person very friendly and helpful, another being a bit cold and curt. It retains some nice old character but has lost some as well. The conservatory-like addition in the back, though nice, does somewhat clash with the old parts and our room was comfortable but a bit bland. Apparently, it is linked to the local and very colourful and controversial Mitford family, who lived in the area. The parents and some of the several sisters were ardent fascists and Nazi sympathisers in WWII, others had different views. Apparently, one owned the place. This is very nice and I would both stay and eat here again based on our experience, but it was not as good as other places we experienced. If it had been just a ltitle better on the points mentioned, I'd probably give it a 5, but as it was, it's closer to a 4.

Just had my second meal at the Swann inn. What an amazing place to eat. It is way beyond a pub. The baked Camembert was the best I have ever had. The Jeremy Clarkson hawk stone lager was excellent and the red burgundy was reasonably priced and delicious. The service was amazing and the ambiance is beautiful. Very good mushroom soup and an amazing chicken Caeser salad. They just opened a pizza kitchen in their sprawling back yard. I will tell anyone passing through it is worth the diversion. All time best gastropub that I have visited what a great place.

The swan Inn is as beautiful as it is delicious. Me and my group loved it so much we decided it was necessary to leave a yelp review!! It looks like it was redone recently on the inside with a lot of yard space in the back and a couple of outside tables in the front. We had complicated orders and the very kind staff was able to execute a delicious meal with their sophisticated menu. The beer on tap was better than you can find in London I thought, it was called hoxton. A lot of well dressed locals as well as travelers passing through visiting. If visiting the Cotswold's for a weekend this is a must visit.

We stopped by the Swan Inn one night to have dinner on a recent trip through the Cotswolds. I've eaten here once before and they weren't fussy about reservations but that appears to have changed drastically. We arrived around 8 pm on a Thursday night and the Swan Inn was half full. We asked to have dinner and were told that it wouldn't be possible since we didn't have a reservation. The hostess said that she would doublecheck with the chef though. She came back and said that he "didn't want to cook for any more people that night". That was odd but ok. So, we went to the Bar to get a drink and stood around for 10-15 minutes waiting. The blonde bartender girl moved very slowly and seemed to be more interested in batting her eyes at the local men bellied up around the bar rather than actually serving customers. Finally, once we got a drink, we asked to order a couple of things from the chalkboard "Bar Menu" but were told again, we could not have any food! One wonders why one cannot have Bar Food if one is sitting IN THE BAR. It is also quizzical that if they'd run out of food or if their mercurial chef was on strike, why not ERASE the chalk board so as not to proclaim the existence of food when there was apparently none to be had. I say apparently because one of the tables was manned by inebriated local ladies having bottle after bottle of rose wine and intermittently ordering various snacks such as cheese plates, bread+butter and desserts while we were there. No one ever told them that there was "no food". We chiefly came to the Swan Inn because of its connection to the Mitford Sisters and to see all the Mitford memorabilia once more. Next time, we'll skip this place and go to the Maytime Inn in Asthall which is hopefully less snobbish and will allow us to have something to eat.

Sometimes your expectations are cruelly dashed, and so it was with the Swan Inn. Swinbrook is an archetypical Cotswold village (you could be forgiven for thinking you were on a film set) and the Swan Inn has pole position adjacent to the River Windrush. I was hoping for a traditional pub with excellent home-cooked food. Perfect and idyllic. Alas, the interior is stripped bare, with uniform, pale wood furniture, and a huge modern conservatory extension at the back. Someone has clearly invested a lot of money here, but the result is rather characterless. It could have been Pimlico, Fulham, Putney - anywhere but the Cotswolds. It's now more of a gastro-pub, with the London menu and prices to match. You'd be lucky to get away with £25 a head for lunch. I realise that a village of this size is not going to support a purely local pub these days, but it's a pity the result here is so bland, when it could be something really special. On the plus side: they serve real ale, and the staff seemed cheerful.

The Swan Inn is a restaurant that does beer in a picturesque quiet location next to a river. The interior is quite modern compared to the traditional look of the outside. The staff were friendly and the food was a good, but perhaps a little expensive for what it was. Good, but could do better.

Decided to book for Sunday lunch as down near Malmsbury for a party and having stayed in The Swan Inn's sister establishment The King's Head in Bleddington. Arrived in the secluded little village of Swinbrook, the Inn was lovely, very busy inside and in the beer garden however table was waiting. Staff very friendly and attentive, Sunday lunch a bit as I would expect in a pub, tasty but nothing special. Would like to see what evening meals are like? the Inn is owned by the last surviving Mitford sister, the dowager Duchess of Devonshire, lots of pictures around. Good service, lovely buildings, jury out on food but will come back. Wait for November as I'm staying at The King's Head for the weekend with friends