The Swan Inn
Islip, Oxfordshire
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Following acclaim for his cooking at the Oxford Kitchen, Paul Welburn decamped in 2022 to team up with Islip villagers who had acquired this 17th-century Cotswold pub near the River Ray. An extensive refit has produced a modern, deceptively large interior incorporating an open kitchen, the ‘Majlis’ (Arabic for sitting room, where small plates such as whipped cod’s roe with malt vinegar scraps are served) and a little library-like area for parties. Pride of place, however, goes to the fine-dining Cygnet restaurant – a barn-like space decorated, like the rest of the venue, with works by local artists (for sale). At lunchtime, there’s a three-course set menu with three options per course, while in the evening there are regularly changing, no-choice four-course options for meat eaters and vegetarians (you can mix-and-match between the two). Proceedings begin with ‘bread and snacks’, including, perhaps, a tasting of tender ox cheek topped with beef-fat crumble. Great care is taken with textural contrast and overall balance, from a refreshing starter comprising cubes of baked celeriac, matched with tangy Granny Smith, crunchy pecans and creamy blobs of Cornish Yarg custard to a gloriously flavourful wild mushroom risotto, elevated by crispy puffed rice and a mound of grated Ticklemore goat's cheese. Roasted fillet of stone bass might figure in the fish course, with accompaniments including brown shrimps, creamy brown-bread velouté, bright-green pea purée, samphire, broccoli and lemon all deserving their place on the plate. Welburn's constructions may be complex but they never mask the outstanding ingredients – witness pink medallions and confit belly of lamb, given a slight Middle Eastern accent with lemon-cumin gravy and tangy aubergine ketchup or a memorable finale involving crunchy Yorkshire rhubarb diced with ginger atop a moist honey and ground-almond cake, alongside coconut sorbet and a whisky/honey gel – all crowned by a crisp squid-ink lattice. Much thought has also gone into the pithy wine list, where even the entry-level white (an Argentinian Torrontés) bursts with flavour. Staff may lack some fine-dining skills but they are a friendly, good-natured bunch; they even took the trouble to find out the bands playing on the 1980s soundtrack following our enquiry.
