Middle of nowhere, casual dress, Michelin-starred…read more My husband and I went out of our way to eat and stay here. Was it worth the 3 hour journey from London (2-hr train ride, 1-hr by car) to make our reservation from 6-months earlier? Absolutely. Courses are small, but plenty. Staff are immensely courteous and thoughtful (they made a custom menu for our dietary needs and even had the chefs sign it before we left). And the setting couldn't be more idyllic. I'd suggest getting the wine pairing as it really completes the meal. Go ahead and stay the night as breakfast is included the next day. Just make sure to work out your travel from the train station to the restaurant. It really is out in the sticks.

An absolutely fantastic experience enhanced by the charming and beautiful countryside that The…read moreBlack Swan at Oldstead is nestled within - an area that I wouldn't have visited otherwise but am grateful for having done so. Make sure to make a small detour to Kilburn to see The Kilburn White Horse which stands firmly in the hillside. The Black Swan is a beautiful picturesque old pub full of warmth and charm. Upon arrival you are welcomed into the bar area for aperitifs where a log fire crackles and glows. Make sure to notice the Robert Thompson mouse carved into the bar. Great selection of small batch gins - I enjoyed a glass of Sir Robin of Locksley from Sheffield with tonic. Amuse bouche are served here before moving upstairs to the restaurant. The Smoked Eel and Apple Tartlets were light and well balanced in their flavours whilst the Chicken Dumpling was rich, satisfying and would sit well on the finest of dim sum plates in Hong Kong. The restaurant is more modern in decoration with an "open kitchen" where some of the dishes are prepared with a clear artistic love and attention to detail. Service is friendly, knowledgeable and attentive without being intrusive. Good selection of wines for most palates and wallets. I had the 10 course tasting menu which, at £85, felt like a bargain compared to the price of Michelin starred food in major cities. To start, a Mussel with Oyster Leaf canapé - so perfectly decorated that it felt wrong to eat it, but so tasty. Next up Langoustine with Caramelised Whey, served like a lollipop with a twig to hold it with - lovely textures and cooked to perfection. Venison Tartare followed - a small dish but rich in flavour and beautifully prepared and decorated. Sour Bread and Sour Butter was distinctive and a good filler in preparation for the main courses. The Monkfish with Asparagus and Onion, although delicious, was probably the weakest dish. The sauce tasted like heavy sweet soy sauce and was a bit overpowering in its saltiness for the delicate flavour of the fish. Still very enjoyable though. The Slowly Cooked Crapaudine Beetroot was the star of the menu. Cooked in beef fat (I believe), the beetroot takes on a heavier composition and is chewy and almost glutinous with all of the accompanying decorations providing broad and bold flavours. Absolutely fantastic! Scallop Cured with Rhubarb was another standout with the smoothness of the slightly charred scallops countering the tartness of the rhubarb, all tied together with a rich and balanced sauce. Herb-Fed Chicken with Wild Garlic from this Year and Last was another amazing creation with a blanket over the chicken in the form of a garlic leaf. The chicken was more warm than hot but extremely tasty. The first dessert was ice cream (or iced yoghurt?) Lollipops which were wonderfully innovative with their unique flavours. The Sheep's Milk with Douglas Fir Oil was also an memorable dessert with natural tastes of the season. The final dessert, served with coffee was Cake made from Artichoke, Chicory Root and Thyme. The combination worked well although the chicory root (?) was slightly bitter. A great end to a fantastic meal and experience. For most who visit The Black Swan at Oldstead, a significant journey will be involved but don't let that put you off...It's well worth the effort and will be one of those great food experiences.

You do have to pay a door fee to get in but I think if you get there early enough then it's free…read more Drink prices are good. When you walk in, if you're anything like me, you start wondering who used to live here as it looks like an old grand house. It's lovely though, just a shame it's now a club. Different parts of this place have different types of music so it can accommodate for everyone. The main area as you walk in has music such as R&B, remixes etc. You have aplace downstairs, a place round the back etc with different music but I didn't get that far to be honest. You have an outside bit with music too and this is your smoking area but it's nice and not to huddled. Walking down the stairs to get to it though is a bit nerve wracking as in the rain it's a bit slippery. A place I really like and would go again - as long as I don't have to pay at the door :D

One of the few club experiences i had when i was in the U.K. There were 3 dance floors with…read moredifferent types of music. Club was full of hot british girls which probably seem more attractive to me having lived in the states for a majority of my life. The djs were fairly on point. The top floor seemed to be the most packed for the night. The were charging a cover later in the night, but it was free earlier on. Also super close to other night clubs/ bars in the area in case you want to hop around. However this seems to be the best place to go for the under 25 crowd.

As of July 2025, at a different location than indicated in Yelp. Now near the Museum Gardens at 14…read moreLendal. Three level pub will great selection of beer. I found an 8% abv IPA from Deya that was the best beer I've had in the UK this visit. Funky decor: lots of antlers, crucifixes, cherubs, and paintings of nude women. I'd definitely go again for a pint. Didn't try the food.

Fantastic ambiance and decor. This multi level bar is not a bar per se but beer and gin joint. It's…read morein need of a bit of a cleaning but at night your probably don't notice, lol. All in all kinda a fun hang out.

Oooh this pub is looovely, especially on sunny days when you can sit outside in their garden…read more They seem to cater to both locals (lots of old folks) and people like us who were driving though. The staff were all very welcoming, and we were all really impressed with the friendly, efficient service. The menu was full of English comfort foods...and they executed everything beautifully. Just look at my photos to get an idea...I tried the goats cheese and caramelised onion strudel, which came balanced on potatoes and perfect ratatouille. If you ever find yourself in this part of the country, it is definitely worth popping in here for some lunch! *Pro tip: It sounded like they get very booked up in the evening, so ring ahead to ensure you get a table!!

A very busy Old English pub doing Great food and Great Beer(Cask Marque)…read moreYvonne and Gary run a first class pub and have a great team working with them. If going for a meal ring and book it gets busy at the weekend!! always a good sign.

This pub has been under new ownership since 2015 and had a much needed makeover last year. The new…read moreowners have truly reinvented the traditional English country pub, it has been sympathetically renovated to the highest standards and ties in wonderfully with the existing features and country surroundings. The new extended restaurant is a stunning light space, Chef Gareth Ward continues to produce innovative menus and consistently delicious food - trust me, you will be spoilt for choice! The bar serves excellent cask ales and craft beers and an impressive drinks menu - 3 pages of speciality gins, Monkey 47 a particular fave of mine - this alone is worth the 5 stars!!

Great food, very well priced for such a high calibre. Nicely located with quaint furnishings and…read morefine cask ales. A reccommend

Dog-friendly village pub. Just as a pub should be: charming, friendly, and comfortable - with real…read moreale. You'll get a warm welcome from the locals and feel at home immediately. You can tell by the stone walls it's the real thing. Not many of these locals around any more.

What a great find. A pub since 1661, this quintessential community gathering place…read moreeven has an outdoor patio, garden, and most importantly, a car park! Real beer (!) games area, and charming lounge - complete with red leather Chesterfield sofas. We got a warm welcome from the staff and had a great time chatting with a number of locals. This is what a pub should be! Charming, charming, charming. I only wish we'd planned more time in the area.

Went here this evening for a family celebration. We had a table of 14 and it was terrible, in many…read moreways. The first thing I want to be very clear about is the staff. They were mostly pleasant and polite and this review is not a reflection on them, they did try their best, they were not rude at any time, but seemed very short staffed. Firstly, for our drinks on arrival, and throughout the evening, there was 1 person behind the bar trying to serve people at the bar, and drinks for the tables. He tried his best, and was pleasant, but we waited for ages every time we went to the bar. Second, the table layout was a mishmash, and not enough places set out, but they did set out another place, when we told them. Then we came to order the meal...... many in the party wanted steak but when the server came, he said they had no gammon, no steak, no lasagne and only 2 fish, for fish and chips. This was quarter to 8 on a Saturday night, and we had booked this previously. The restaurant was fairly busy, but we have been here a number of times before and there wasn't an unusual number of people in the establishment. During difficult times, I can accept running out of 1 or even 2 dishes but to not have staple meals like steak and gammon available is rubbish. Many of us ordered something that we didn't really want because first, second and third "normal choices" were all unavailable. You simply cannot run a business like this, it won't work and people won't tolerate it. It isn't acceptable. If you're restricted on supply of ingredients, you should lower your capacity because we would rather you said you were fully booked, and we would have gone elsewhere. When the starters came they looked ok, but many were cold. The main courses, again looked ok, but many were cold. Quite frankly, the food wasn't great at all, apart from the 2 pizzas the younger ones had, they were ok. Dessert was ok but you can't really get that wrong........ At the end of the night, 3 of the guests fancied a cocktail. 2 of these were "passion fruit martinis'. We paid (£8 each I believe) and they brought these to the table and said "sorry we have no passion fruit so I sprinkled some raspberry bits on them". Great! We had paid at the bar for all our drinks (over £250), but for the food, I paid and it was £380. After I paid, I sat down but then remembered I hadn't given them my qr code on the "Vintage Inns app" for my "loyalty points", so I went back to the bar. It was 11:02. The barman said they had turned the tills off so there was nothing he could do, nothing at all. This was the icing on the cake, and I felt very much cheated. The ambience wasn't great either. There was a leak through the roof so there was water all over the floor in the bar area and we were in a side area and it was really cold - many of the party ate with their big coats on. We didn't feel it right to complain because the staff were clearly overrun - I helped them by clearing away many glasses from the table, but had we complained, there was nothing they could have done to rectify the situation anyway, so we just left. My view is that if this establishment continues like this, it won't be there for long. Poor availability of food, not enough staff and a cold restaurant serving cold food isn't what people want. We spent almost £650, which is a considerable amount. Again, I'm really sorry for the staff, they really did try their best and at no point were any of them rude, but the company who own this place, and the management team, really need to get a grip. If you don't look after your customers, others will. Tonight, not only have you got 14 people who won't be returning to this establishment, but also because of the "loyalty" app rip off, many of us won't be using any other Vintage inns either. It was lovely for us to get together as a family, but this was a massive disappointment and we will not be returning. Very poor indeed.

Been a few times in the summer before and food has been good, however stopped off with kids today…read morefor Sunday lunch and we were hugely dissappointed. Menu was very limited outside of roast meals, but the cost of them was a joke for what we ended up getting. Took a fair while for anyone to take our order despite staff walking around. Food arrived to time however its fair to say we left hungrier than when we went in. For over £10 for an adult Sunday dinner you expect more than one potatoe, one Yorkshire pudding and a small couple of slices of fatty meat. Got impression that because it's menu features James Martin "delights" they can serve up nothing and charge the earth. Such a shame as the location, building and atmosphere deserves much more. Fear I will never return.

Arrived at 11:27am for their 'Full English' breakfast. The…read moremanager was arsing about with his cash register, leaving me standing there like a plantpot. After he'd finished i asked for a table for 2, and to order 2 breakfasts, only for him to reply that it was now 11:32 (even though the church clock was different to their clock) and that orders were ceased at 11:30am. We were regulars there, at least once a week, but not anymore. That £20+ pw is now getting spent elsewhere.

Overated.Definitely one for the blue rinse brigade.Pleasant unusual surroundings but a bit of cress…read moreon a sandwich doesn't make it special.Home made cakes but bland and nothing out of the usual.Normal prices for this type of thing.Tea for two.

First time visitor to this bistro. Received a warm welcome on entering and immediately felt at…read morehome. Our group of four raided the great wine list. The starters were lovely. We were told the cheese soufflé was something of a signature dish. It was! Scallop salad also to die for. Main courses were superb. My rib eye was possibly the best steak I have had whilst eating out. Sea bass was good too. Duck leg tasty tasty tasty. For pudd we shared a lemon tart and an almond tart. All good!! All in all a wonderful dining experience, we shall definitely return soon. Thank you

Good food. Good prices…read more Good staff. Good views. Good company with friends/family. I would definitely recommend this place.

We've eaten here on a few occasions and each time the food has been very good, the staff excellent…read more We have a friend who comes up from Cornwall, he stays at the Premier Inn & he thinks it's a great place too.