Swan Inn, Milton Keynes

I’ve driven past this pub on several occasions and with it’s unusual wood cladding it always struck me as somewhat ramshackle and not particularly inviting. When I did get around to trying it, I was quite pleasantly surprised and found a pub that whilst perhaps slightly gastro and impersonal was nonetheless well presented and up together. It’s a good sized pub with a restaurant area off to the left, the main bar has red quarry tiling up through the centre with a mixture of carpet and wood strip elsewhere. The colour scheme was the usual gastro-pub shade of light khaki green and there were pine beams on the ceiling and door frames. The more casual bar area off to the right had brown leather seating, some rather industrial looking metal tables which seemed an odd choice, some exposed brickwork and a LCD TV stuck up on the wall, although the volume was off. At the rear was a large brick fire-place with a black chimney hood although whether it was actually used or just decorative I’m not sure. When I visited in just contained a couple of logs and some candles, but then I wouldn’t expect it to be lit in the height of summer. Food wise, there was a good selection of dishes divided in to sections such as Surf & Turf, Mains, Land (ie; veggie) and Burgers. Prices varied considerably, but most of the mains were somewhere in the region of £10 - £15, so certainly at the pricier end of pub food. My Sticky Chicken with a Lemon, Honey & Chilli sauce was actually a pleasant and tasty dish, and one of the cheapest options at £8.95. Certainly I would be happy to return and try something else. Beers on tap were London Pride, Adnams Southwold and Purity’s Mad Goose. Ciders were a somewhat uninspiring Strongbow and Aspall’s Suffolk.

Official site of the Swan Inn, includes beer list and menus - www.theswanwoburnsands.co.uk

Official site of the Swan Inn, includes beer list and menus - www.theswanwoburnsands.co.uk