Black Swan - Cobham

a very good place to eat and bring guests 

plenty of room both in and outside 

food was excellent 

staff friendly 

service good

This was a very new pub from the one I had been to 10 years ago! Really lovely large rooms, with open fire places - very cosy. Our very nice waiter showed us to our table - which poked half-way out into a corridor. We asked to move, and as it was a Monday night, he was happy to change our table! We had to wait quite a while for him to come back and take drink orders, and again for food orders. I thought we were forgotten for much of the time - we weren't asked if we wanted to refresh our drinks, and ended up drinking water for most of the evening! The food - I ordered a fish cake for entree, which was delicious!! Very happy with my choice. However, the angus burger that I ordered for mains was a disappointment! The burger itself was overcooked and tough. One of my friends had to search for (and finally ask about) the "mixed buttered greens" which were meant to come with her meal. The food was ok, overall, and the ladies were very happy with their desserts. Overall - an OK evening. Maybe I ordered the wrong meal?! But for the cost of the food, I thought the service could have been faster! They also added a service fee to the bill, which I dislike, particularly when dining in a pub!! I will go back (the outdoor dining looks great!), and would recommend others to give them a try!

We went with friends and had a nice time as the pub has a lovely atmosphere. The service was good (although when waitress asked us how our meals were and we mentioned that the pigeon was chewy and over-cooked she walked away). The food, although generous in terms of portion size, was below the standards one would expect when paying these prices. We ordered the potted shrimp and trout which was reasonable. The goats cheese tart was also fairly good however, everything else we ordered was totally over-cooked. The pigeon seemed to have been cremated-chewy and dry; the fois gras accompanying it burnt(!). Pudding (sticky toffee pudding) was dry caramel cake with a tiny amount of toffee sauce and clearly not steamed.

Fabulous setting, lovely venue. For a smart country pub I was suprised at the prices on the evening restaurant menu – most mains between £15-20 so we expected the food to be excellent – it was good, but not excellent. My partner had seabass on a wild mushroom risotto which was great, and a good sized portion. I had Pork Belly on mustard mash which was delicious – my only criticism would be that the mash was rather dry and the Pork came with caramalised onions on top which meant that the skin hadn't been crisped to crackling – bit of a disappointment. Horseradish buttered french beans on the side were great. Will certainly go here again, but for a special occasion at these prices.

Beautifully refurbished gastro-pub, unrecognisable from the biker pub it once used to be. 2 minutes from the A3 in Ockham, well worth a visit. We used a clever service to get home to Esher after our meal and drinks, they were advertising at The Black Swan so we gave it a try – www.scoot2boot.com worked really well for us.