Old Swan Minster Mill

Pie was OK but small. Plenty of meat in it . Served with just kale and half a carrot and some mash. It was overpriced for what it was. Service was slow. Optional service charge was added. We paid with cash and were only given change after taking the service charge therefore we felt cheated as it did not seem optional. We would rather leave what we feel for a tip. We will not be returning again even though we live close by and it is now our local.

Our waitress, Natasha, gave us a warm welcome and took good care of us. The restaurant was quiet on a midweek evening, but the bar and dining area were a bit cold. We requested to move closer to the fire. The pies we ordered were a bit underwhelming and smaller than expected, considering they were a specialty. The vegetables were also served cold. The total bill, which came to nearly £70 for two mains, one dessert, and a glass of wine including service charge, felt rather pricey.

Came for lunch, had a croque mademoiselle. Very soggy, think it had been made up in advance with the avocado and ‘sun-dried tomato’ (seemed like finely sliced normal tomato to me) and then grilled with the cheese before serving. Not at all an experience worth paying £12 for. We also had no idea what value the grease proof paper it was served on (on a plate) added to proceedings. On the plus side, the staff were attentive and pleasant, so just a bit disappointing that the food wasn’t great. Ver carta

Pre-booked a table for Sunday lunch, all 6 of us went for a roast beef dinner. The initial waitress to the table was asked what cut of Pork the alternative roast was, the ladies reply was “I don’t know”, she made no attempt to find out and come back to confirm. During dinner our glasses were not cleared from the table and it became a little cluttered, we also had to get up and ask for another jug of water and order more drinks from the bar. Other than the service issues I have mentioned, we found the food to be a really good standard and will return at some point.

I visited The Swan pub, which used to be connected to the Minster Lovell hotel next door. I had dinner at the pub and was attended to by a young server who seemed new and inexperienced. Unfortunately, the pie I ordered on their Friday pie night was very disappointing and not up to par. The next night, I dined at the main hotel restaurant and found it to be completely empty and depressing. It felt like a place devoid of any atmosphere and not welcoming at all. I would not recommend it. My advice to the hotel owner would be to close during the Christmas period if they are not prepared to provide a positive experience for their customers.

Having enjoyed a walk around the pretty village we were ready for a bite of lunch. The Old Swan is a really attractive pub inside and out, and very old. We visited on a Monday lovely to find a pub open for food on a Monday these days, and they let our dog in, which also scores highly in my book! (there was also a pub garden available). The welcome from the bar lady was low key, but a young waiter brought water for our dog. We just wanted a sandwich and £12 each was a bit steep. We had a Croque Monsieur and a Croque Madame, both toasted golden brown and served with pickles and crisps. So a fairly upmarket sandwich really. Though pricey, we did enjoy our visit. Ver carta

We popped in here for lunch midweek and left feeling very disappointed. The building and surrounds are beautiful but that’s the only praise I can give. There were 3 staff behind the bar when we arrived and not one of them greeted us. They shuffled from side to side until one lady said to another member of staff “go on, you serve them”. We were told we could sit anywhere that there were “probably menus on the table”. We ordered and the food appeared very quickly but was underwhelming. My salmon and cream cheese sandwich was as basic as it gets. It was small, plonked on a huge white plate, with the merest smear of cream cheese. There wasn’t even a sprinkle of black pepper on the salmon or a tw...

My husband wanted to treat me to a country weekend away for our 30th wedding anniversary. Just the 2 of us and our dog. The price was £280 per night B&B. At the Old Swan, Minster Lovell, what we got was shabby, dirty and the evening restaurant ambience was not much above a motorway service station, brightly lit with Formica tables and chairs. I’m pretty sure the furniture in the dining room came second hand from the nearby M40. The staff were pleasant and overworked. There weren’t enough of them. We had a garden room complete with rusting old bic lighter, taps that only ran hot unless left on for a good 5 minutes, towels perfumed from the kitchen extractor and cupboards with handles hanging...

I had high expectations for this restaurant, but after our work Christmas dinner there last night, I don't even know where to begin. The starters and desserts were okay, but the main course was terrible. Many people ordered the Roast turkey dinner and some plates had raw meat on them. I had to spit out my meal because it was so undercooked. When I informed the server about the raw turkey, she insisted that it was cooked correctly and juicy. However, the texture was off and it was clearly undercooked. The stuffing was all flour and the cabbage was rock hard. The only good thing on the plate was a roasted carrot. One person at our table didn't even receive their dinner, but they may have been... Ver carta