The Black Swan at Oldstead Review

We ticked off a bucket list moment last week - we dined Michelin-star restaurant, The Black Swan at Oldstead.

Owned by celebrity chef Tommy Banks, we’ve wanted to eat here ever since we saw him first appear on The Great British Menu in 2016. During which he won the fish course at the coveted banquet. He went on to return the following year and once again won the fish course. More recently he’s returned as a veteran judge and now owns two Michelin-star restaurants - his second being Roots in York.

Having grown up in the Yorkshire village of Oldstead, his family have farmed land there since he was young. In 2006, they bought the small village pub - The Black Swan at Oldstead. Fast forward to 2012, and it earned it’s first Michelin-star. The following year, Tommy took over as head chef, retaining the star and becoming the youngest-ever chef to win one! The Black Swan at Oldstead has gone on to retain its Michelin-star ever since.

More recently they’ve added rooms so you can make a weekend of your stay, sampling their breakfast too. No longer being a traditional pub, you have to book in advance. Sometimes weeks if not months beforehand.

Checking-in

On arrival we were greeted with the drinks menu, whilst our room was finalised. We each opted for a cocktail. I chose the Crab ‘Applejack’ Champagne Cocktail - mixing crab ‘applejack’ and woodruff with Charles Palmer English sparkling wine. My partner chose the Rhubarb Negroni - a mix of rhubarb schnapps, homemade Oldstead sweet vermouth and a herb liquer.

Once our room was ready, we were lead the short 2 minute walk up the road, through the quintessentially English village. Our room comprised of a four-poster bed and en-suite bathroom, complete with freestanding bath. The room included a variety of teas and coffees, plus water, milk cookies, as well as alcoholic drinks in the mini bar.

Tasting Menu & Wine Pairing

Later that evening we headed back to the restaurant where we were invited to have another cocktail to accompany their ‘bar snacks’. Not your usual bar snacks, we were served a lobster, tomato and caviar tart. Plus a cheese, picked walnut and truffle puff. Both were equisite and made us very excited to find out what the rest of the evening had in store.

Once finished, we were lead upstairs to the main restaurant. Here we sampled their 9-course tasting menu, plus cheese. We also opted for the ‘Experimental & Adventurous’ wine pairing. This included a variety of wines from all over the world. Sparkling English from Sussex, a delicious white from Switzerland, a red from Morocco and a dessert wine from Poland.

Having not sampled many wines from these countries, it was unusual and exciting. Along the way, our somelier was able to tell us some interesting facts - the most striking being that Switzerland export less than 2% of their wines!

Food wise, we were taken on a journey from scallop and cod, to Charlotte potatoes and roe deer. The additional cheese course included a variety of English cheeses, with two parmesan-eqeue hard cheeses, a British brie, a wonderfully light goat’s cheese and a soft blue. Accompanied with sesame crackers, honey and quince.

The roe deer was one of the stand-out dishes. The plate was absolutely stunning with beetroot and nasturtium leaves. The dish was presented with a choice of knife too - having had them hand crafted by Blok Knives in Derby. The resin handles included flowers and fauna from around Oldstead. A really lovely touch.

In fact, almost all of the ingredients featured in the menu are locally produced, with the vegetables, herbs and meat (minus the deer) being from the family farm. The menu is carefully curated depending on the season and produce available, and they showcase the incredible skill of the chefs by using everything. Whether that’s pickling vegetables for the winter months, or using the wheat from their bread to make their own beer. It was really wonderful to hear about all the innovative ways they use their produce and reduce their waste.

Price

The tasting menu is priced at £175 pp, with the cheese course being a £23 supplement. The wine pairing ranges from £80 for the Experimental & Adventurous right up to £270 per person.

It’s certainly not a cheap weekend, but as I said, it was a bucket list moment for us. The addition of breakfast the next morning was a really nice touch too. This included yoghurt, granola and compote, plus pastry and selection of hot food - full English, truffle omelette or scrambled eggs on toast. It was also served with a selection of teas and coffees and homemade juice. Regretably I didn’t take any photos, but the breakfast was truly stunning.

Following breakfast we had a little time to kill, so had a walk around the gardens, viewing all of the incredible produce that went into the weekend.