The Black Swan
Main Street Oldstead Near Coxwold YO61 4BL Tel: 01347 868387
Tues – Sat 12.00 – 2.00pm, 6.00pm – 9.00pm Sun 12.00 – 2.30pm, 6.00 – 9.00pm Mon 6.00 – 9.00pm


A 10-mile walk in the Hambleton hills, up hill and down dale and the need for a swift pint and a sandwich becomes a desperate need. To come across a pub that not only offered that, but a welcoming log fire, a, chatty host and the best roast beef sandwich I had, had in ages was pure heaven. The Black Swan at Oldstead has been under new ownership for just twelve months. Clearly the new owners had spent that time building up a reputation with the locals but missed the wider radar. I had never heard of them.

I left after my refreshments ready for a few more miles trekking determined to be back, and soon.

I chose to revisit on a Friday evening. There was no fire or chatty host, and I missed them. A comprehensive menu of 5 starters, 9 mains showed promise in its lack of pretension. Prices flattered a careful purse, from £4.25 for starters and from £8.25 for mains. The wine list was equally respectable from £12.75 up to £35.00 and crossed enough continents to suit all palettes.
 
An imposing clean blackboard over the empty fireplace made me think…maybe chef was short on creativity that day? The lack of a few additions to the menu was disappointing.

The Black Swan runs on two floors, the downstairs bar welcomes drinkers and casual diners, and the upstairs dining room, a touch more formality but still relaxed and welcoming. Waiting for starters, thick, pillows of warm, salt crusted focaccia bread arrived and were frankly the best I have eaten in a long time.

King prawns with marinated Swaledale Goats cheese, confit tomatoes and lemon mayonnaise was a sure fire hit. Sparklingly fresh prawns nestled on a bed of baby leaves and herbs. The goats’ cheese was pungent yet subtle in flavour but the squishy tomatoes would have benefited from a gentle reheating. A Whitby crab, potato and dill salad was an equally scrumptious starter. The crab sweet and fresh, it still smelled of the sea. Dotted around the plate were tiny blobs of what we thought were ketchup. Our charming waitress told us they were a relish of tomato, vodka, and Worcestershire sauce and according to the waitress something runny – whatever that may be.

Yummy all the same.

The favourite main was Bavetinne pasta with asparagus, peas, mint, white wine and cream. I did enquire about the origins of the asparagus, hoping it was local. I never got an answer. A text book dish of perfectly cooked pasta balanced with a good sauce. The plate went back to the kitchen clean. Cod (again origins unknown) atop a mussel velouté with a poached egg was modest yet refined. A great piece of fresh fish, meaty and flaky; the egg was soft and the velouté and plump mussels took starring role. Another clean plate made its way back to the kitchen.

While busy eating our mains and deep in conversation we missed the fact the restaurant had emptied. The room suddenly seemed bare. We passed on dessert. I think the lovely bread had filled up all the space. The menu was tempting and from £4.95 good value. We did manage coffee and a lovely confection of homemade fudge laced with dried cranberries though. The only complaint from the other half was a chocolate would have been good.

We didn’t go mad on wine just a few glasses of a Chilean Sauvignon blanc and a good Merlot so the bill came in at £55.00 for the two of us. Very good value. The Black Swan is one of those dining pubs that Yorkshire is so famous for; the food is excellent, the wines reasonable and the beer good.

The countryside surrounding the pub is idyllic. The young waiting staff made a great attempt at what they did. Yet I left with a feeling that they weren’t present, that somehow whatever it is that keeps them hanging out in the kitchen is more important than front of house. Wherever the genial host I met on my first had gone, it is time he came back.