The White Swan
Fence, Lancashire
Expect the unexpected, as the saying goes. And it was certainly unexpected to walk into this unassuming pub in an unremarkable Lancashire hamlet and experience a meal of such sophistication, complexity and precision. The buttermilk-coloured frontage is modest, with the front door leading directly into the muted dining areas located on both sides of the entrance, while the interior has a pleasing simplicity with a refreshing lack of ‘designeritis’. The no-choice menu (five courses, six with cheese) is set daily, ticks every seasonal and local box you could wish for and evolves slowly, though the same dish rarely stays for more than a couple of days. It’s also a surprise: you won’t know what you’re getting until you get there. The driving force is Tom Parker, whose keen-witted approach to dish and menu construction means the choreography of the meal is carefully spaced and calculated so you are never hurried, nor discouraged from lingering. At inspection, the chef’s brilliance at balancing flavours and ingredients was apparent in ‘a beautiful, delicate composition’ of almost invisible slices of marinated cod teamed with little melon balls, jalapeño, cucumber and coriander, topped with herring roe and a dab of crème fraîche. There’s skill, too, in emphasising the principal components with ingenious but discreet accompaniments: red mullet is served with saffron potato, fennel, orange, seaweed and tarragon in a shellfish cappuccino, while Ibérico pork belly is paired with a sticky faggot, crab apple jelly, smoked honey, turnips and mustard sauce. Inviting combinations of texture and temperature, such as a ‘millefeuille’ with English pears, wildflower honey, preserved stem-ginger ice cream and maple verjus, lift desserts out of the ordinary, and honourable mention must be made of the artisan British cheeseboard (sourced from The Courtyard Dairy). As well as Luscombe soft drinks and Timothy Taylor ales on tap, there is an equally fine choice of wines from £30 a bottle.
Dining Information:
Parking, Credit card required
300 Wheatley Lane Road, Fence, Lancashire BB12 9QA
01282 611773
