The Swan Hotel, Stafford

"60th Birthday family meal"

Firstly can I say that on the whole, we had a lovely time for my husband's 60th birthday family meal on Friday 3rd June at 4:30pm. The staff were very friendly and the food was of a good standard in the main. I would not have raised the points below if I hadn't received the email to do a review.

Having previously visited the Swan for my works Christmas meals, I mentioned it when we were trying to decide where to choose for my husbands 60th birthday meal. I have always been very impressed with the food and service at the Swan previously.

We visited on Friday with 11 adults, 1 child and a baby in a high chair. We had pre-ordered all meals as requested and confirmed receipt of the pre-order. The room was lovely although cramped for this amount of people sat around 1 table. It was difficult to eat without playing elbow hockey with the people sitting next to you. I was not warned that it might be a bit tight and was allowed to add an extra person on just the week before, again with no warning. This was not a big issue and we just laughed about it to be fair.

The waiting staff checked the pre-order with us before each course which was appreciated. One starter was switched as we were unable to get the flavour of soup available until on the day. We were told that this was not a problem. The starters began to arrive with the asparagus and poached egg starter being brought out first. The rest followed but very slowly to the point where if we hadn't all started to eat, the first starters brought out would have been cold before the last one was on the table. The last to be brought out was the soup and the child starter which would have been better served first. All of the starters were lovely, it would just have been nice to have been able to eat them all together.

The mains were brought out a bit quicker but again, the child meal was last and was an overcooked, large portion of chicken strips with fries and peas. On the pre-ordered menu it was listed as chicken strips with beans and fat chips. We managed to placate the 3 year old who ate the fries and peas but the coating on the chicken was rather hard as overcooked. Her Dad enjoyed it though.

There was a mix up with the puddings, even the pre-ordered ones. Sticky Toffee puddings were brought out instead of Sticky Toffee Sundae's. These were swapped with no issue apart from the Sundae's were disappointing and lacked flavour.

It was quiet when we arrived but got busier as the time went on which resulted in delay's and repeated requests to order more drinks.

As I first said, we did all enjoy our visit on the whole, but based on my previous experience I was disappointed with the service. It is difficult when you choose a venue for so many people to please everyone but as the person who recommended the Swan I felt responsible.

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