The White Swan Pub & Dining
Room - Fetter lane, London EC4
Stephen Higginson discovers a
city slicker with great taste
The area in and around
the City of London is pretty quiet
in the
evenings as soon as the after-work
drinks sessions are over. As a
result, when it comes to food in
the area, the emphasis is on lunch
rather than dinner; indeed many
restaurants only offer lunch.
However, the scene is changing.
As more people choose to live in
the inner city, it is becoming
economically viable to stay open
and serve an evening clientele.
One venue, which took the plunge
about three years ago and has achieved
good things gastronomically, is
The White Swan Pub and Dining Room.
Tucked away in a corner of Fetter
Lane off Fleet Street – once
the centre of newspaper production
where long lunches were legendary
- it once was a journalists’ drinking
den nicknamed the Mucky Duck. Its
transformation by brothers Tom
and Ed Martin into a gastro-pub
of note has been remarkable.
The dining room, situated upstairs
above the charming bar, has a décor
and ambience which would not be
out of place in a West End location.
A plush intimate feel is achieved
with rich dark woods, crisp white
linen, well placed tables, comfortable
tub chairs, a tasteful mirrored
ceiling and good lighting; it radiates ‘elegant
dining’ – and that
is what the White Swan offers.
We chose the evening to see how
it felt at a quieter time, rather
than dive into the more hectic
lunch time buzz.. It was good to
see a decent sprinkling of diners
of all ages already enjoying chef
Shannon Wilson’s adventurous
menu when we took our seats at
8.30 pm on a Tuesday.
Six starters, six main courses
and six puddings is the formula,
and the avowed aim is to provide ‘modern
British cuisine’. It is always
a good indication of the chef’s
skills when one wants to try everything
on the menu! We disciplined ourselves
and chose starters of grilled quail,
chicory tart tatin with Sauternes
soaked golden raisin salad (£9),
and the poached duck egg on chorizo,
Alsace bacon and fresh pea salad
( £6.50) – both beautifully
presented. The quail was delicate,
almost understated – a finely
tuned dish where the ingredients
melded perfectly. Similarly the
poached duck egg; subtle but enlivened
with the spicy bite of the chorizo
and salty bacon. Great starters
designed to stimulate your taste
buds and make you eager for what
else was soon to come – and
it worked.
The only dud note so far was a
Sauvignon Blanc by the glass, Haut
Poiton (£4.20) that we had
chosen- thin and without character.
Bad luck, especially as there is
a very resourceful list of over
150 wines to chose from.
Next we went for the Pan-fried
fillet of Gilt head bream, fricassee
of summer vegetables, coriander
pesto and shrimp sauce (£17)
and the confit duck leg, warmed
new potato and shallot salad, salsa
al rafano with cabernet sauvignon
dressing (£16.50). Although
the plates of food were more than
adequate, we greedily added side
dishes of runner beans (£4) –snappingly
fresh and perfectly seasoned and
cooked, and rocket and parmesan
salad (£4) –lush, generous
with a very good dressing.
The bream was ultra fresh, moist,
delicate and delicious - given
added sparkle by the other zingy
elements. Nothing was left on the
plate! The duck was splendid too,
perfectly crisp skin on the outside,
tender and piping hot on the inside.
The potato and shallot salad worked
really well against the strong
duck whilst the salsa and dressing
also softened the richness of the
meat.
This time the wines were fine.
A glass of Viogner, Domaine de
Campuget Gard from the Rhone with
the fish (£4.50) - stunningly
fragrant - and a plump and resinous
Syrah Mouton de Gassoc, vin de
pays de l’Herault (£4.50)
which proved a great match for
the duck.
Finally, puds -baby apricot clafoutis
with almond ice cream for me, honey
nougat parfait with blueberry compote
and thick Greek yoghurt for my
colleague. The first was delicate
(seemingly a characteristic of
the White Swan!) and melt in the
mouth, although the almond flavour
was too faint. The second, nutty
and rich, delightfully counter
pointed by the sour yoghurt and
dense blueberry compote. Both very ‘poised’ puddings.
The kitchen at the White Swan is
a really professional outfit, and
the food goes beyond what you would
expect from a gastro pub. Indeed
the owners are right to label it
a ‘dining room’; for
with its cool, sophisticated ambience
and polished inventive food, that
is exactly what it is.
The White Swan Pub & Dining
Room,
108 Fetter lane, London EC4 1ES
Tel; 020 7242 9696
The Dining Room opens between 12
noon and 3 pm for lunch and between
6pm and 10pm for dinner.
