The Swan in Uttlesford

Great pub for good food, you ale and excellent service

Tired rooms, poor food. Bar and drinks good

They ask you not to use the app to order food

The lady on reception was wonderful.so helpful. breakfast was without doubt the best I have had in a hotel.make sure you are hungry and have a big appetite .

I am a regular customer and always enjoy coming in the morning. I am always made to feel welcome , especially by Molly. She is extremely hard working.

Popped in on a Saturday afternoon to grab a quick lunch. Service at the start was great, got sat down and drinks within minutes. Waitress was great and took our food order just as quickly. We then waited at least 45 minutes for food which we felt was a bit long as it was not very busy. I ordered the chicken basket which was just very disappointed. Potion size was great but the chicken and chicken gravy had no taste and was very very bland.

Great Hotel in lovely village next door to an amazing looking church. Great food and friendly staff

The service from Samm was exceptional 👏, attentive but not over powering, observant to my every need & great food, I'd highly recommend The Swan, the new waiter was so sweet too I wish them all the very best.

Good amount of parking, lovely food. Cannot praise the waitressess enough, never felt neglected even though they were busy with the Morris Dancers (who provides accordion background music)

Great welcoming staff, clean warm room and a perfectly cooked steak for dinner. Best Full English breakfast I've had for a very long time. Thanks The Swan 10/10 in my book, Fab stay!

Had food . Pretty average ( Burger chips no salad on plate.

Always enjoy my visits and beers to the swan. Great staff and friendly atmosphere

I enjoy some amazing pub food. The service was great and staff, the staff that served me was Lillie ,she was very polite and friendly, I looks lovely inside and as I came at a quiet time, I had the options of picking anywhere to sit.

I can't rate the swan highly enough. Great service and competitive prices. Would highly recommend.

We really enjoy staying here, hotel bedrooms very good and clean with very comfortable beds, really tasty food with a superb breakfast. Location is amazing with a very nice atmosphere.

Friendly...great food good atmosphere

I stayed there for a night and was very happy with the pub setting and the lovely decor. Apart from some stains on the carpet, the room and bathroom appeared to be quite clean and I slept really well. The coffee and tea facilities are good enough, with a great selection of fruity teas. The place felt safe, and so I had no issue leaving my car in the dedicated car park (no gate). Food was great at dinner (seafood risotto), but I was a little disappointed with breakfast. I arrived at 8:40 with breakfast finishing at 9:30, so still plenty of time. But the bread felt stale, the scrambled eggs were a little dry but the salmon was tasty and of very generous portions (I’m sure I had about 4 big slices). Drinks were lovely. It’s a nice village for a quick 30 min plod in the fresh air. I’ll consider returning when I’m in the area.

First evening meal here for a while. The car park was almost full when we arrived and there was a really good atmosphere inside. It was warm, although the large open fire was not lit. There were families here and in previous occasions I have seen well behaved dogs in the bar area (it's so lovely to find a pet friendly pub). There seemed to be a lack of staff, as we had to wait for bar staff to appear behind the bar in between serving at tables. There were people waiting to be served all round the bar. The meal we wanted was unavailable due to not having the main ingredients, which was a shame. Over the years, this has been a very hit and miss pub to go to. Hopefully it's just a New Year blip. Update Feb 2023 Visited again for a meeting in a room just off the main bar. The bar was well staffed and our meal was delivered promptly. Much better service tonight. Update May 2023 We popped in for a midweek lunch, and took the dog with us. There were a couple of parking spaces available. Service and food was fantastic. Everything we ordered was available and made to our preference. Even the dog had a sausage and met some of the customers. Toilets were fully stocked and clean. 10 March 2024 Returned for Mothers Day dinner (lamb shank photo) which was lovely. We were able to park in the pub car park. All food ordered was correct and well presented. Waitress was polite and efficient with getting our order taken and served. We had also asked for a takeaway meal, which was served at the end of our meal. The toilets were well stocked, clean and tidy. The restaurant area was clean and tidy even though all tables were full. The only disappointment was the plastic flowers on the table.

Excellent meal. I am assured the Asian curry was absolutely delicious and my scampi was very good. The chips were cooked beautifully. The service was excellent and we were very well looked after. The starters - calamari and prawn cocktail were really good and my prawns were delicious. Nothing to complain about at all

Lovely rooms nice and clean and a super breakfast!

Came here today for a roast. Only one word could describe it- VILE. The meat on every plate was pure thick fat that was just thrown onto the plate. Even visually I would not have served that to a dog! We drove over an hour for this lunch and all left hungry as food was disgusting. Even the yorkshire puds were cold stale and tasteless. Whole meal was disappointing. The servers and managers were lovely and I could not fault how they dealt with the food, which we appreciate. But that chef needs sacking if he can think serving food like that is ok. I’ve never had a meal as bad as this one

I spent the weekend in the Swan Thaxted in January 2024. My second visit. I can't praise the staff and the location enough. Lovely and chilled out with a nice entertaining evening. Highly recommend. I will be back.

Neither of our first lunch menu choices were available, as were not a number of other items. Served in reasonable time, meals standard but nothing special. The waitress forgot to bring cutlery and only brought serviettes after we had grabbed some from a neighbouring table. Another group of diners similarly had to grab their cutlery after their meals had arrived. The place is obviously short staffed and service low on charm - even though there were not that many guests to look after. Ultimately this all reflects on the management, whose role should be to set customer service standards and ensure the patron is delighted. This is a prime location in Thaxted and could be so much more.

Great hotel, awesome staff, lovely place,

Very nice weekend at The Swan in Thaxted. Accommodation very good as were the meals we had. Dinner especially good made even more enjoyable by our waitresses Molly and Lillie. Molly especially was very professional, polite and caring. By the evening they had both had a long day but remained very cheerful and attentive. Thank you.

Really lovely food, live music that was good. Our waitress of the night molly was absolutely lovely and so kind.

I eat everything but had to leave me food main meal. It looked as horrid as it tasted. My friend and daughter felt the same about their meal, although they did eat half so can’t have been too bad. My husband’s food was lovely which was a meal that had to be cooked fresh! The front of house staff were very good and dealt with my complaints politely.

They now have a new menu which whilst still having old favourites gets away from the usual pub grub.. My husband had Asian style crispy pork belly which he thoroughly enjoyed. I always have chicken in a basket (I know I'm a bit boring) which is always really nice and the gravy is to die for. The serving staff were polite. friendly and efficient. All in all would recommend

Ventured out to the swan whilst on a short holiday break,so impressed!everything fresh and vibrant ,excellent friendly service and the "ultimate burger"was best burger I've ever eaten.....it was that good 😊 also Mac n cheese with proper onion rings went down a storm too! Excellent selection of good wines(although could have been colder)and finished off with yummy desserts,will be back definitely 😁 could not find fault with food or service.....great work to all the team at the swan Inn.

Great meal once again at the Swan last night. This is my favourite place to come to when visiting my friends in Thaxted.

Two of the group ordered the starters - one of Garlic Mushrooms and the other the Squid. The food arrived rolling around on the plates and the chef here gets 0 for presentation - not even a tiny shred of lettuce as garnish. It looked like something you would expect your teenager to plonk down in front of you! The Beef and Ale pie looked enormous but sadly it was all pastry with a smidgeon of beef! The crispy chicken basket consisted of two over-cooked tiny pieces of chicken with an over-generous amount of chips to compensate.....and the Kiev sauce must have had garlic merely waived over it, because it certainly didn't taste of any! The whole restaurant area was grubby with the fabric seat parts of all the chairs needing a good clean - we rummaged around the other tables to take the cleanest chairs! We noted that when one couple had eaten and left, the table surface was not cleaned before it was re-layed! With a bill just shy of £200, we will not be back!

Stopped off here for lunch with my friend. Landlord said it was busy lunchtime, certainly didn’t look that way, although it took an age to be served at the bar. If you claim it to be busy, at least do your staff a favour and have two bar staff behind the pumps. Table needed wiping down and I asked for a cloth as I was more than prepared to do it myself. Bar staff came over and wiped the table for us. Ordered a Camembert Sharing Platter. Portion size was tiny, the battered chicken was over cooked and certainly did not resemble the strips that were shown on the menu photograph. Biting into the breaded mushrooms and water spurts out - just what you want! Three onion rings each and the size of them was meagre. Tiny Camembert in the middle. A joyless meal. Having worked in the hospitality industry for years, this platter was a reminder of why I don’t bother eating out these days. Pub grub in Britain can be pretty dire at the best of times and I see that nothing has really changed. This is the kind of food that would be bought in from Brakes or 3663, so I didn’t expect gastro or gourmet, but I did expect a larger portion for two people and not to have overcooked food, or be ripped off for £12.50! Needless to say I won’t be making a return visit.

Visited last night for an evening meal. The chicken in a basket with gravy (there is a choice of dressing) was really tasty and nicely cooked and my husband said his lasagne was delicious. We would have liked to have dessert but we had no room left sadly! The atmosphere is very calm and relaxing after a days work and the place looked spotless. After a few disasters in the past by previous Managers the new one seems to have it all sorted

We visited The Swan for a New Years Eve meal with family and had the best night. Attention to detail was high, the tables were beautifully decorated as was the pub for Christmas in general. Live entertainment was provided (which we hadn’t realised) and it was really good and ran all evening. The food was very tasty, superbly presented and when there was a tiny problem with my daughters dessert an alternative was offered. The staff were attentive and friendly. We will definitely return for other meals throughout 2023.

6 of us stayed here for New Years Eve. The rooms were well decorated, clean and the bed was really comfy. We had the 4 course menu and everyone was really impressed with the food. All in all we had a great night. Breakfast the next morning was also really good. The best thing about our stay was the staff. All so friendly and helpful. We've stayed here before pre covid and wasn't overly impressed but the new management have really turned it around . Would definitely stay again and would definitely reccomend.

A really well organised and good value morning spent having breakfast with Santa. Plenty of photo opportunities and the staff went all out in their elf outfits too. A really nice touch before Christmas and hopefully something that becomes a tradition now! Well done to the team!

We want to thank you. Absolutely fantastic and magical! Thaxted is a really nice place and certainly has the charm attached to it. Always come back and stay here and visit our fathers grave across from the hotel. Everything is always decent; the hotel stay is very comfortable with the well-equipped rooms. Breakfast is always very nice, and the food is always just what we need to make our visit great. It does what it says on the tin. Thank you from the Cresswell

This was our first visit and we took my 92 year old mother as a family, for a birthday lunch. Oh dear. I really wished I had read these reviews before I subjected my family to such a dreadful experience. Where on earth do I begin? Most of what we ordered was not available. When we eventually received our orders which took 1 and a half hours, the food was dire. Father asked for cod and got haddock - not the end of the world - it gets worse. The crispy chicken tasted of fish batter and had been cooked in oil used for fish; the macaroni cheese was without the accompaniment of dressing and shallots (and not available in any case); the chicken and ham pie had virtually no meat filling and the pastry hard as concrete, the veg heated up from earlier cooking so not fresh, and then finally my ravioli was cold and when sent back to heat up returned minus the lovely oil dressing. It had gone hard in the reheating, the waitress refused to provide the oil dressing, it was meant to be a main but it wasn’t sufficient for a main - thank goodness as it was torture to eat. Service was poor. How dreadful. What on earth is going on? This is an absolute embarrassment. What do visitors make of a place like this? Greene King you really must get your act together.

We was here with our friends and visited this beautiful Place and literally found this large Hotel/Pub that dominates this area. What we really liked was the the layout, this was spacious and certainly have great staff, Hotel is very nice and clean. The manager helped us load our luggage in to our car in the pouring rain. You can see its loved by its owners. Had 2 fantastic meals in here over 3 days of being in Thaxted and obviously a great meal and get together round our long term friends house.

Live local to the Swan, find it a friendly and comfotable place to drop in to and service is always good. Have had a few meals there the food is typical "big chain" pub menu, which is OK. The have a large range of lagers & real ales. Perhaps would like to see some local Essex real ales as guest beers. As long as the standard of service keeps up will always look forward to dropping in there.

After coming over to the Uk and getting around all the great places we come to this beautiful place for concerts (Elbow) at the Audley end, which was fantastic may i add! now I'm not one to go shouting from the roof tops, but these guys have got going on! We have a smooth check in with a warm G'day. The bedroom was really comfy, and the decor was nice. All the staff looked after us really well. there was a mix up on our steak which we realised was our fault and once we swopped it over ourselves everything was good. Breakfast was great.

Spent two wonderful nights here, Extremely nice accommodation with good bed and bath shower options. We have left our travel adaptor at home and They managed to have one of these available for us as well for us to continue charging up our belongings. Want...

Had a family meal at the Swan last night. Our waitress jade was lovely and made us feel super welcome. My meal was tasty and everyone else agreed that their meal choices were delicious too. Thanks for a fab night.

Just want to say Thank you, we visited for a pub lunch and it was amazing. My dad was was very pleased with what you all did to make our day special. Great times

We came back again to this pretty pub and we must say its always really nice in here and pleasant to visit. The carpark is a lot tidier and looks like its cared for compared to previously. Frontage looks very nice as well which is...

Stayed for two nights and ate in the restaurant for breakfast and dinner. Room lovely, very good pub food at excellent prices and just lovely staff who were friendly, knowledgeable, professional and kind. Can’t fault it. Thank you Tiffany and team

Very helpful problem-solving from Tiffany when we found our room was too hot and didn't have a window that opened(!) Thank you.

Popped in for a late lunch on our way home from our morning out. The food was scrumptious and the kids menu had a great variety of choice. The staff were helpful and attentive and didn't mind my excitable children. All in all a very...

Stayed for two nights for a local wedding. Good rooms, good breakfast, and good service. It was very hot, no a/c, but fans were supplied. Not normally an issue in the UK !

In one word; fantastic! The service, food and rooms are just stunning! All the best! Regards from Holland!

From the moment we arrived, what a Fantastic place in a nice setting. Food good , drinks good with great company for the Concert going on in the church. This place is fantastic and they are friendly as well .

A pub we drove past and thought 'WE NEED TO STOP IN THIS PLACE' ! We live out in the sticks and drive past here often and see have seen it looking very different from time to time, However we decided to slip in for...

We made a last minute decision on Sunday evening to eat out and came to the Swan. The waitress was very good and friendly without being over the top. We ordered Cajun chicken burgers. The coating was crisp and very tasty and the chicken was...

Met my friends here for lunch and was pleasantly surprised. Having eaten here previously and not been impressed, this time I have to say the food was very good. The whole pub is a lot cleaner and more inviting. I now have the confidence to...

We called at The Swan for lunch on our way back from Saffron Walden market, as we have done previously. This time our experience was utterly appalling! We were greeted cheerily by a pleasant young man and shown to our table. After a wait of...

Food was a little overcooked and bar service a bit slow. But perfectly adequate for a mid week value meal out

just went to have a couple drinks with my girlfriend and we encountered lovely staff and some very talkative regulars

I went for an impromptu run the country with my dear old Dad in the car, as the sun was in the sky, and we eventually found ourselves in the Swan in Thaxted and ended up having a very present pub lunch. The food was...

The breakfast was great, the service was great from Michelle who catered to all out needs and wants. The food came out in a reasonable time for me and my girlfriend and all round was a great experience

Our starters were fine, although the bread was white sliced not crusty bloomer as described. I had the turkey Sunday roast which was awful, turkey was slimy and had an odd taste , Yorkshire tasted like it was made of polystyrene, stuffing solid , lump...

I am booked in for 5 nights only discover they are NOT serving food? The last thing on my mind was having to drive to the nearest town. Staff could only offer an Indian restaurant 100 yds down the road or a chippy. I've stayed...

Lovely little pub in the centre of beautiful Thaxted. The view of the church from our table was spectacular! The staff were very friendly, very welcoming and we really enjoyed the food (I had the chicken and leek pie). Definitely recommend

The Swan Pub. Great village atmosphere, locals are always entertaining! Great pub food, warm & Inviting. Worth more than one visit.

We decided to stop in at the swan on Saturday for some lunch on our way through Thaxted and we are so glad that we did! The staff on shift, Rebecca and Amelia were so incredible, very welcoming and made us feel right at home....

I came in after a dog walk to have a quick pint of IPA. Poured beautifully by the bar maid on shift. Was a bit empty and they didn't have Abbott but it was still nice.

Came in on Christmas Eve for some drinks, the atmosphere was amazing and the bar staff were all so friendly. Service was quick, despite being busy! Definitely recommend

Worst service ever in any pub or restaurant. Website showed champagne at £25 bottle. Did not have that. Staff argued about meaning if terms on menu offer. Pre booked festive menu paid deposit waited over 30 mins for drinks over 1 hour for prawn cocktail...

The lamb was perfect! Lovely atmosphere and lovely staff! Thank you Claudia, kyra, Becca and Simon! Hope to be back soon

We were shown to our table and given menus. We waited 20 minutes and there was no sign on anyone offering us drinks. We saw a notice about ordering via the app. We tried that, but received a message saying "ordering not available" After 25...

We only needed to stay overnight but we really enjoyed the room and the excellent service we had from all the staff especially Ben the manager. Cheers Terry

I have been to The Swan many times for food and drinks, but on this occasion I was left very disappointed and shocked. I had booked a table for myself, partner and parents for a afternoon meal and I found my experience of some of...

Not local to the area we popped into this pub to have a drink and see what food they were serving. The staff were very friendly . We had a sharing platter to start which was very good. We had been a bit greedy with...

Had a fantastic visit to the Swan on Friday, it was great service and the food as amazing. Much improved from my last visits over a year ago.

Just stayed at the Swan Hotel in thaxted a beautiful quaint little village in Essex during a family wedding. The staff were very helpful and always there with a smile! Special thanks to Izzie, Amelia, Jess, Carol and Joe who made our stay there absolutely...

one of the best places we have ever stayed, great staff, great food, lovely rooms(comfy beds) just a great place to relax,

This pub/ hotel used be good food and value for money. Now it need total revamp without staff who prefer to chat to locals rather than serve waiting guests. Food quality poor and over cooked. And no bitter at all only lager. Get a grip.

Friday night treat, great meal, drinks and service loved the fish and pie I hear was amazing. Will deffo be back soon

Great food, drink and staff. Have been coming to the swan for about 7 years now and each meal has been lovely.

Popped in for an impromptu late lunch, cosy & welcoming pub with lovely food, we will certainly be back

Had a lovely meal with friends at the Swan. Really friendly and welcoming staff! Will definitely come back again soon!!

Visited with friends on a Thursday night. Great food, amazing service and very reasonably priced. Definitely recommend!

Had a lovely meal with my mates and the service was amazing! Joe, James and Amelia were so helpful and made us feel very welcome!

Great staff. Great waitress Carol. very good.Great choice on menu. Rooms very clean. Nice town would definitely come again.

the food was excellent, the kids loved it. my servers patrick, amelia and carol were a massive help and made sure all our needs were attended too. we'll definitely come back soon

Being a solo business traveller i was made to feel welcomed by the staff when dining alone in the restaurant. Amelia was very attentive. The fish and chips was amazing. Would highly recommend the swan for a meal.

Went to the swan for a couple beers and my servers Patrick and Amelia were both very accommodating and always made sure I had a drink, pub was also very clean and hygienic especially during the COVID times, will definitely come back again!

Stayed at the Swan for a couple of days while I was down south for my brothers wedding. The rooms were nice and well appointed and the staff were great. Gloranna the manager looked after us through two mornings with consecutive hangovers. Great breakfasts, coffee...

I went for lunch with my friend to celebrate finally being able to go inside a pub. I had not visited the pub since before lockdown. On arrival, the staff were very friendly and informed us of the covid-safe procedures, test and trace etc. We...

Went to the swan today for a small lunch and it was great. Had good and quick service with very polite front of house staff (Patrick and Leah/Lenny). The food was tasty and I left nothing on the plate, will defiantly be returning!

Visited The Swan for drinks with friends not long after it reopened. The staff were friendly and the service was swift. All necessary precautions and protocols were in place and we felt very safe and looked after. Would definitely recommend a visit if you find...

Came to The Swan for a birthday meal today for lunch. Extremely friendly and warm welcome by Chad. Excellent and fast service by other members of staff and amazing food. Brilliant value for money and lovely surroundings!

Many thanks to Simon, James and Souxie for a nice evening. Strangly quiet for Christmas time due to covid restrictions but team still cheery and helpful. Nothing was too much trouble, nice food, couldn't finish it all!

Amazing food, vegetarian and a Turkey dinner,Very friendly staff, a good afternoon had and a lovely start to Christmas! Thank you

We had halloumi fries, salt and pepper squid and toasted new York deli sandwich. Previously the food was average but they have got a new chef and its really mproved and was delicious. Its our local and we are so pleased it improved. The staff...

Lovely place, great atmosphere, very kind personal, delicious food. Will defiantly come back again. Strongly recommend for Christmas time!

The service was very good and very fast and the food was delicious. I would definitely recommend this restaurant!

Had wonderful scampi and chips as well as a sirloin steak which came with a very little wait and lovely service from Joe, sioux, and Simon. The chocolate brownie also made for a lovely desert.

Friendly staff and lovely food. Really nice atmosphere and easy to get to. Good food for a good price.

Cannot beat a cold December evening by the fire with amazing pie & chips and a couple of refreshing beers! Fantastic service from Simon, Suzie. Joe & everyone! Can't wait to visit again!

I’ve had Sunday lunch here with my family on multiple occasions and each time the food and service has been excellent. The meat is of very good quality and the vegetables are fresh and perfectly cooked. If you’re after crispy roast potatoes with a fluffy...