The Swan at Chapel Down in Ashford

Lovely food and attentive service but a bit slow.

Delicious food, lovely decor, great service. Fine dining at very reasonable prices - 3 courses for £45!!! Wine selection from Chapel Down (of course), also great! With wine pairing advice.

Amazing food, fantastic wine tasting experience. Lovely knowledgeable staff. Highly recommend

Highly recommend, great service and food. Our waitress Jess provided us with a warm, tentative and exceptional service which made our lunch highly enjoyable. The food (Sunday lunch) was very tasty, each course was the right size and well balanced. We will be coming again!

Me and my parents came and had the most wonderful meal. Kate served us who was the shining star from everyone else and gave us so much help with my mums bad hip. I had the tomato salad to start, trout and then lemon merengue. The trout was cooked to perfection and the ricotta on the starter was super creamy. Definitely recommend the fish dishes 🐟 Georgy x

We had a wonderful anniversary dinner here, with complimentary chocolates when they found out we were celebrating! The food was incredible, there were lots of different combinations of distinctive and delicate flavours and the portions were the perfect size. Jess, who was our waitress, was absolutely lovely and made us feel very welcome throughout - the service as well as the food is excellent. It's worth the money, we would strongly recommend this to anyone and we will definitely come back!

Absolutely excellent dinner with fantastic food and paired wines from the attached vineyard/ winery. Room ambience was good, and we were extremely well looked after by the lovely Kate. I had beef carpaccio, lamb rump and local cheeses. The cheese was extra on the menu prix fixé but absolutely worth it. Price for two people including a gin to start, three courses each with an appropriate wine, plus two sides with mains and service came to £180. Not cheap, but very much worth it.

Excellent gastronomic experience. Imaginative dishes - vegetable sides outstanding. Mackerel starter was fabulous. Good value, great service. High end dining at a reasonable price.

Absolutely stunning meal; the best we have had for a long time, including at one of Tom Kerridge’s restaurants. Every course was exceptional and the suggested wines from Chapel Down complimented the food perfectly. The service was outstanding and if we lived closer, this would definitely be a regular venue for us!

Extraordinary dining experience. The food was a culinary pinnacle!

**"This was my second visit to this restaurant, and once again, it did not disappoint. The staff were extremely friendly, enhancing the overall experience. The selection of wines, particularly the Chapel Down varieties, perfectly complemented the meal. The food was not only beautifully presented but also delicious. I highly recommend trying the different types of Chapel Down. Overall, a delightful dining experience."**

The food is above average but the experience was spoiled for me by intrusive music, loud diners and flies! Indeed we were warned about the flies when we sat down but they were a real nuisance. Fairly easy to prevent. However the food was ok although my side dish of potatoes was disappointing and my lamb not that tender. I was offered another piece of lamb so fair enough. Why is music over speakers needed? I went there to dine and talk to a friend not listen to poor cover versions of pop music. Loud diners is not something that management can deal with! I won't be going back as I detest Muzak and hate flies.

Amazing place, food was excellent as was the service and wine. Will definitely be returning.

After reception we were directed for "drinks at the bar" in a separate corner of the restaurant. Then they were busy with other customers for 10 minutes. Food was tasty, but quite small portions indeed. I liked the side dishes the most, but they were very dominant in terms of taste. Drinking all the sparkling wines, they are delicious. The glass poured over me by the waiter was not charged. Pretty neat.

When booking on the website, unclear it’s a three course set price menu, not a la carte, which costs £48 per head. Not entirely sure it’s worth the cost, food was nice but not amazing. Service let it down. Our table was delayed by 30 minutes to sit down, and then a 30 min gap between finishing dinner and ordering dessert, despite trying to get waitresses attention. Also, very noisy atmosphere.

We thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful Sunday lunch at The Swan after a wine tasting and tour at Chapel Down. An inviting menu did not disappoint with starters of asparagus, morels and truffled egg yolk, tiger prawn and kimchee toast and tomato with cashew ricotta and raspberry. All beautifully executed and utterly delicious. Mains of ribeye of beef and pork loin with apple butter were equally impressive and accompanied by an exquisite array of fresh vegetables. Yuzu and orange tart followed and it was all washed down with a lovely crisp white by Chapel Down. Service was friendly, skilled and well judged and it all made for a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I would highly recommend The Swan whether you’re wine tasting beforehand or not!

We thoroughly enjoyed a wonderful Sunday lunch at The Swan after a wine tasting and tour at Chapel Down. An inviting menu did not disappoint with starters of asparagus, morels and truffled egg yolk, tiger prawn and kimchee toast and tomato with cashew ricotta and raspberry. All beautifully executed and utterly delicious. Mains of ribeye of beef and pork loin with apple butter were equally impressive and accompanied by an exquisite array of fresh vegetables. Yuzu and orange tart followed and it was all washed down with a lovely crisp white by Chapel Down. Service was friendly, skilled and well judged and it all made for a gorgeous Sunday afternoon. I would highly recommend The Swan whether you’re wine tasting beforehand or not!

This was our third visit. From the time we arrived was made to feel welcome , all the staff are lovely. Love the way each dish is explained as it is served so you know in more detail. I have food allergies and not is to much trouble.

We arrived late, was no issue at all, Amazing service, food, wine and atmosphere. Their operation ran like clockwork 👍 Hard to find a restaurant where you can relax and walk away with a smile. Keep up the good work.

Great location and a lovely garden for pre and post lunch drinks. Food and service were excellent save for the potion sizes. My wife had a tomato salad which she thought contained one tomato. I had carpaccio of beef, great but just one small slice. We both went for the halibut, beautifully fresh but oh so small.A few hours later we gorged on pizzas to cope with our hunger. Again all good, superb even , but portions are minuscule.This is so easily remedied without much of a hit to profits.

Absolutely perfect. Sunday lunch from the excellently balanced and priced fixed price menu for my birthday. Kate, the restaurant manager, could not have been more welcoming and was so knowledgable about the dishes and the appropriate wines to accompany them. Stunning location with amazing views across the vineyards and valley and a lovely room. The different things they did with beetroot were amazing! I thoroughly recommend The Swan for any special occasion, but we shall definitely be visiting again before long just for a magical Sunday lunch.

Each dishes are well decorated. Asparagus was fresh and the Lamb Rump was tender. I felt varieties of Chapel Down sparkling wine selections were limited. I would like to try Three Graces etc without ordering a bottle. Rating 4-star for food given that it’s a £45 for three courses.

Very nice dinner, the view on a clear day are amazing and Chapel down wine.

Chapel Down is a lovely spot and the Swan compliments the overall experience when you visit the vineyard. The staff were brilliant and the food was fantastic. All the better with a glass of Chapel Down Brut too!

Lovely place to stay and to eat

One of the best meals we've ever had. The food was excellent and service very atte time too. We had the wine pairings so sampled a number of Chapel Down wines and enjoyed them all. Highly recommend The Swan!

Fantastic lunch at The Swan. Amazing food with great flavours beautifully presented and great quality wines. Fabulous service from Kate and the team. We will definitely return.

Lovely food though not large portions.

The people were very nice and happy and the kids loved the food it was very nice

The food was delicious, and whilst we tried things out of our comfort zone both the starters and main really shone as outstanding. I thought the dessert was a little disappointing, but that is probably just a reflection of how good the starter/ main were. I think portions were far too light for the price, and having to order sides to make sure there was sufficient food is unreasonable for the price. Overall I think 10-15% too expensive for the quality of the food, especially given the price of the wine when it's made on site!

Lovely evening, good food and wine. Perfect birthday celebration evening

Decent quality food but nothing special to justify the hefty price

We went here in November to celebrate my wife's 50th. It was our first time visiting and we loved it. We relaxed in the lounge/bar area before eating. Their own wine was extremely reasonably priced, but the rest of the drinks menu was a little sparse. The most surprising thing for a restaurant if this quality was the lack of a decent whiskey; Jameson's, Bells and JD was all they had, they're really doing them a disservice there! But that's where the gross end really. The staff were all extremely happy, polite, engaging and attentive. The food was initially a disappointment as the portions were on the 'tres petite' side, but all was forgiven on tasting. The presentation was excellent and flavours were wonderful and fulfilling. We were there chatting though many other tables arriving and leaving and returned to the bar at the end to finish the evening with one of their beautiful Rosé reserva.

Delicious food, exquisitely presented. Small dishes consisting of a number of carefully selected ingredients, with sauces and dressings producing a subtle depth of flavours. Lovely people with great service. Enjoyed the wine and the suggested pairing with the menu items. Portion sizes were such that there was room for dessert - what a treat!

Excellent food, wines and service 🙂

Our friends came down from London for the day and took us to The Swan restaurant at Chapel Down for lunch. A really lovely restaurant with some interesting decor and truly stunning food, and obviously the wine was excellent. Will definitely visit again.

Don’t eat here if you’re hungry….Take a whistle to attract waiters attention….Check the bill as they like to add items you’ve not ordered….No disabled access.

Lovely restaurant with fantastic service. Good and wine are great.

We had a meal here last night after a vineyard tour of Chapel down lovely place, great food and for the service we received and quality of food very reasonably priced and being a shareholder got 25% off what isn't there to like.

Tremendous all round , a Great dining experience

10/10 restaurant Staff are very trained and know what they are serving Food is just pure flavours and textures all beautifully presented Enjoyed here our 1st wedding anniversary on a la carta menu

Nice lunch, not quite as good as we'd hoped. Lovely restaurant and setting.

Had previously visited Chapel Down for a vineyard tour and wine tasting and had wanted to visit the restaurant for a while. Dinner menu is decent, lots of choices. Pork belly option was very good. Went on a Saturday night and it was fairly busy and good atmosphere.

Far too expensive for the quality of the food provided. Tiny portions.

Visited for lunch after a wine tour. Food was very tasty and rich, but small portions, meaning you've only just started to enjoy it... and its gone! Deginitely need to top up with (yummy, by the way) extra 'sides'. With Chapel Down shareholder discount its not bad value, but the staff were a bit pushy about drinks and a little pretentious (maybe to be expected in this context). Not so sure what I feel about them taking a £20 deposit, either... but if you can afford it, its a nice, worthwhile experience.

What's not to say! Service was impeccable, food was absolutely divine, so was the wine. Super restaurant experience.

Great place to eat. Good cooking, very welcoming service, lovely location.

We very much enjoyed our dinner at The Swan. Everything we tried was really good, cooked well and nicely presented. We had burrata and mackerel for starters, pork and hake for mains and the orange and chocolate desserts. In our view, one thing that could be improved was the waiters attention to guests drinks finishing or being nearly finished. Our starters drinks had finished, and our mains arrived before we had the chance to order more drinks.

A lovely meal that added to our English wine experience

Do not miss this restaurant! We had a great expeience and could not fault anything.

Great food, service and atmosphere. Really recommend!

Wein und Sekt aus England? Gibt es - und überraschend Guten!

We had lunch on a nice sunny day. First of all, they refused to serve outside although they had several tables on the terrace. Such a shame, we had to sit inside. The food was too little, every dish contained max 2-3 bites, to fill up ourselves we asked for extra bread, they said they would charge it. The lamb was so chewy, some kind of old meat, or not cooked enough. I haven't eaten this bad lamb for quite some time. The waitress was so assertive, she was pushing too much to order drinks etc, came to the table directly to ask if we wanted sparkling or still water without giving the option that they had also tap table water. In the end, they added a 12.5% service charge for a service we didn't quite like. Neither food nor service is up to the quality that is expected from such an expensive restaurant! The wines are nothing special either and cost a fortune.

In short: disappointing and unfairly disappointing experience for actually good wines. As the pictures show, the dishes do look nice, but e.g. the lamb needed more sous-vide, it was too chewy. Finally, when paying and still asking not to fully pay the gratuity, we were not asked if something was not right. I think that summarizes enough the carrying service. The waitress preferred to put her time explaining how the POS worked than hear why a customer would leave not willing to come back. Good job, and good luck.

Beautiful location. Food tasted great. Beautifully presented and excellently cooked but some of the portion sizes were risible. Think nouvelle cuisine micro portions. Hake main: not enough fish to make up a fish finger! The pork was better.

Very nice atmosphere but the prices are far too much - large glass of wine £9!!!!???

Loved it! Not cheap but you get what you pay for. Beautiful food, wonderfully pressented, helpful attentive staff stunning views. Wines from the vineyard.

Great meal and friendly service.

Had our Valentine's lunch here. Inspired tasting menu. Thank you, such a lovely way to spend the afternoon

Lovely place to eat in the vineyard of Chapel Down. Nice views across the Kent countryside, well when there is no fog. Valentine's Day meal was well thought out and portions were just right to cover the five courses without feeling too full. Staff were friendly and efficient if a little bit overstretched with the numbers in for the special meal. It is about 45 minutes drive from the M20 and about the same from Leeds Castle. We would certainly return for another meal, even if it wasn't a special occasion.

Food and service were excellent only a slight problem with the sun coming through the window and no blinds to shield us - but staff were able to move us to another table - well done nice staff

The Swan is part of Chappell Down vineyard. The decor is modern. The restaurant is open to the general public and groups visiting the vineyard for a wine tasting experience. On our visit this caused the restaurant to become quite noisy. Having said that the staff were very helpful and the food was good, but a little expensive for the portions and contents offered. The wine selection was pretty good:) Overall a good experience but not sure we will repeat it.

One of the best Sunday lunches I've ever had. The beef melted in my mouth and was served with the perfect combination of vegetables. Portions were perfectly sized and, as you would expect, paired with some excellent wines. Price for 3 courses seemed reasonable and a beautiful location. Friendly and helpful waiting staff meant that all round, this was a great place to dine.

Delicious set menu for a family milestone birthday - amazing service, great choices, great drinks, we've visited before and will visit again!

Booked as part of a wine tasting at Chapel Down with some friends from Cambridge... we were expecting it to be good but all 4 of us agreed that the food was as good as anywhere. We had cured salmon to start followed by roast beef and the trimmings, and one of our friends described it as the best Sunday roast she'd ever had....

Good quality food limited menu but food done well great service

Food was wonderful staff very helpful

Cheguei muinto bem no local e as direção foi esata

We had a lovely meal celebrating our wedding anniversary, all the staff were lovely and the food was spot on. I would have given 5 starts however, the bread we were given with the oil was very tough, cold bread. Other than that, would 100% recommend to anyone!

Conveniently co-located with Chapel Down vineyard. In good weather the patio seating would be excellent. Good food, more than ample servings and great service. The staff were efficient and friendly. Not sure if reservations are necessary, but it would be wise to check. The restaurant was busy. We were on a tour, no responsibilities...

2 course for £27.50, 3 course for £30. Menu recommends wine to pair with each meal, but be cautious of if you also have a tasting booked for after. Food is OK - it was good but nothing extraordinary, I thought the restaurant lacked the level of service to match the location and Chapel Down vibe. Everything was so slow, a table near us was dirty from previous guests all throughout our 2 hour lunch!

Outstanding, fine dining, excellent food/ drink and service. Faultless

Good local wines and beers, friendly staff. Good service.

Unfortunately the restaurant is not dog friendly, which is such a shame because it really limits what you can do when wanting to visit and make a day of it.

Really need to change their policy about not letting dogs in the restaurant. Seems very disjointed that dogs are allowed on the vineyard but not in the restaurant. Who came up with that logic?

This restaurant should be dog friendly, just like the rest of the vineyard is. Very disappointing and I bet they would attract a lot more people to dine there if they weren't so narrow-minded.

Great service, food and wine. Definitely recommend.

Excellent food & wines. Efficient & friendly staff.

Fantastic food and service! Staff were really friendly and it was the perfect end to the day after an excellent wine tasting tour at the vineyard!

Food was great, such a nice lunch and wonderful service from the staff in a nice setting. Tasting some more of the wine from Chapel Down with the meal obviously a bonus! Will definitely make a point of going there again whenever I'm next around.

This is our favourite restaurant of all time! Every single bite of food here is a delight. Beautifully presented, thoughtfully prepared and totally delicious. The food is exceptional, but the sucess of the restaurant is in no small way down to the amazing staff, managed by Kate. The welcome from Kate and the level of service from every member of staff is truly wonderful. On Saturday we had the pleasure of being served by the caring and efficient Char and the lovely, newish sommellier, Freddie. It was an evening we will will always cherish and remember. Thank you all.

Great pub, some nice beers food generous servings

Five stars doesn’t do this justice - honestly one of the best lunches I have ever had eating out in the UK. And only £30 odd for three courses! We both had scallops to start which were fresh and delicious (though hidden under some roe foam as you can see in the photo!). My other half then had sea bass and I had lamb, which was as tender as anything I’ve had in a long time. Finally the puddings were lovely too, a panna cotta and a lemon curd dessert. Absolutely 10/10 would recommend

Had such an amazing lunch at The Swan. We went after doing a tout of the vineyard which was also amazing. Loved all the food and the staff were great

Went today for lunch.. Absolutely amazin food.. And fantastic service. Thanks Kate. Luv ya x

Excellent meal and excellent value too. Great service as well - thanks - we will be back

Very good meal and service. We enjoyed the three courses - scallops, monk fish and chocolate/beetroot brownie (which was a little dry).

Fantastic food, quirky bar area, can't fault the service highly recommended if you are in the area and a nice treat after the vineyard tour to pair your favourite local wines with food 😙

Really great food. Perfect following the wine tour!

Lovely lunch in a very relaxed atmosphere with excellent service.

Excellent we had the set lunch with the chapel down wine tour the food was far above what we expected for a set lunch combined with Excellent staff

Celebrated a milestone birthday with 11 friends on a square table - great set-up meant we could all chat very easily. The food (I had Roasted Cauliflower starter, Lamb Harissa main & Sticky Date pudding) was 5 star and the service 1st class! Staff very friendly & knowledgeable, especially when it came to wine. Thanks for a memorable night!!

Where to start, we had our wedding at The Swan / Chapel Down and simply it was the best day ever. The staff were fantastic the whole day - and run up to. The food was incredible, and wine delicious. I just wish we could do it all again. Incredible incredible! A special thanks to Kate too.

A disappointing experience, unfortunately. We have heard good things about the Swan and thought that it would be a good idea to bring our friends from London to have a nice meal. How wrong we were…The service was very slow despite the restaurant not being very busy during that time. I made a suggestion to the waiter but was met with indifferent response. It’s a shame really because the food is not bad, but whoever manages the place forgets the key thing that makes or breaks a restaurant experience - it’s the service, the service, the service. My advice to any prospective visitors: looks elsewhere.

It would be a 5 but alas the wine list has changed again removing the only palatable red from Italy . There were two Syrah both from the same grower in France why ? But we tried one of the bottles and it was dire bottom shelf at Tescos surely must be better. Such a shame as the food and service is excellent but they also be catering for customers that dont enjoy English wines .

Not normally open on a Monday, the fabulous staff opened especially for us to hold the wake for a much loved family member. The staff were very attentive and friendly and the food (an afternoon tea at my late Grandmothers request) was outstanding. A few of us were later joining after coming back from Charing but there was fresh food saved especially for us and a cup of tea as soon as we walked in. The space itself was beautiful and the service second to none....including the massive doggy bags at the end! Thank you so much all, Grandma would have loved it

A delicious three course meal. Particularly enjoyed the flavoursome starter, followed by the Sea Bass and selection of vegetables, with Sticky Toffee pudding to close. Of course, the wine election child not be faulted as it was the local Chapel Down wine! Can't wait to return. Thank you Chef and staff.

If you visit Chapel Down for a wine tasting make sure you have booked a table in advance at there award winning restaurant, the food is exceptional and extremely good value, the staff are extremely friendly and attentive, the quality of the produce is first class, we will definitely be returning in the near future Thank to everyone for making us feel so welcome and we wish you all @ The Swan & Chapel Down continued success

Amazing food, great value too. So why 3 stars. Well a vineyard (associated) restaurant with no red wine, simple as that. Appreciate Chapel Down produces great whites but they do usually (and every restaurant generally does) have at least 1 red on the menu!

Dinner at the Swan proved to be an excellent choice after a tour and tasting at the winery. The food was delicious and unusual. The portions appeared small, but exhibited intense flavours and interesting combinations. After three fabulous courses we went away totally satisfied, but without breaking the bank. Needless to say they served Chapel Down wines so after sampling them at the winery we knew exactly which one to order! We would most definitely return if in the area again.