The Swan at Chapel Down in Ashford

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.

Tremendous all round , a Great dining experience

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

Great pub, some nice beers food generous servings

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.

We had such an utterly special Anniversary meal at the Swan; not to mention a divinely delicious one. The manager and the staff were both warm and so accommodating of our personal circumstances, we came from London with out little dog and regrettably neglected to ask if they were dog friendly. Although we could not dine in the restaurant on this occasion the manager kindly offered to serve us lots of delicious morsels outside in the sun. Such a special memory so thank you

Had a lovely meal with friends Good food Good service Good company

Had booked the tour and tasting at Chapel Down so thought it would be nice to follow up with a nice meal and an opportunity to drink the wines we decided we liked. The swan may be situated at Chapel Down but the food does not take second place.A nice sparkling Rose on the terrace before we started followed by a slightly smaller menu than advertised but with the addition of a Roast BeefWhilst the starters were really good , the Roast Beef was probably one of the nicest Roasts I have had in years. A lovely rich gravy, succulent beef and lots of spring veg. It truly was a joy!Sadly this left no room for dessert but we will just have to come back!

I can't fault this restaurant. The service was excellent, the food was outstanding and the wines were, of course, delicious. We had a 2 course meal with the wine pairings and they did indeed pair incredibly well. The restaurant itself is light and airy and very comfortable. Thoroughly enjoyed our visit!

Just wow! As good as it was pre Lockdown if not better! Great food, fab service, lovely wine. Looking forward to going back!

We booked a table for Thursday evening and had such a wonderful experience we booked again for the following evening. Everything combined to give a second truly memorable evening.Head Chef Lloyd and his staff provided food which was truly exceptional in every way,; flavour, presentation, quantity were all superb.. Kate with her lovely friendly approach runs the front of house in a truly efficient manner but also with lots of care and attention to detail. Every every member of staff makes you feel like a friend. We must not forget Toby who runs the bar, again great attention to detail in the most engaging and friendly manner, an, to top it all, our super server, Bella. We will be returning to The Swan without any shadow of a doubt. Truly the best restaurant experience. If you are in the area it is a MUST visit!Bob and Annette Culshaw

We booked a table for Thursday evening and had such a wonderful experience we booked again for the following evening. Everything combined to give a second truly memorable evening. Head Chef Lloyd and his staff provided food which was truly exceptional in every way,; flavour, presentation, quantity were all superb.. Kate with her lovely friendly approach runs the front of house in a truly efficient manner but also with lots of care and attention to detail. Every every member of staff makes you feel like a friend. We must not forget Toby who runs the bar, again great attention to detail in the most engaging and friendly manner, an, to top it all, our super server, Bella. We will be returning to The Swan without any shadow of a doubt. Truly the best restaurant experience. If you are in the area it is a MUST visit! Bob and Annette Culshaw

A fabulous evening once again. The food as ever was fantastic and all the staff very friendly and the service excellent. I can’t recommend this place highly enough. If your in the area it’s a definite must.

Booked and paid £20 deposit for an outdoor table this weekend for a birthday .Due to the bad weather/ rain , we called and left voicemails for 3 days prior to check the set up for rain .we finally received a call the morning of the booking to reconfirm and no mention of the voicemails. As it happens there was no cover for rain whatsoever!! Took our refund and thankfully found a last minute table elsewhere.

We had a lovely lunch on the terrace. The menu is a choice of small plates. The food was light, fresh, and incredibly tasty. The service was excellent and very friendly. The two olive trees on the patio need a bit of love and I could live without the plastic succulent on the table however great experience and we will be back. The wine was quite good as well!,

Nice restaurant, good food, onsite wines are great - recommend vineyard tour beforehand. Portion sizes felt small after the wine consumed, but that's gastro I guess

Food is very good, as is the service. Some issues with the room. I think the chimney on the fireplace isn't quite right, because while I like the smell of a fire, it smelled like a bonfire in there and all our clothes did afterwards. Everyone was sat in one area of the restaurant leaving a lot of empty spaces, I feel that during covid, spreading us out would have been more sensible, it also made it very noisy and hard to hear each other talk. All that said, I would recommend going here.

Although the weather was a little cold, the welcome and atmosphere at the Swan definitely wasn’t. My wife and I opted fir the 2 course meal after having been in the wine tasting tour. Starters were a partridge and a mackerel, followed by duck and halibut. Starters were excellent, as was the duck, although the halibut was lovely it was a little on the small side. We shared 2 side orders which was enough and also a good size. A lovely meal which was VFM.

Beautiful food & at atmosphere! Recommend the Halibut dish.

What excellent customer service and brilliant food, wine and coffee. Staff were very attentive and an error over our booking was quickly resolved

A comfortable pre-dinner drink before we went into the dining room, which unfortunately had a noisy family close by. I was a little concerned by the closeness of the tables (by the large window) and by the non-availability of one of their own vineyard wines but the meal itself was excellent.

Following a wine tasting tour this is a great way to finish. A high quality 3 course meal with excellent service

We ate here tonight after a great wine tour at the vineyard. We arrived early and Kate was brilliant and managed to get us a table earlier than we had booked. We had the most amazing meal and special thanks to Penelope who was great fun and also so kind and brought us a extra anniversary dish and glass of bubbles. Also must mention the barman (sorry didn’t take his name) but he did an awesome espresso martini. Made a night out in a weird time the best. Thank you x

We had a table for 6 and service was attentive and friendly but not overbearing. We had mushroom broth, beef rump and cheese. Portions maybe a bit on the small side for some but they were very happy to supply extra potato and gravy! Wines good, of course! Not a cheap meal but very enjoyable.

We had lunch here on Saturday, extremely good value for the excellent standard of food we had. Staff were very pleasant and helpful. Lovely ambience set in the Chapel Down winery. Fantastic experience.

Very enjoyable lunch - service was attentive - we both had duck pancakes followed by very tender beef. Beautiful presentation.

Excellent meal and lovely waiting staff. Only minor gripe is that for a restaurant located on a vineyard we would have expected better knowledge of the wines. Overall recommended for a great day out.

Very friendly restaurant manager managed to cater for us despite not having a reservation. We visited after our winery tour. The food was delicious. Throughly enjoyed our lunch. Very friendly staff.

Nice food, but menu somewhat limited and portions quite small. Served muchntoo quickly, meal was over in an hour so had to have coffee to try and extend the experience. Staff lovely, friendly and knowledgeable.

We visited on a Sunday for a late lunch, following a tour and wine tasting. We are so glad we visited. The restaurant was very busy, but we had reserved in advance. Staff were very pleasant and did not rush us at all. We tried the haddock and prawn croquette and the smoked duck breast for starters. For mains we both selected the trout with quinoa. We selected the sticky toffee pudding and the apple shortbread to finish off. In summary, we enjoyed a delicious and pleasant dining experience. The courses were well spaced and well presented. We will definitely return when next we are visiting the area.

A wonderful setting with a wam welcome; relaxed dining delivering a wonderful play of food. Thank you to both the barman and Maitre D, who both made our visit so special. Romney Marsh lamb paired with Chapel Down Pinot Noir a real highlight. We shall return soon.

Stylish venue, friendly service, interesting menu, delicious food accompanied by Chapeldown wines. Wish it was closer to us!