The Swan at Tetsworth in South Oxfordshire

The Swan at Tetsworth are always acomadating and go the extra mile to be helpfull in our local community.

Run by Tom Keane and Paul Hayes, they get some very good items in their sales and will, most helpfully deliver any bought lots to Twickenham if required. A rambling old place, mind your head!, has plenty of parking and friendly staff. Recommended.

First time at bidding on-line at The Swan. The experience was good, although the auction is not always fully in view, only sound, sometimes Paul the auctioneer was sometimes in shot from what seemed in a light and airy room which i thought might have been working from home....a villa in france with a louvred door behind him but when phoning to thank them for the Lot i was successful in bidding on I found out this was an old gaol door. Bit quirky. My only disappointment was that they only have mbe high wycombe who attend to do the collection and packing & posting. Beware of this company as even though given an accurate description and weight of the lot and estimate was given and they increased the final cost even though actual weight was less. The packing was fine but unless another courier can be found it is very unlikely i will be bidding again.

Avoid! Unprofessional. Awful customer service. Sent a first reminder email asking me to pay a 10 day old invoice or they would block me. Paid straight away, but they blocked me the next day and refused to apologise or undo it. After placing this review I received an aggressive call from a worker at the house who claimed not to be able to understand it, and insisted on their rights to block anyone who doesn't instantly pay their invoice.

Avoid! Unprofessional. Awful customer service. Sent a first reminder email asking me to pay a 10 day old invoice or they would block me. Paid straight away, but they blocked me the next day and refused to apologise or undo it. After placing this review I received an aggressive call from a worker at the house who claimed not to be able to understand it, and insisted on their rights to block anyone who doesn't instantly pay their invoice.

I recently attended an auction at the Swan at Tetsworth via telephone link, having never had any experience of auctions previously. The help and advice I received from Paul and Spencer were invaluable, and I am absolutely delighted with the items that I successfully bid for. I would also mention Jaya who was extremely helpful with arranging delivery of said items. I would definitely recommend the Swan at Tetsworth.

I recently visited the swan at tetsworth for the general auction. I congratulate you and your team of experts in the knowledge and information, and advise your experts gave to me pre auction. We had a fab day with tom and paul, not forgetting jean. Superb touch with the free supply of tea/ coffee. Beautiful quirky old building, full of character and interesting. I am looking forward to the next sale of on the 24th of June. Thank you all for making my day out a great day!!!!

Just wanted to say Thankyou for a lovely day and a fantastic experience with you Paul and Tom and Ed S who brought me to you

I visited for the first time in 5 years, but I had lost all the things I needed to see. Has the owner changed? Are you preparing to close? The restaurant on the first floor was closed. The space that used to be a restaurant has become more like a storage room. I visited from overseas and was very disappointed.

Tatty and dirty. Looked ready to close down. Restaurant closed rooms in darkness poor stock. Really shocked at the change since our last visit.

Great range of antiques and friendly staff.

Picked up something I purchased from auction very accommodating lovely things in antique centre

Great eclectic selection in quirky old buildings, definitely unsuitable for the lame. If the cafe is not open, the pub/shop is 100 yards away. They try to stick to marked prices below £50, but that's the fun of the game....

Dodgy auctioneers.. placed an online bid on an item, I was the only bidder so on the live auction they passed the lot.. when I questioned why I had not won the item my emails were ignored, which they were quiet happy to reply to before the auction ended.. clearly they wasn't happy with the items sale price and decided to not sell to me.. pretty sure thats illegal!.. be warned...

Antiques Centre brilliant Resturant not so good

Bought at auction, was surprised to find it was also an antique centre. There were a large number of rooms with a good selection of quality items. The staff were polite and very helpful. The location just a few miles off the motorway was a great blessing.

A fabulous place to mooch about😉

Reasonable selection of antiques

Very interesting (wonky) old building housing 3 floors of antiques from various corners of the world. Fantastic place to mooch around if you have a few hours to spare. They have monthly auctions held in one of the big rooms downstairs. Sensible dogs are welcome which is a really nice touch too...

Great little country pub with a fantastic sideline in antiques with some great countryside around to explore, beer is great, food is good simple pub grub (during the day)

As an antique dealer with 3 shops, i need to keep looking for different auction houses to acquire stock from, well i won't be using Swan's again. i am sure i will get a very polite reply telling me that the item was correctly cataloged blah blah. When i rang up to question what i had purchased for the 3rd time, each time i was told someone would ring me back the receptionist was very nice and went and found someone for me. this lady was not so polite and became very defensive when i questioned the description of what i bought. The item was not older than 5 years and was a modern replica but this was not explained in the description and the clock was incomplete not having a pendulum, where a replacement pendulum will cost more than what the clock is actually worth. the clock was over valued with a guide of £200.00. Never again! i question who does the valuations at this place and whether they actually know what they are doing.

Always warm welcome, very nice atmosphere be it at Auction / valuation or dinning. I highly recommend a visit

Used to be a friendly buzzing place, but now that it's focus is on auctions it has lost its atmosphere, the staff are cliquey, giggling together and ignoring all but favoured customers. Many of the rooms in this charming old building now seem neglected and gloomy and many items unlabeled. So disappointing.

Fantastic array of antiques to buy or also u can sell expert knowledge and attentive staff

The building is breathtaking, the staff are warm and professional, and the service is great.

Mostly paintings bought at other auction rooms, only with much higher estimates and often fanciful attributions. Not a good place to buy (in my humble opinion).

I've been in the trade for over 10 years and this place is the only one in the UK that offers proper quality and true antiques.

Amazing Sunday lunch - food was amazing, staff were so friendly and helpful. Highly recommend and can't wait to go here again!

An Aladdin's cave of wonderful pieces. Lovely place to mooch around. Staff very helpful

Do not bid on anything unless you have seen it in flesh. The images online are low resolution and the descriptions inaccurate and misleading. I bought some Chinese porcelain panels to discover, after spending a fortune for delivery, to be printed industrial tiles but listed as Porcelain. Worthless Items like that should have no place in any auction. I don't know wheter they are just incompetent or disonest. Porcelain? Take a look at the pictures..., would you call this material PORCELAIN? Or just cheap made industrial CERAMIC? There is a big difference between porcelain and ceramic, but of course you must have a bit of knowledge....

Very polite staff , great deals and competitive prices on everything !

Iv always found this auction to be very professional and they seem to always achieve top prices for very every thing iv always taken to them mr keene is a very professional person in ivor antiques or as a person,I would not go any where else.

Brought one lot of very small toy cars and wanted to charge £30 for postage which would have been a very small parcel - buy a lot from auctions and have never been charged more then £15 for much larger boxes. Very rude on phone when asked why so much ? Went to collect and they hadn’t a clue what they where doing or where anything was , will never use again

Helpful friendly staff and good range of antiques

A maze of a great variety of lovely things

Very Helpful, the centre and auction is a family run business and you can feel that when dealing with the staff. A few went out of their way to help me when purchasing items and felt like I was getting real star treatment.

This is the very best auction in the country highest recommendations

Not sure what's happened here. Certainly not the centre it used to be. We are regular visitors here but I'm afraid we won't go back. Shame.

One of the best Antiques shops/Auction houses I have every visited. All of the staff are an absolute pleasure to deal with and very knowledgeable. The range of stock is excellent too and reasonably priced. I have both bought and sold at The Swan and cannot recommend it highly enough. Similar places could learn a lot from the way this place is run. This was not my first visit to The Swan and certainly won't be my last. Keep up the good work guys and gals!

Friendly service, I spoke to the staff and they helped me find exactly what I was looking for A*

Love, love, LOVE this auction house and antique centre, since Tom took over its been an absolute pleasure to visit and full of so much more quality furniture and paintings! lovely and helpful down to earth staff, amazing auctions with a few bargains - i have recently bought a new house and have purchased all of my decor here, my home looks beautiful!! Thank you guys, ill definitely be seeing you again soon Mabel

Maze of varying rooms and treasures to discover Something for Every pocket . Extremely helpful, informative staff - definitely a - must go-

Absolutely love this places, plus the staff are all welcoming and always on hand to help... would recommend to all antique lovers...

I absolutely love this place stunning scenery and beautiful period building. 42 rooms of antiques what more could you ask for I found this place to be like an Aladdins cave and you can always haggle in the price and found them to be very flexible... Auction room is fantastic one every month you really need to see this place to believe it makes a great day out.. with a promise on bringing bk a bargain. Also you get to meet celebtity antique dealers off the tv... absolutely great

Great auction and service. Recommend! ❤️

We'd eaten here recently and had Sunday lunch. Very crowded and very good. But this time, the meal was impeccable. The French hosts are amazing. But the cooking! Perfect Beef Wellington. Delicious triple-cooked chips. Perfect crepes suzette. My wife's scallops? Perfect. Really couldn't be better and all the other guests were regulars, so this was no one-off. Now that they are having to move, we can't wait to see what happens at their new place south of Oxford. And they've been smart enough to partner with the chef. Can't wait. Apart from the Manoir, only the Nut Tree can compare in Oxfordshire.

Bought a lot at their auction yesterday and when they sent the invoice through it said they do not take debit/credit cards over the phone, then when I rang them to ask about this they said they do take payments over the phone. I was then told that the items bought had to be collected by 3pm the next day. I asked for nearest Mailboxes to contact and was told High Wycombe and the member of staff at Swan's said she would ring them as well for us. Needless to say she didn't. We rang Mailboxes at 9am on the Monday and they said they would be in touch with Swan's and ring us back. They didn't bother to ring us back and after 2 hours waiting we rang them back again only to be told they would not have a driver available that day to pick us the item. We rang Swan's again and were told they would have to collect the item with others and take it back to Oxford and we would have to contact the Oxord Mailboxes then. Now we are wondering if we will be contacted by Swan's when the item is collected and doubt very much that they will and it will result in yet another phone call from us to find out where our item is. These auction houses have the audacity to charge vast amounts in buyer's premium and seem to provide no service whatsoever to their buyers. We are very disappointed with the service we have received from both Swan Auctions and Mailboxes, High Wycombe and will not be using them again. In the meantime we are still awaiting the whereabouts and delivery of the item we purchased at their auction.

I had my 50th birthday lunch here for 12 people and can’t thank the staff enough, everything was perfect.We had a very warm welcome from Antoine and Camille, the food was delicious, highly recommend the “cocktails”...Staff and service were “A” star and couldn’t of asked for a better celebration meal.

We have had many lunches over recent years but recently we have also enjoyed the special weekday suppers .. . the Rib Beef and the Mussels. These are not pared down cheap come ons, but remarkably well if simply executed plates. The raw materials are very high quality and the composition brilliant. Value is incredible as the meals include a good wine or a cider and excellent home baked bread. This is a truly brilliant combination. Taken together with the charm and welcome of Camille and Antoine and the team then the enjoyment is total. The value drives popularity, but this potential problem is dealt with efficiently and calmly. But do book!

I’m a foodie and I’ve had bouillabaisse all over the world, I went to La Bouillabaisse in Cannes during this past film festival and I have to say hands down, this is by far the most perfect Bouillabaisse I have ever had!!! The fish so meaty and fresh and tenderly cooked, the rouille full of organic garlic and light with delight, the croutons wafer thin baked from homemade baguette with love and to start I had also the most delicious lobster ravioli with a cognac lobster bisque. I’m in seafood heaven and I haven’t tried the other dishes on this seating. Who knew that perfection of French cuisine could be found in the Chilterns. I found out the chef is from Marseilles! He’s the real thing. Also, the staff is lovely, the waiter and waitress seem like they walked off a film with Audrey Tattoo they are so charming, jovial and gorgeous with Joie De vivre . Voila!!!

Friendly and helpful staff. Very knowledgeable and will keep a look out for what I am after

Service is ultra professional and friendly but it’s the food which is first class. We had warm bread rolls with 3 little swirls of cultured butter.My wife had lobster ravioles while I had foie gras with a slice of caramelised pear on top of gingerbread (pain d’epices?) to start with.Cremant for Madame but I resisted Sauternes as sadly I was driving.Roast beef for my wife with roast potatoes etc and home made horseradish (sinus clearing) with first class jus while I had duck confit and little nuggets of foie-gras.Tarte tatin and latte to finish.I love French food and I tell you, even Le Manoir might not be my first choice location of French food.

\You don’’t normally expect to fInd a top quality restaurant adjoining an antique shop in a friendly but otherwise unremarkable south Oxfordshire village. It was our first visit and we had the very best meal we can remember. The management welcomed us in a charmingly French and friendly way and thiscontInued throughout. It wasn’t cheap but it was100% worth every .

The Swan’s chef from Marseilles was on superb form the evening we visited the restaurant. It was a pleasure to eat french inspired food in deepest Oxfordshire all beautifully prepared and delivered with a degree of French panache by the husband and wife combo front of houseIf you are travelling down/up the M40 take the opportunity to divert the short distance off the motorway to eat here - you will not be disappointed if our experience was anything to go by.

Incredible food beautifully presented, great choice of wines, fabulous service, light airy room with quirky paraphernalia from the adjoining antiques centre. This is somewhere you want to linger for lunch, for the atmosphere and for the charming staff. Love it.

A warm welcome awaits you at this great restaurant. The staff are very friendly and helpful. The food was superb and there is a great wine selection.

Wonderful evening with 14 friends + a delicious meal, a great evening as always enjoyed by all. Delicious wine too

Tucked away in a little Oxfordshire village next to an antiques centre, this Gallic gastronomic delight is full of surprises and nothing short of exceptional! Service is friendly and hospitable, relaxed yet professional. Food is something special...

Hubby and I visited The Swan for one of the special menu nights in their series of Tour de France. It was a Moules menu consisting of moules, chips a drink and dessert for the very reasonable price of £15.

1st visit , absolutely loved it. Friendly team, great wine. Lovely setting and the best food I’ve had in a very very long time

To Maitre D'/Owner, Antoine: "Two simple questions - firstly, do you have a table for 2 for this evening; secondly, if so could we have a taster menu?" Without hesitation the answer to both questions was an emphatic and hospitable, "Yes".

I booked a table at the Swan after hearing so many good reviews, and I wasn't disappointed! Both the service and atmosphere were amazing. We had a very relaxed meal whilst feeling as though we were properly looked after. The food of course was outstanding and cooked to perfection, the menu had such variety without being too big or overcomplicated. If you are in the area you must pop in, no doubt you'll be greeted with open arms!

The Food was amazing like always especially the lamb，it was absolutely wonderful. The service was amazing，friendly staff who are always happy to see you whether or not you are a regular.

What a lovely place, very quaint! And So friendly. We was full up tbh after cooking school morning but the food was so good we had to eat it. What a gem of a place.We don’t live locally unfortunately but will definitely return at some point.

Very interesting and helpful staff.

Super équipe, serveurs adorables, cuisine au top merci beaucoup pour ce moment ! Nous reviendrons avec plaisir

Staying at the Hilton up the road but we fancied a decent evening dinner. TripAdvisor showed this as the top pick locally so we booked a table. The dinning room is a kind if shabby chic and had a good ambience. The water is excellent and gave is plenty if time to chose. The food is French classic bistro style but cooked to a very high standard. Lobster and scallop starters we're excellent as was the chateaubriand. If we lived locally we could be regulars! Definitely recommended

We went today with a friend who clearly goes regularly for food.

Safe parking. Bistro atmosphere. Friendly efficient staff. Pricey wine. Starter a little too cool to get the full flavour. Sunday roast beef of the best I have ever eaten in the world. Refreshing to have a Sunday meal without screaming unruly children.

We've been on a few occasions, in Dec for my mothers Birthday and today for my fathers. It was fantastic, beautiful food but in a relaxed atmosphere. I started with the scallops and as a British Diver I've had a few but these were the best ever, perfectly cooked with perfect seasoning and spice. I had the cod as my main which again was beautiful and by parents had the Chateaubriand which looked delicious. Finished with a strawberry tart with a refreshing elderflower sorbet, again delicious. Unfortunately no pics as too busy enjoying the food.

Three of us celebrating the last A level exam for one of us. Fantastic Chateaubriand for two and the same with the cod for me. Destination prices but fantastic everything. Just brilliant!

A treasure trove for older period pieces, but less so for early mid 20th C. I often pop in on the off chance, but end up disappointed. I find it solidly traditional.

Enjoyed lunch to day. Pleasant surroundings, excellent quality French restaurant, food is imaginative and very well prepared. Excellent service.

We accidentally discovered this place on our way to a friends wedding. And wow! We were recommended roast beef and we ordered some bread and scallops. The scallops were perfectly seared, so flavorful yet melted in mouth. The roast beef was delightful!! So tender and yummy. Such lovely service too. What a delightful place!!!

Such a surprise to find such quality in an area bereft of excellence.

This is a lovely restaurant. Antoine and his wife have made this place great. The food is wonderful. Classic french cooking with excellent ingredients and positive but relaxed service. Perfect for a special meal, but also their weekday soirees are inexpensive and delicious too. We have been several times now and it is our favourite restaurant in the area.

Amazing food, Amazing service, Great night out. Made to feel welcome the second you step into the restaurant.

Greeted by the owner at the door, was welcomed and made to feel special, great food great service. I will be going back.

Excellent food lovely wine can't wait to go back. We booked a table for four. Service was great and we had a very good evening.

Amazing auction house !!!! Shakira was so helpful .....you just don't get service like that these days. I purchased a perspex vase, and sorted a delivery company to pick it up......Parcel was very well packed, and all the labelling was in order....THANK YOU ....Amazing

Unusual French up market restaurant with bistro style unfussy food with excellent wine list. Adequate parking, interesting dining room and good service. Fun maitre D with lovely sense of humour. A haunt of regulars from Oxford. Don’t miss it.

Totally wonderful place. We arrived early. Took damson gin and tonic outside in the fading sun. Owners are super kind interesting and fun. We also had mussels and morels. Amazing. Then lamb and rabbit. So french and perfect selection of wines too. Service is impeccable and at a correct pace. The venue has a great atmosphere and desirable for any occasion. It’s the third time we’ve eaten here in a year and it’s the best place around Thame by a fair distance. Go experience great french service, food and atmosphere. Merci.

We had a delightful long lunch at the Swan and it was a real surprise to come across food of this quality. There were five of us and everyone thoroughly enjoyed their menu selections. The French proprietors and waiting staff added to the experience with their charm and friendliness. If only there were more places like the Swan!

Stopped by on a sunny evening, sat in the garden and was incredibly well looked after by the hosts, Antoine and Camille. As the title says, the Dover sole was to die for, cooked in butter served with boiled potatoes, carrot and purple sprouting. Then came the desert, poached pineapple OMG. I have eaten here on a number of occasions and never been disappointed. If you’re in South Oxfordshire this restaurant is a must.

Incredible food and fantastic, friendly service. Had three courses - all of which were wonderful. Can’t recommend highly enough!

Stumbled across this place today whilst looking for somewhere for a quick lunch with my wife.

Visited several times for supper: delicious menu and always a hugely warm welcome from Antoine and Camille. Stunning venue for my 50th birthday for 60 people with delicious canapés in the terrace. Antoine was a dream to work with to organise the event, very flexible and accommodating. Can’t recommend highly enough for supper or as a venue for the perfect celebration, Thankyou both!

We started our evening with apperitifs (Kir Royale and Campari Soda) which were mixed perfectly. We had an amuse bouche which was delicious. We were served home made breads with plain butter and rosemary butter. I started my meal with asparagus with a perfectly poached egg and hollandaise sauce and my husband had Foie Gras which was delicious. We both had Bouillabaisse for main course which was delicious. This was washed down with a bottle of Montrachet that was a perfect accompaniment. Too full for a dessert, we had coffee and left very happy people. Thanks Antoine and your team for a delicious well served meal in a fantastic setting.

We’ve been to The Swan many times over the years but this was our first visit since it reopened following a kitchen fire prior to Christmas 2017 which put the restaurant out of action until mid 2018. We’ve been critical of the food and value in a previous review but absolutely no complaints this time.

Stopped at the antiques centre for a browse and then popped into the restaurant for a coffee. Such an attractive restaurant and we would have loved to have been able to stop for lunch as we know from past experience that the food is great, and one always gets a warm welcome. Top marks for the scones still warm from the oven and the homemade jam!

The restaurant owners really go the extra mile to make the evening a really enjoyable . So far we have only experienced the Moules and Frites evening but at £15 per head including drink (usually terrific French Cider) , lovely bread butter and black salt and a delicious sweet it is really good value for money. The evening is relaxed and there is no pressure to order extras or to turn over tables over. Great coffee though.

Always incredible food and attentive service. I’ve been here on many occasions and the Swan never fails to impress

The Swan is adjacent to its sister organisation Swan Antiques in a charming Oxfordshire Village close to the M40 with easy access and ample parking. The restaurant is very French in atmosphere with food of a high standard using local fresh produce to enhance delightful flavors. The French menu is small but concentrates on quality. the wine list is not extensive and if there is a critique wine prices are on the high side and can raise eyebrows at first glance, although the quality of offering is good. The restaurant caters for some 60 plus covers making personal service pleasurable. tables are antique or rustic in nature and the interior decor is pleasing to the eye. Good food, good service and worth a visit for any occasion and especially for that special one.

The combination of excellent service , a lovely french menu and wine list , a pleasant ambience , amazing food well presented , all led to a superb dining experience . I had Scallops , beef wellington , crepes suzette .... all tasty and well presented. Its not cheap at all but the prices refected the quality of the whoe dining experience

We were a large party (6) on a busy Sunday lunchtime. The service was extremely good and the food was really fabulous. Nothing to fault. A very special place.

Purchased lovely watch at the auction on Thursday. Really happy lovely place

A great experience when I sold some paintings at this auction house just before Christmas. Experts on hand were knowledgeable, but also patient and offered great guidance. I was paid promptly and will be back again for sure.

Fabulous place! Great atmosphere, really friendly helpful staff. Highly recommend

I have to admit this is not really our usual kind of establishment for eating out (we're more likely to duck into a regular pub with our dogs in tow) but as we were dog free and visiting the antique centre and we were curious to stick our noses in one day. The restaurant is very cosy and intimate and the food is to die for (sod the diet).Well worth a visit for a special treat or celebration. Antoine is a wonderful host and his family/staff always make us feel very welcome. A real gem!

Everything about both of our meals here has been delightful.