The Swan & Salmon in Newark and Sherwood

This has turned into my 'go to' place for lunch in Newark. The welcome is always genuine, the food & service are good, and I'm pleased to see that it is usually busy on a lunchtime. Have to admit, I regularly go past on my daily walk and the smells coming from the restaurant are always amazing, one of these days I'll go in for breakfast or Sunday lunch. I started to go back to the Swan and Salmon first after Covid, and then after the devastating floods we've had here in recent years, feeling like I wanted to support them. Now I just go back because everything about the place is good. One of the better lunch spots in Newark, and given how many people were in there today, I'm not the only person who thinks that.

Lively pub and the staff are amazing.

Lovely location for a restaurant,/bar set in an ideal Location by the river. Service A star. Dog friendly and the lovely waitress Amy gave our puppy a treat and she was polite, professional and she was lovely throughout our stay. Would definitely go back again, for food Next time!

We've just had a lovely relaxing lunch at this great venue.which is one of our favourite places to visit when we are in the area. All staff welcoming and friendly as usual. Can highly recommend the steak sandwich,which was very yummy. Hubby opted for the cheese sandwich with chips which he enjoyed. Great bottle of pinot as well. Looking forward to our next visit.

Had a lovely drink of pepsi and hot chocolate. The restaurant/ pub is in a beautiful location overlooking the river and the staff are lovely. Waitress, Aimee Barnard was very welcoming and gave our puppy a treat. Would definitely come back again.

So amazing and sweet!! Lovely girl she came over with a smile on her face and was extremely very polite. I had a chicken burger and requested for ketchup :)

Aimee was brilliant, very lovely and very helpful. Would come back again really made the environment comfortable loved her

We used the Swan & Salmon for our wedding reception and it was absolutely perfect! The food was really good and the staff were all so friendly and accommodating. We would highly recommend using the venue for a special event. 10/10

We had our wedding reception at Swan & Salmon and it was absolutely perfect! Food was great and Heather and the team did an amazing job. We would highly recommend using Swan & Salmon as a venue for any event.

My weekly lunch trip with friends is always underwhelming. We have tried every cafe,restaurant,pub in Newark and always go home dissapointed. Not today though ! Charming pub with lovely river views. Food was great-lots of choice and came out piping hot. Service was excellent and nothing too much trouble. At last we have found our regular spot - highly recommend.

Went a couple weeks ago with a friend for some dinner and drinks. The waitress that served us was absolutely miserable, she looked like she’d practically been forced to work there. I’m positive she did not smile once throughout the whole time she was waiting on us, and every time she served us her manner was very abrupt and passive, her tone blunt like she was bored and couldn’t be bothered to engage in conversation with us, even just general comments about the drinks, food etc; She wasn’t accommodating at all, whether this is because she’s new or just simply incapable of being nice to people - I feel the staff need some extensive training on customer service, but then again it’s not that hard to put a smile on your face and do your job properly!! A nice server can really uplift a pubs environment and make people want to come back because they know they’re greeted with a friendly face, this is not the case for me and my friends unfortunately. Also, food is overpriced for the amount that you get and the lack of flavour 👎🏻

Food was excellent, service is a little clucky. Really enjoyed the meal. Would recommend this resturant. Will be returning soon

Despite being outside the aroma of fish and chips was pervasive despite no one eating this near us

Staff are rude & disrespectful, instead of telling people who fish outside their establishment to eff off! 😮 Requesting politely would be way more conducive to reaching a productive solution imho. Disgraceful & disgusting what if that was a revenue bringing visitor to our town?

We love this place , main thing is, it's dog friendly, but the food is ace! The have a couple of ales on too which is vital for me 😀

Lovely and chilled here today staff fabulous will definitely be back

Absolutely appauled! Quiet dull day, family lunch and drinks sat outside husband fishing and get told to f*** off by female staff in front of my children. Disgusting behaviour!

Only had drinks here. Nice canal side venue, pity about the only bar access being stairs? Didn't see any other way in.

Dog friendly, great riverside location, good atmosphere. We had the seafood platter to share which was spot on.

really nice venue with great views over the water. The owners are very helpful too. Lots of different seating areas and nice for smaller functions like weddings .

The food was amazing as is the location. I can't wait to go back.

Came yesterday for some food with husband and was really nice,the chips were so yummy reminded me of my mums homemade chips...salad lush and the chicken was cooked perfect! Service with a smile from all bar staff! Lovely view of the trent to! Came a couple months ago with my 11 year old daughter and had whitebait,side salad and chips to share by the river...we really liked it! Spesh the whitebait!

Main food was great. Asked for the dessert menu which never came. Appeared to be lots of staff doing very little. Went downstairs to the under cover section. Very disappointing lots of weeds. Needs a good brush as rubbish on the floor. . Area full of old chairs and stuff that needs to go to the skip. Very grimy and disappointing

Great good. Nice to sit and people watch near the river/lock

Great food, venue. Staff made us very welcome. Good food. Calamari and sirloin arrived quickly and hot. Great place recommend!!

Dropped in for a cool drink. Only had the one each for my wife and myself. Non alcoholic and one alcoholic beer.

Apparently this used to be a nightclub. For 2 mature couples trying to enjoy a riverside dinner, it might as well still be. The dining room was pleasant enough but very hot and stuffy so we sat in a booth not far from the bar. During our meal groups of people arrived for drinks only who hung around the creating a deafening din to the point where we could not have a conversation. We were forgotten about after we had ordered the food and no one came to get more drinks orders. The noise got so bad we went to the bar and asked to move and we moved to the dining room which had now vacated. The noise was less here but it still carried over from the bar. The manager was pleasant enough and was helpful. The food was awful. Polpette spaghetti. Dry bland meatballs in a sad bland sauce. No chilli flavour, no fresh parsley, no detectable parmesan which i had to ask for. Pollo alla Milanese was an overcooked dry as a bone breadcrumbed chicken breast on dry spaghetti. These meals are not cheap £17.50 and £16.95. Frankly its crap, freezer to oven/microwave. This pub could be so much better. waterside position, great tables outdoors. Yet it only seems to attract drinkers who then head off to the nightclub down the street. Diners with cash to spend would come here in droves if they upped their game. Proper traditional quality food served by older staff with 70s 80s music that everyone likes. Dare I say... gastro-pub quality would achieve a far higher average spend per customer and make them much happier too. We wanted to pay and no one came over - for 30min. Eventually i had to go to the kid that was serving us and ask him how we pay and he put his phone down and came over. Even the beer was a bit disappointing. They had a pale hoppy IPA style beer and it was cloudy probably because it was the end of the barrel and no one had changed it. Its not easy running any business, we have had covid and a cost of living crisis. However a quality business had a batter chance of success. A friend of mine opened a champagne bar in Tamworth of all places and within weeks it was rammed 4 nights a week. Create the right environment and people will come.

Not what I was expecting. Poor menu. Beef looked ok probably best option. I had a burger. Bread cake was really dry and tasteless burger. Very disappointing

One of my favourite places to have an early evening drink in Newark

Great food and wonderful view of the Trent. Or in my case, a wonderful view of my wife looking at the Trent.

Nipped in for Sunday roast. Absolutely delicious great service and lovely view. Definitely recommend

Menu looked good. Prices were good.

First time visited and will most certainly be returning. It's 2 floors and located next to the river. A gorgeous atmosphere when the sun is out.

Great food and service, every time :-)

This was my first visit to the swan and salmon with my partner and what a great night! Great friendly welcome on arrival, great food which was really well presented, great service and good atmosphere as well. We came tonight on a recommendation and im really glad we did! Really impressed, thank you to all the staff!

Food was average, drinks were good although we had 4 each from the cocktail offers menu and didn’t feel tipsy at all. Waiting staff weren’t very attentive but think they were busy at the bar area and a large table too. Pleasant dining experience but probably won’t rush back for food

Excellent restaurant/bar. Staff were very friendly and helpful. Location is superb, right by the river. We had a couple of drinks and a snack. Service was great and the Bruschetta was delicious. Can't wait to return.

We enjoyed our afternoon at 'The Swan & Salmon' very much. The Venue, Staff and Food was excellent, and with views of the Castle, the beautiful short walk from the Gilstrap to The Swan and Salmon being so stunning, made our wedding very special, So a big shout out to Heather and all the staff, who couldn’t do enough to ensure our time spent with them was perfect. Thank you all once again. Stuart Forgot to mention the ‘cherry on the cake’ a major asset. The free and private car park right outside the door!

A family get together. It was brilliant . Thanks to all the staff for making it special.

possibly the worst meal ive ever eaten whitebait overcrumbed, chips not cooked enough the affogato melted and swimming in sauce I couldn't finish it. the service was unbelievably slow. the staff were helpful and the setting is ideal. we will not be returning

Dog friendly in a crisis. Attended a sad event here. We were let down by dog minder so had to bring our Red Setter. The manageress used her discretion and let us bring her in. So much appreciated. Well done. Event went smoothly and the excellent sausage rolls were especially worth a mention.

Visited this place last night during Easter Weekend, we didn't make a reservation which we perhaps should have done, however we were accommodated very nicely in a lively part of the restaurant and not tucked away in some little corner. The food was delicious, the service was great and we would highly recommend. Looking forward to going again soon

Had a lovely family lunch. Service and atmosphere spot on. Food delicious, I had the steak sandwich (which I would highly recommend!) and apparently the chunky chips are really good (I’ll be trying those next time!). Great choice for children too, our little boy said his chicken gougons were 10/10! Looking forward to coming back soon!

Thank you all. 4 of us shared two birthdays. One today and one next week. The service and food were first class and we were so well looked after. Couldn't have asked for better.

Amazing gammon steak thick chips and eggs Worth the price and good atmosphere venue and staff

Food was excellent and have discounted menu for February. I had chicken with tagliatelle which was good value. As Thursday night not many in so quiet, which was good for catching up with a friend. Service was a bit hit and miss. Think new staff member!

We had a great meal on Saturday, all the food is freshly cooked when you order. The service was excellent and nothing was a bother for the staff. Will be back there soon.

Very nice location 👌. Great food 👌

We visited here for the first time. Service was friendly and helpful. We all thouroughly enjoyed our well presented and tasty meals.We plan to visit again after the winter to take advantage of the views from the location.

We had a great meal here, they couldn’t do enough for us and the food was excellent! We will definitely be back. Thank you to the friendly staff and thank you to the chef for the tasty meals 😋

Call to ask if any spaces left for Sunday Lunch quite late in the day, we were told they could fit us in at 3.30. Our family of six were seated with a lovely view over the River Trent. The service, staff, atmosphere and food were absolutely brilliant. Possibly one of the best Sunday Lunches we have had, cooked to perfection. Thank you.

One of the best/most tasty Sunday dinners I think I’ve had.. veg cooked to perfection (not all soggy and tasteless) Yorkshire puddings were real, roasties were crunchy but fluffy in the middle, the meats were tender and tasteful, gravy was A+ and the horseradish was the best I’ve ever had as well.. staff were friendly and welcoming, helpful and able to have a conversation. Would recommend to anyone in the Nottinghamshire area.

I went for a big work Christmas party. It was really good. the room was lovely and the decorations were really well done. The food was fantastic, better than I have had at other places on Christmas day ! The staff were all brilliant. I plan to come for a meal with my family in the new year.

Food great reasonably priced, staff friendly

Absolutely loved it! There were 9 of us with 2 prams. Staff, particularly Andy, could not do enough for us. Would really highly recommend. Spotlessly clean. Food and drinks spot on! 10/10

Had a beautiful dinner before the theatre this week. Surroundings are lovely, restaurant would be great for a party. Lots of choice on the menu and service was great. My friend and I both had the same, bruschetta followed by lasagne so need to return to try more. Only 4 stars for atmosphere as it was very early and only us in so cannot honestly comment. Would strongly recommend, I will return. We were even able to leave our car parked there whilst we went to the theatre 👌.

First time we've been in this incarnation of the restaurant - and it did not disappoint. It was quiet, but a walk from and to the car park before and after the meal showed a similar picture in all establishments and I am certain the weekend will be lively. Very pleasant atmosphere and, had it been light, a wonderful view over the river and park. The food was excellent in all respects - and a peek at the plates being placed on the next table showed that there was a wide choice. Dishes were very hot, denoting service immediately following plate-up and presentation was great. A minor dietary problem was dealt with sympathetically and there were no issues whatsoever in the care of the staff. Highly recommended!

What a fantastic place, great welcome received upon our arrival. Ordered off the set menu, 2 courses. The food was really tasty and came to our table quickly. The décor and atmosphere was delightful and whole experience was lovely. With the added bonus of a carpark, we were able to leave the car whilst we went to the theatre. We will definitely return again very soon and have already recommended to friends and family.

Excellent food , friendly staff .

Only visited for drinks, but its a lovely place and really looking forward to trying the food one day. Loved being able to sit out by the river, and the staff behind the bar are really helpful and friendly!

Having visited here for a drink and liking the place decided to take my family of 7 for husbands birthday but was extremely disappointed. The service was slow our the food was poor. the manager did came over and apologise but by this time the occasion was dampened. We decided to leave without trying desserts just in case of anymore complaints. I also noticed once home the price of some items on our bill was actually more than the price on the menu we looked at that we thought we would be charged, again I made a call to make the restaurant know this and again an apology was made but I feel these should be things that should not be happening and when I said that I would not be back the member of staff said that was my choice. And yes she was so right but with the amount of business going under these days and lack of customer spending surely she should be encouraging customers to return. Another pre booked meal with friends is now cancelled and what might of been a works Christmas party event is now too off the table Sorry swan and salmon very disappointed

Stopped for a quick lunch (road trip off A1). Just had a lovely cheese sandwich. Superb staff and wonderful location. Thank you.

The burgers where brilliant, food was perfect. The colleagues where very kind. The music was very good, and the view by the windows is perfect. Great value

This a bueatful location overlooking the river Trent , Very very nice gluten free meal and dessert washed down with a nice Latte.

Always look forward to having lunch here on our way to holiday in the Peak District. Great food and the waitress was lovely, and told us it was her first day so well done to her. See you next year!

Excellent dinner by the river. The staff and manager were delightful.

Superb gluten free meal and gluten free dessert washed down with with a Latte.

Beautiful building, decor and location, set overlooking a canal and lock. Staff were friendly and helpful and the cocktails were nice. Unfortunately this place is let down by the food. The food was worse than microwave, home cooked or Wetherspoons food. The award winning Sausages are tasteless, the pie was hard, the peas were hard, the gravy was watery.... the list goes on. Defeats the point of being a restaurant, however could make an amazing cocktail bar.

Went here for dinner whilst in the area on business. A few weeks later to my surprise I received a PCN for £100! I did not see what signage advising me I needed to pay to park in the pubs private car park, nor was I advised by staff. Have appealed the PCN and provided the booking details and proof of payment for the food bill to be told to get lost and I should have known better. Will be the last time I visit here.

Had a drink here with my mum next to the newark canal locks! It looks a lovely place for friends and family for great nights n days! 😉👍

Very friendly and helpful staff, lovely atmosphere and great food, and the view is perfect. Thank you

We had a very lovely meal here last night. The booking was accepted at the last minute due to us having been booked in elsewhere in newark and their service being just awful. So we called on a whim here and I'm so pleased we did! A burger meal and a pasta meal were ordered and it was all just lovely. We enjoyed eating it on the balcony overlooking the locks. I will definitely return!

Service here was brilliant, staff couldn’t do enough for us and went out of there way to help us. We where staying next door for the weekend and they were so welcoming and gave us lots of information. Food was really good and price was reasonable too.

Lovely room by the canal…great staff and service and the mussels were divine. There were four of us and we all had mussels!

**6 out of 5** The BEST steak in Newark. I've had the rump steak from The Swan & Salmon a number of times now and it is FANTASTIC! Cooked to perfection & the accompaniments are delightful. Roast cherry tomatoes on the vine, rocket & parmesan salad, choice of skinny or chunky chips. And the STILTON SAUCE - my god that is delicious! 😋 Could not recommend enough - I'm sat waiting for my 3rd or 4th rump steak order right now. I just can't get enough of this place! 😍 P.S. Beautiful views from the balcony!

Fabulous Sunday lunch. 9 of us & everyone said how fab their meal was. Will def be back. Thank you S&S 😍

Great setting beside the river. Choice of inside and outside seating, with some on a balcony for a premium view. Was very pleased with the whole experiance. Friendly, Polite staff, who could not do enough for us. Nice pint of Aspels Cider. We sat in the small atmospheric Bar. I had a light bite Haddock and Chips with garden peas. All expertly cooked. Minimal waiting time from ordering to at our table. My parther had the Prawn sandwich, which she really enjoyed. Wholemeal bread was great. Will definately be returning. Five stars to the whole crew!

I visited the Swan and Salmon restaurant for a meal and some drinks, only to find a parking ticket in the post a few days later. A staff member had previously assured me that parking in their lot was permissible as long as the parking spot displayed the Swan and Salmon signage. Unfortunately, I misunderstood the somewhat unclear signs. In my attempt to rectify the situation, I appealed the ticket and provided evidence in the form of a timestamped transaction, confirming that I had indeed patronised the restaurant during the time of parking. Disappointingly, my appeal was denied by the parking company. Subsequently, I reached out to the restaurant in hopes of finding a resolution. The owner, Tony, informed me that he had a monthly limit of writing off three parking tickets, all of which had already been utilised by the 5th of Aug. This situation, in my view, highlights potential shortcomings in the establishment's parking setup. While I understand the necessity of addressing parking concerns, the current system's complexity and ambiguity are concerning. I recognise the challenges that parking poses for businesses, but I kindly implore that legitimate customers not be unfairly penalised. Regrettably, this experience has led to the loss of three customers, myself included. I genuinely hope that the Swan and Salmon will consider making adjustments to prevent further customer dissatisfaction and loss. A possible recommendation is to inquire with customers upon their arrival if they have utilised the car park, as is common practice in numerous other establishments.

TL:DR Amazing service, great food and lovely scenery by the water. - I don’t live in Newark but live nearby and decided to go for a walk and explore what was nearby. Firstly, a lovely place to go for a meal. Sat on the balcony by the river with a beautiful view in the sunshine. My only criticism would be the cleanliness of the balcony seating / tables. Lots of cobwebs 🕸️. Secondly, the customer service was amazing. The staff were efficient, friendly and happy to assist with everything. Finally, the food was excellent. Delightfully presented and delicious. Worth every penny.

Called in for a drink, sat outside in the sunshine, and decided to have some food. Ordered the beef Sunday lunch, and we couldn't fault it. Hot, tasty, and the beef melted in your mouth. Lovely fresh vegetables and extra gravy. Will definitely return.

Heather and team hosted our wedding as a private event. From our first engagement the team were amazing. The day was well planned , well staffed and superbly organised with over 120 people. Nobody went thirsty or hungry. Special thank you to Heather who was super attentive to my wife and ensured she had the perfect day. Would highly recommend . Thank you Heather and the team at Swan and Salmon

The level of service has dropped significantly since the last time I visited. Table service is no longer provided even thoug the prices are high (on par with London). We had to bring four coffees upstairs ourselves from the bar, when clearly there were free staffs idly standing about (they were nervous teenagers, who clearly didn't seem to know what to do.) The man who took our orders made a mistake with our coffee orders, and when we asked if our tables upstairs could be wiped, he said yes with a sour face, then didn't do anything about it. Food took over 30 minutes to be served. All in all, there seemed to be only one lady out of the entire staff that was doing the job properly and was running the whole place alone. The poorly trained staff, unfriendly service, limited food selection and mediocre coffee does not justify their high price - despite the fantastic view of the river. Regrettably, I won't be coming here anymore as Newark offers many other options with better service, food and price.

This is a gem of a place by the river with a great view, great food and with a wonderful service from Camilla. We will definitely be back on our next visit to Newark. Many thanks to Camilla and the team From Wade and Deb

We held our wedding reception on 3 August. Exclusive use of venue including a sit down meal for 30 and evening party with buffet for a further 60 guests. Thank you Tony and staff, (Heather, Andy, Tilly, Lee, Mark and more), for making our wedding day the most fantastic occasion. The food was superb, roast beef with all the trimmings and a variety of vegetables cooked to perfection with a light lemon tart desert equally as good. The service was excellent, very attentive to all of our needs for a wide age group…..9 months to 90 years! The atmosphere and room setup were amazing and all parts of the venue spotlessly clean……..what more can we say other than you did us proud! Thank you!

Fantastic. Wide range of food - our choices were delicious. Staff were extremely friendly, helpful and efficient. Great location. Reasonably priced. Great atmosphere. Lovely venue.

Great food and brilliant service, visited this place a few weeks ago and it was excellent, great staff.

So disappointed with this place today. My daughter had booked and was looking forward to taking me out for a nice lunch but was so upset by the time we left. First of all we were sat down without any menus when a waitress came to take a drinks order she had to get us some, We were only bought the mains menu so I had to ask for the lighter bites. We were then informed that due to an installation of a new oven, many items would be unavailable. I didn't realise the restaurant was a dog friendly place, I love dogs but 2 dogs continually barking a few metres away is not what I would have expected from a place that I was led to believe was a nice restaurant. The food was ok, nothing special I had fish and chips, the chips were a bit dry and the mushy peas quite hard. My daughter asked if she could have halloumi fries instead of chips and offered to pay to upgrade but was told that if she wanted them she would still have the pay the full amount along with paying for her lunch, that really surprised me. Then a Wedding party of about 20 people came in and we had been put up with them so it became very noisy that we couldn't hear each other speak and standing right behind my daughter's chair. I'm sure we could have been seated somewhere a little quieter. When my daughter paid the bill we were asked if all had been ok, I generally don't complain and I didn't complain I just stated that although the food has been ok the experience hadn't, explained and basically just got shrugs back and a promise that things would be taken into consideration for next time. I made it clearly known that there would not be a "next time"

We arrived at the Swan and Salmon and received a very warm and friendly welcome. We had not booked but they offered us a lovely table in the restaurant overlooking the river, Trent. Given plenty of time to look at the drinks and meal menus. We also choose to have two cocktails, but these were not available due to not having the one of the ingredients for the Gin & Basil Smash, “Bombay Sapphire Gin, Fresh Basil, Lime Juice, Elderflower Cordial, Sugar Syrup, Soda” so chose to have a Gin and Tonic. Husband chose to have the homemade beef burger which was very tasty, and I had the rump steak which was cooked to perfection –rare to medium. The chucky chips were great. Prices for the drinks are good as well as the food. We would visit again when in the area. One of our servers’ names was Lee.

lovely evening with amazing service. Matt our waiter was totally awesome 😎 which match the sharing platters

Great view across the river. My spag bol was great as they replaced the pork meatballs with chicken. Tasty, homemade sauce. Good portion size. Other guest had scampi and enjoyed it. Friendly manageress greeted us. Don’t order the sticky toffee pudding - it was bizarre and didn’t look right. Certain it came from the microwave; not much sauce at all and the colour was peculiar. Service was extremely slow and somewhat disappointing.

Just had drinks but a lovely place with friendly staff and a idyllic location 😊

Very good seven and food was excellent

Great night had by all... food was amazing 👏

Took my mum in there yesterday, and she had the mussels on the specials menu, I had the lasagne .... absolutely gorgeous , the portion size of the mussels was huge ! It made our day trip to newark even more special as mum had her favourite meal ! The bill was so reasonable too !We will definitely be back ... the staff were so polite and friendly , roll on next time !

Thursday lunch outside; we had the dog with us, he was invited inside but we wanted to watch the action on the river, being newly arrived by boat ourselves. Service was excellent, even offering water for the dog. Food was delicious. Even people passing commented on how good it looked! I think there was a wedding party going on upstairs judging by the delightful children in beautiful dresses which must say something to the quality of the place too.

Lovely food (what I call plain food, that doesn't mean not tasty, just good food), good service and a decent view across the river Trent to the park opposite. A little pricey, but worth it. Limited parking.

Quiet Tuesday night, great food, background music just right. Service attentive. Check out the back page of the menu, offers certainly worth considering, only noticed on ordering the sweet course!!

Really nice pub, bright and modern inside with a great view of the river. We both had the light bite fish and chips, really tasty. Super friendly staff (to both humans and dogs!).

Don't tell anyone about the sunset!

Sat by the river in a sunny evening- beautiful