The Swan and Cemetery

Manchester Road, Bury

A pub lunch used to be something of a regular occurrence when I was growing up. As kids, we frequently popped to country alehouses for a roast dinner on a Sunday or scampi and chips midweek, but back then, my palate was much more limited, and so we couldn’t afford to be as adventurous with our choice of cuisine.

Recently, I met some friends at The Swan & Cemetery, a multi-award winning pub and restaurant which has received recognition for the quality of its fare on numerous occasions. Considering it’s so local, I’m not entirely sure why it took me so long to pay a visit.

It has that traditional country pub vibe to it, with its wooden beams and ornamental cabinets, which are full of a very impressive collection of swans. The spacious tables and comfortable leather chairs are complemented by opulent table settings and proper napkins. Plus, the restaurant is separate from the pub, even having its own entrance, so there are no sticky tables or cutlery in baskets.

The Swan & Cemetery are all about local produce, sourcing meat from local butchers, fresh vegetables and Black Pudding from the original and best source, Bury’s ever-popular market.

Food is served everyday from 12 noon until 9.00pm. It’s a vast menu which changes seasonally to reflect the availability of produce. To start, I had the Asian Duck Spring Rolls, a recent addition to the menu; shredded Cantonese-style duck fried in batter to a lovely golden brown crisp and served with a rich plum and hoisin sauce. They weren’t too greasy and didn’t blow the inside of your mouth off when you bit into them – always a bonus!

Asian Duck Spring Rolls

It was a tough choice for main course, given that they have every classic you could possibly think of. Pies, curries, lamb shank, steaks, sea bass, burgers, gammon, pasta and risotto, there’s such a vast array it’s almost overwhelming to a foodie such as myself, with eyes twice the size of his stomach. It’s not a cheap menu, and as it was the middle of the working week I was conscious of over-indulging the wallet. However, to quote the old adage, ‘you get what you pay for’, so I opted for the Beef Wellington, and the quality made the slightly bigger dent worthwhile.

A hunk of prime fillet steak was topped with the chef’s homemade pâté and wild mushrooms, encased in puff pastry, cooked to the right level of crispiness and served with red wine gravy, vegetables and sweet potato chips. It was a real treat. The steak was deliciously lean, tender and juicy, with not an ounce of fat in sight. The creamy pâté and wild mushrooms added flavour and texture whilst preventing the pastry from turning soggy. Drowned in the rich red wine gravy, it melted away in the mouth and was a luxurious midweek treat, accompanied by some crispy sweet potato chips – my favourite - and a little heap of seasonal vegetables.

Beef Wellington

Despite having already comfortably surpassed the ‘full and satisfied’ stage, the extensive list of traditional puddings proved too tempting to resist. They have every home cooked classic you could possibly ask for, including apple pie, jam roly poly, crème brûlée, eton mess, key lime pie and banoffee pie.

The Billionaire’s Cheesecake, something a little more contemporary and a recent addition to the menu, was a genius hybrid of millionaire’s shortbread and cheesecake, two of my very favourite things. A layer of caramel was sandwiched between the biscuit base and the caramel flavoured cheesecake, which was topped with chocolate ganache (love that word) and topped off with honeycomb pieces and a dusting of edible gold. Sweet, sticky and delightful all-round, served with a scoop of ice cream.

Billionaire's Cheesecake

It’s easy to see why The Swan and Cemetery was awarded Thwaites’ ‘Best Pub Dining’ award in 2017, for the food is something special and certainly not what you’d categorise as pub grub. It may be expensive, but it’s well worth pushing the boat out every now and again.

Over the last few years, in Whitefield, we’ve gained all the major cuisines - Italian, Indian, Chinese, American and Thai – but a meal at The Swan and Cemetery serves to remind you that nothing beats some quality, home-cooked, traditional English food.

Website: https://swanandcemetery.co.uk/