The Ingham Swan
Mastering the menu
Daniel Smith is Norfolk born and bred (he grew up in Caister-on-Sea) and headed to the bright lights of London at the tender age of 18, where he started work at Le Gavroche. It was back in Norfolk, though, a few years later, where he really made a name for himself at Morston Hall, and now, after a decade as executive chef of a thriving pub company, he’s made the most of his considerable knowledge and experience to create an impressive dining inn. His driving passion is for the ingredients found in this part of the world, where rich farming country meets the sea, and the seasonal daily-changing menu reflects the very best of the county. He heads up a team in the kitchen that make their own ice cream, bake their own bread (twice a day) and even make their own muesli for the B&B guests’ breakfast. The sensitive makeover of the building has kept genuine character in the spaces that make up the restaurant – lots of exposed flint and solid beams – and it’s a stylish space for some stylish modern European food. Twice-baked Montgomery Cheddar cheese soufflé, char-grilled fillet of beef with dauphinoise potatoes and vanilla crème brûlée with raspberry sorbet and vanilla macaroons reveal the classical grounding of the chef, with the à la carte menu supported by a menu du jour and a 7-course tasting menu. It’s so locally-minded that a partnership with a local farming family allows them to have land on the farm where they grow and manage the majority of the Restaurant’s seasonal British produce, a grower in the village provides Maris Piper potatoes for the house chips and Cromer crabs feature whenever possible. Attention to detail runs from start to finish.
On the menu
Lunch Du Jour
Two Courses £16.50
Three Courses £20.95
Dinner Du Jour
Two Courses £22.50
Three Courses £28.00
Tasting Menu
£55.00 for Seven Courses
Cromer crab salad with avocado cream, crispy crab cake, lemon purée, King’s Lynn brown shrimps, smoked salmon salsa and cockles £8.95
Trio of local lamb – fillet, crispy breast and loin – with caramelised red onion, broccoli, confit beetroot, cocotte potatoes and basil jus £21.50
Caramelised onion and Binham Blue galette, confit beetroot, roasted red peppers and watercress cream £14.50
Pan-roasted sea bass with samphire, garlic crevette prawns, broad beans, cocotte potatoes, parisienne courgettes, parsley velouté £19.50
Local raspberry and strawberry Eton Mess with strawberry ice cream £6.95
Sunday Roasts
(£22.50 two courses, £28 three courses)
Roast fillet of English beef with Yorkshire pudding, sautéed Savoy cabbage, rosemary roast potatoes, honey caramelised carrots and rich red wine jus
Roast leg of lamb with fondant potato, confit beetroot and rich red wine jus
Pan-roast farm chicken breast, cocotte potatoes, broad beans, fennel duxelles, buttered spinach, wild mushrooms and light cream jus
Time to Eat
Breakfast: 8.30am - 9.30am
Lunch: 12 noon - 2pm (3pm Sunday)
Dinner: 7pm - 9pm
Local, local, local
Fish/seafood – Cley Smokehouse, Cley (www.cleysmokehouse.com)
Real ale – Woodforde’s Brewery, Woodbastwick (www.woodfordes.co.uk)
Fish/seafood – Howard & Sons, Norwich (www.fishmongersnorwich.com)
Fruit & vegetables – The Tacons, Rollesby (www.thetacons.co.uk)
Meat – Swannington Farm to Fork, Swannington (www.swanningtonfarmtofork.co.uk)
Whisky – English Whisky Company, Roudham (www.englishwhisky.co.uk)
Behind the bar
The Swan may well be a dining pub, but there’s still a charmingly rustic bar and homely snug where you’ll find a fine pint of Woodforde’s Wherry among the options at the pumps. It’s an appealing spot for a pre-dinner aperitif with a superb wine list on hand to get you in the mood for the dining to come. There are eight wines available by the glass (in two measures) and each is available by the bottle at £20 – a fabulous choice for the lower end of the price spectrum. There’s also a range of fine wines, so pushing the boat out is also an option. The Norfolk-based English Whisky Company provides something stronger.
Bar snacks
Wherry beer-battered cod with Ingham chips, caper mayonnaise and cucumber salad
Local Walsingham cows’ milk cheese ploughman’s with balsamic baked tomato, sticky onions, pickled red cabbage, tomato chutney, charred toast and Granny Smith salad
Char-grilled 28-day aged sirloin steak with Ingham chips
Garlic baked field mushroom, blue cheese sauce and roquette salad
