Restaurant at Swan Hotel

Yet another of those impossibly beautiful Cotswold houses, this one in a riverside setting complete with ancient bridge and fine rural views. More than most the Swan is an exercise in country house living and to dine in the Signet Room is very much a homely experience quietly overlaid with a degree of professionalism that, like all the best of its kind, is understated and sensitively managed.

A leek and garlic soup scented with truffle oil appeals but then so too does the ginger and crab ravioli with a carrot emulsion. A braised blade of Scottish beef comes with a creamy garlic mash and in its own juices, or still in Scotland you might feel compelled to consider the pave of Scottish salmon on a spring onion mash with a lobster chowder and some braised fennel.

Service is impeccable, house wine is and a worldly wine list will, as with everything else about the Swan, delight you.