What we thought

If there’s one thing to get us all excited in the Ashtead Living office, it’s the prospect of Spanish food. When we saw the opportunity to try out Spanish food that came under the Jose Pizarro umbrella, we jumped at the chance. While obviously not in Ashtead, we went to try out the food (and wine!) at The Swan in Claygate. 

And we’re so glad we did. 

We visited on a Wednesday evening, so the place wasn’t rammed. But, we were glad we had reserved, as there weren't any other tables available. Great to see a local business at capacity mid week.. Before sitting, we ordered a beer and a glass of Pentellon - which turned out to be a very drinkable Spanish Albarino. While not cheap, it wasn’t prohibitively expensive either at £41.25. 

At our table, we continued drinking the rest of the bottle, whilst deciding what to eat. To our delight, we found that during the week, the restaurant offers a special menu where you can pick five tapas plates and a paella for £49.90. Again, not cheap - but we found the amount of food provided, and its quality, to be fantastic and worth the money. We chose a Scotch egg with a Spanish twist, a chorizo burger, meatballs, the croquettes of the day (spinach and manchego for us) and tortilla. Our paella was a sobrasada variety with slow cooked pork ribs. 

All in all, it was quite the spread.

For instance, the croquettes - we could have happily eaten about 20 of each. And while the rest of our meal was fairly meat-orientated, Spanish omelette aside, it was all still very varied. The only drawback would be that by the time the paella came, there was no chance of us being at all hungry. That being said, we ate the entire thing, which goes to show how yummy it was. 

What we liked about it

Standout service with a good value midweek menu 

What we didn’t love

Having to leave

Would we go back?

In a heartbeart.