Christopher Gray takes his party across the border to visit a restaurant once famed for its celebrity clientele

If any pub-restaurant could be said to define Gloucestershire style it is the Swan in the almost indecently pretty village of Southrop. It is as redolent of the county as – and I shall not spare you the cliches – green wellies, mud-splashed Range Rovers, wet-nosed labradors and the Aga sagas of Joanna Trollope.

Mention of Joanna (whose distinguished ancestor Anthony was born 200 years ago this week) reminds me that she once told me at a party that she was planning to move from Gloucestershire.

With ill-adjusted news antennae, I saw no reason to share this information with readers. The story was a page lead in the Daily Telegraph months later.

I know not whether the novelist, now safely back in her milieu, has been a customer at the Swan, but I should be very surprised if she had not. Other celebrities certainly have, including Kate Moss.

A characteristically acidulous posting on Trip Advisor notes that the place has traded very much on the fact that Kate and bridegroom Jamie Hince popped in for a sharpener on their wedding day.

My riverside local in Oxford, as it happens, earned a bit of a name for precisely the opposite reason, by banning Kate’s raucous hen party on their Thames cruise.

These days, Ms Moss is as likely to be seen at nearby Filkins, run by the Swan’s former bosses, Sebastian and Lana Snow.

The Swan enjoyed a definite heyday during their time, becoming the Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year.

Matters culinary were less satisfactorily received after the Snows’ departure. But customers have been returning this year, following the return of Dominic Abbott, right-hand man to the Snows, as general manager after a posting at Calcot Manor, another of the county’s fashionable eateries.

Not least of Gloucestershire’s claims to distinction is its contiguity with the considerably smarter county of Oxfordshire. Southrop is only a few miles over the border and can be approached from Oxford either via Burford, or, as we did, through Faringdon and Lechlade. A short drive through the night took us to the welcoming sight of the Swan, with its mellow stone walls bathed in soft light.

Inside, we noted the fine choice of real ales, which included Otter bitter, the North Cotswold Brewery’s intriguingly named Shagweaver and Oxfordshire favourite Hooky.

Comfortably installed by manager Dom at a wood-topped side table, our four-strong group was soon about the enjoyable business of deciding on dinner.

Before turning to our choices, let me mention a few of the items in chef Matt Wardman’s repertoire.

These reflected, in some cases, the self-sufficiency of an operation that supplies hen and quail eggs from its own poultry, many vegetable and salad leaves and some of its meat, too, including Southrop Manor lamb.

The Swan is part of an estate which includes, besides the 15th-century manor house, a boutique hotel called Thyme, which is a noted cookery school.

First courses included parsley soup with those quails’ eggs and creme fraiche, Middle Eastern-style pumpkin, feta and date salad, and Campari-cured salmon.

Mains featured baked thyme eggs and cassoulet, beer-battered whiting (a neglected fish that it’s good to see) and salmon fish cakes.

Among the puddings were passion fruit creme caramel, blood orange sorbet and pressed chocolate cake.

A number of dishes can be ordered as either starter or main. One was Rosemarie’s selection, Fowey mussels. All open and invitingly plump and juicy, they came with a delicious soup of coconut, coriander and a tingly hint of chilli.

This was present, too, in the dipping sauce that accompanied my salt and pepper squid, cleverly designed to be crispy and tender.

Dipping featured prominently as well in Paul and Drew’s shared starter. Ordered from the night’s specials, this was a whole baked Vacherin Mont d’Or, runny and nicely pongy with plenty of home-made sourdough to be dunked.

Paul stayed with the specials for his main course, aged fillet of beef served in three thick pink slices with roast shallots, spinach and bearnaise sauce flecked with tarragon.

I was in meat heaven, too, with the Southrop Manor loin of lamb, in four sizeable chunks with a wedge of baked polenta and Jerusalem artichokes.

Drew was delighted with his pheasant breast, from a bird shot at the associated Ropsley Farm in Lincolnshire. This was imaginatively teamed with puy lentils, spring greens and aioli.

Rosemarie stayed with the sea with a lovely fresh fillet of Cornish hake, another fish neglected until recently, in a brioche herb crust, with white beans, curly kale, rosemary and garlic.

To complete this excellent meal, served with efficiency and charm, we collectively sampled the Black Forest trifle with kirsch, then the selection of British cheeses with quince jelly.

The Swan 
Southrop, Gloucestershire GL7 3NU
01367 850205 theswanatsouthrop.co.uk

Opening times: Lunch: Mon-Fri, noon-2.30pm; Sat, noon-3pm; Sun, noon-3.30pm. Dinner, Mon-Thurs, 6-9pm; Fri and Sat, 6pm-9.30pm.
Parking: In the village
Key personnel: Owner Caryn Hibbert, general manager Dominic Abbott, head chef Matt Wardman
Make sure you try the... Salt and pepper squid (£8.50), steamed river Fowey mussels (£8.50), Southrop Manor loin of lamb (£24.50), Ropsley pheasant breast (£16.50), Black Forest trifle with kirsch (£7) and selection of British cheeses (£9.50)
In ten words: Impeccably sourced food at lovely pub that defines country comfort