The White Swan

Victor Buchanan modestly describes his White Swan as an 'inn', but the description doesn't really do it justice. The old coaching house on Pickering's Market Place has undergone an ambitious makeover, resulting in sleek, comfortable & contemporary interiors, matched with excellent food & wine in both the bar & restaurant. The restaurant, which boasts flagged floors, log fires and well-spaced polished wooden tables, offers a menu positively bursting with local Yorkshire seasonal produce. Fish comes from Whitby, game from the adjoining North York Moors, & meat from farmer Tim Wilson of award-winning London butchery, the Ginger Pig, who conveniently farms at nearby Levisham. He exclusively supplies the White Swan with top-quality, free-range, organic Longhorn beef, Swaledale lamb and Tamworth rare-breed pork & all of these ingredients are put to good use in dishes such as Longhorn beef shin and kidney pudding, Ginger Pig sausage toad in the hole, or leg of lamb hot pot. For the non carnivorous, Whitby fishcake with shrimp salad & lemon sauce is also well worth ordering, while desserts see the likes of a rich chocolate cake with boozy cherries served with Yorkshire clotted cream. Make sure you save room for a plate of Yorkshire farmhouse cheeses, though, as these include such delights as smoked buffalo from Yorkshire’s own buffalo herd near Thirsk, a camembert from East Yorkshire and a creamy Yorkshire blue. For children, Hugh Buchanan (aged seven) has written out a menu in his own determined hand: pasta with slow-cooked tomato sauce and parmesan, sausage & mash or roast chicken with ‘vegtebales’. All in all, here's a stylish retreat for locals and travellers of all ages.