Surrey


<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE LOCATION</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="666" src="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62.jpeg" alt="The Swan Inn, Claygate, Surrey" class="wp-image-38039" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62-768x511.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-62-788x525.jpeg 788w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Tucked away in a pretty corner of Surrey on the edge of Claygate village and overlooking a grassy green, you&#8217;ll find The Swan Inn. It&#8217;s a two-minute drive (or 10-minutes on foot) to the centre of Claygate village &#8211; where you&#8217;ll find a lovely high street jam packed with independent shops, boutiques and cafés &#8211; and Claygate Station. In the other direction, Esher is a six-minute drive.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE LOWDOWN</h2>



<p>José Pizarro, the celebrity chef from Extremadura, took over The Swan Inn two years ago, bringing his Spanish small plates but keeping a firm hold on the village pub vibe. This is still a place for locals. Before Pizarro came along, The Swan Inn was a gastropub run by Bibendum chef Claude Bosi. Oh, if only those kitchen walls could talk.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE VIBE</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47.jpeg" alt="Internal picture of The Swan Inn, Claygate, Surrey" class="wp-image-38040" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-47-787x525.jpeg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>From the outside it looks like your quintessential English pub, and certainly when you venture inside there&#8217;s little to change that impression. But look closer and you&#8217;ll spot the Spanish touches like the legs of Ibérico ham hanging above the bar.</p>



<p>The pub has been stylishly turned out &#8211; it is simple and unfussy with bare timber flooring, leather upholstery, and paintwork in pale green and a classy blue. There&#8217;s greenery too, and some of Pizarro&#8217;s cookbooks are displayed on the fireplace mantles.</p>



<p>Outside, there&#8217;s a large courtyard, partially covered, complete with a fire pit &#8211; and there are also some tables and seating at the front of the pub with a view out over the Hare Lane Green. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">SCOFF &amp; QUAFF</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="668" src="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food.jpeg" alt="plates of tapas at The Swan Inn, Claygate, Surrey" class="wp-image-38041" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food-720x481.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food-768x513.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-food-786x525.jpeg 786w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>Originally from a tiny farming village in the Extremadura region of Spain, José has an impressive CV. He worked in Madrid under the Michelin-starred Julio Reoyo before moving to London in 1998 where he&#8217;s graced the kitchens of some of the best Spanish restaurants including Gaudi, Eyre Brothers and Brindisa in which he was a part owner.</p>



<p>His focus is simple and authentic Spanish food. And that&#8217;s exactly what you get at The Swan Inn. Classic tapas, done exceptionally well. It&#8217;s made from the finest ingredients that have been imported from Spain, as well as locally sourced produce. </p>



<p>The menu is almost entirely tapas, but there are also some big dishes that includes paella and a cuttlefish and red shrimp seafood noodle dish (both for two) and&nbsp;traditional fish and chips (battered in the Spanish Estrella Damm beer, natch). And on Sundays there&#8217;s a roast dinner.</p>



<p>It was recommended that we order three or four tapas dishes each to share. Sounds simple, right? But there&#8217;s so much here to tempt that it&#8217;s really quite a challenge to narrow it down. The croquetas change daily, and news of their excellence had reached us before we sat down. So these were a must &#8211; we chose the black ink croquetas. It&#8217;s no exaggeration to say they were outstanding. Perfectly crispy on the outside, soft on the inside with a combination of subtle flavours. </p>



<p>The wild mushroom Spanish omelette with rosemary honey was another wow-moment. Sublime. And without doubt the best omelette I&#8217;ve ever eaten. We also ordered a salad of beetroot, cauliflower, parsnip, and Brussel sprout and goats cheese &#8211; an interesting combination that worked so well together. Then there was grilled octopus with burnt onion and gordal olives &#8211; beautifully presented and cooked to perfection &#8211; and finally pickled white anchovies with garlic and parsley, so gorgeously sweet, delicate and soft. Last to arrive were the Padrón peppers and a lovely way to round off the tapas, washed down with a bottle of dry Spanish wine.</p>



<p>For puds, we decided to share a cheese board and a rice pudding, and since sherry is a big deal here, we each ordered a glass recommended by our waiter. Lovely.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">PILLOW TALK</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="667" src="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room.jpeg" alt="Bedroom at The Swan Inn, Claygate, Surrey" class="wp-image-38044" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room.jpeg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room-300x200.jpeg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room-720x480.jpeg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room-150x100.jpeg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room-768x512.jpeg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/02/Jose-Pizarro-room-787x525.jpeg 787w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /></figure>



<p>The boutique rooms are in the converted barn next door to the pub. They&#8217;re not huge rooms, with double beds rather than king size beds, but there are luxury touches like soft linens, fluffy towels and gorgeous-smelling toiletries. It&#8217;s worth staying over for the breakfasts alone &#8211; think a full English with Spanish influences, avocado and poached eggs on sourdough, and a bacon and egg sourdough sandwich.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">OUT &amp; ABOUT</h2>



<p>You&#8217;re not far from Sandown Park Racecourse if you fancy a flutter on the ponies, and the beautiful National Trust property, Claremont Landscape Garden is also nearby. </p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading">THE MUDDY VERDICT</h2>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="720" height="480" src="https://surrey.muddystilettos.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-720x480.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-37215" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-720x480.jpg 720w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-150x100.jpg 150w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining-787x525.jpg 787w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/surrey/wp-content/uploads/sites/7/2022/01/Jose-Pizarro-Swan-Inn-dining.jpg 1000w" sizes="(max-width: 720px) 100vw, 720px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Good for:</strong> If you&#8217;re a fan of Spanish food, you&#8217;ll love The Swan Inn. José Pizarro is the king of tapas and the food is phenomenal! Great for couples, friends, private parties (there&#8217;s a private dining room) and families.</p>



<p><strong>Not for:</strong> Sharing not your thing? Maybe give this a miss&#8230; it&#8217;s all about the tapas.</p>



<p><strong>The damage:</strong> Tapas dishes range from £4 to £14.50 per plate. Pudding are around £6-£7. </p>



<p><em>José Pizarro The Swan Inn, 2 Hare Lane, Claygate, KT10 9BS. Tel: <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=the+swan+inn+esher&amp;client=safari&amp;sxsrf=APq-WBsJcJBcdeKFcHXKUgwyPoTArTmrsw%3A1644265545940&amp;source=hp&amp;ei=SYABYomdNuW58gLNmrbwCA&amp;iflsig=AHkkrS4AAAAAYgGOWZ0XK_Th0u_-LwkkT7Gqf-qmgj5Q&amp;ved=0ahUKEwjJ5Z2-tu71AhXlnFwKHU2NDY4Q4dUDCA4&amp;uact=5&amp;oq=the+swan+inn+esher&amp;gs_lcp=Cgdnd3Mtd2l6EAMyCwguEIAEEMcBEK8BMgUIABCABDoECCMQJzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQgwE6DgguEIAEELEDEMcBEKMCOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARDRAzoICC4QsQMQgwE6BwgAEMkDEEM6BQgAEJIDOgQIABBDOgQILhBDOgoILhDHARDRAxBDOg4ILhCABBCxAxDHARCvAToLCC4QgAQQsQMQgwE6CAguEIAEELEDOggIABCABBCxAzoLCAAQgAQQsQMQyQM6CAgAEIAEEMkDUABYwhBgiBJoAHAAeACAAboBiAGcEJIBBDMuMTSYAQCgAQE&amp;sclient=gws-wiz#">01372 462582</a></em></p>



<p><em><a href="https://josepizarro.com/venues/jose-pizarro-swan-inn-esher/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="josepizarro.com (opens in a new tab)">josepizarro.com</a></em><br></p>


Review: José Pizarro at the Swan Inn, Claygate

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