Harden's survey result
Summary
“How lucky are the good folk of Fence and thereabouts to have such a wonderful restaurant on their doorstep – a go-to when in this neck of the woods”. Fans say chef Tom Parker offers “possibly the best-value Michelin Star food in the country”, served in a proper pub from a nine-course menu (in the evenings) for £85 per person.
Summary
This “proper local pub but with Michelin star food” is many reporters’ “restaurant of the year” – with service that’s both “fun and professional, not at all stuffy” and “stunningly good food” from chef Tom Parker, who trained at nearby Lancashire powerhouse Northcote. Top Menu Tip – “the beetroot ice cream is sublime”.
Summary
“Every dish is sublime” – “a real joy” – at this “unpretentious pub” near Burnley with “fantastic cooking” from “brilliant” chef Tom Parker, who “learned his craft at local Northcote and now has a diary released three months at a time”. “It’s a one-hit menu each day depending on seasonality and his mood” – “not exclusively fish but the fish dishes are superb”. The whole operation, including co-owners Gareth & Laura Ostick, is “very clever” and represents “excellent value” – “it’s not really cheap, but much much cheaper than similar establishments of this class”.
Summary
“Brilliant cooking, usually based on locally sourced ingredients, that’s inventive but not too eccentric and always precisely cooked” from Tom Parker has established this “funky” pub-restaurant, north of Burnley, as one of the best in the region. That and the fact that it’s “the only Timothy Taylors pub in Lancashire” (if you are not a beer drinker, there is also a “short but interesting wine list”). And they’re “such nice people” too, with “co-owners Gareth & Laura Ostick running front of house with affable efficiency”. “Tables around the bar have the best atmosphere but the little dining room to the left may be a touch more comfortable”. One downer – one or two reporters are “sad that the restaurant has re-opened with a no-choice menu”.
For 34 years we've been curating reviews of the UK's most notable restaurant. In a typical year, diners submit over 50,000 reviews to create the most authoritative restaurant guide in the UK. Each year, the guide is re-written from scratch based on this survey (although for the 2021 edition, reviews are little changed from 2020 as no survey could run for that year).
Have you eaten at White Swan at Fence?
300 Wheatley Lane Rd, Fence, BB12 9QA
Restaurant details
White Swan at Fence Restaurant Diner Reviews
"The fixed menu is exceptional. It never disappoints in the Chef's ability to allow each (and I mean each) element of the dish to taste as it should and is often beyond expectation. Recent standouts are Hogget with asparagus and sweet onion; and the strawberries with sweet cicely. The optional cheese selection is varied and offers something for everyone. Produce is sourced locally. The wine list is fairly short but adequate and reasonably priced. The wine flight is to be recommended as being well selected, knowledgable and good value. The very friendly service is unpretentious and very professional. Very unusually, a discretionary service charge is not added; diners are free to tip as they seem fit."
Prices
| Availability | 2 courses | 3 courses |  |
 |
 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Always | £0.00 | £0.00 |  |
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| Lunch | £0.00 | £55.00 | |
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| Dinner | £0.00 | £80.00 | |
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| Drinks |
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|---|---|
| Wine per bottle | £25.00 |
| Filter Coffee | £4.00 |
| Extras |
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|---|---|
| Service | 10.00% |
300 Wheatley Lane Rd, Fence, BB12 9QA
Opening hours
| Monday | CLOSED |
| Tuesday | 12 pm‑1:20 pm, 5:40 pm‑8:20 pm |
| Wednesday | 12 pm‑1:20 pm, 5:40 pm‑8:20 pm |
| Thursday | 12 pm‑1:20 pm, 5:40 pm‑8:20 pm |
| Friday | 5:40 pm‑8:40 pm |
| Saturday | 5:40 pm‑8:40 pm |
| Sunday | CLOSED |
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