Star rating: *** Since moving to Horsehay 12 months ago, Ironbridge has become a regular haunt for us, whether it be for a weekend night or an afternoon lunch when we know many of the eateries in Ironbridge serve food all day.

The Swan was always our first choice – nearest to the car park, attractive outside dining area and good quality but reasonable priced food.

So we were really sad to hear it had come under new ownership and knew the new owners certainly had something to live up too.

I decided to leave dining there for a few weeks as any change over in ownership can often create teething problems.

My friend was visiting from Manchester so it was another excuse to dine out. Again it was a Saturday afternoon, when many other places in the area had stopped cooking by 4pm, so I decided to see if The Swan was living up to its old reputation.

On arrival it was as busy as ever, which I was pleased to see and many of the staff were familiar faces. No change so far under the new owners so I just hoped we would enjoy the same standard of food and service.

On previous visits we had often had two members of bar staff offering to serve us, but on this occasion there was just one member of bar staff who was trying to serve drinks, take food orders and check guests into the bed and breakfast accommodation.

I had a longer than expected wait at the bar, until the waitress who was also doing the work of about three waitresses, served me and took our food order.

Jen went for the cajun chicken with lime mayo baguette served with chips, salad and coleslaw, while I chose the (previously tried and tested) aromatic lamb burger served with mango chutney.

We weren’t in any rush but as one gentleman complained to the obviously stressed waitress about the wait he had had for their food, I thought we may have also been in for a long wait.

But we had lots to talk about after not seeing each other for several months. The food arrived, taking much longer than on previous occasions when the pub was much busier too.

But I’m pleased to say when it did arrive, it was generally up to the same standard.

I did make one comment to the waitress when she brought us the bowl of chips, as they looked like they had been far too overcooked, but without taking a breath to consider my comment she said they had just come out of the frier.

I wasn’t suggesting they had not been cooked or were cold, in fact quite the opposite.

The rest of the meal was tasty but we did have to ask for sauces, cutlery and even ended up getting our serviettes from the bar. But this was purely because the only waitress was working on her own and in fact looked like she was going to burst into tears at any moment.

The Swan is a fantastic, popular venue but the major problem we encountered which did spoil our meal somewhat was the poor level of staffing and the lack of the new owners’ presence.

It would have been nice to see the new owners behind the bar or at least see some sort of organisation.

This visit just scrapped the three stars but the bar, kitchen and waiting on staffing crisis needs to be sorted immediately before they lose any more customers because I have never seen so many unhappy, hungry faces in The Swan.

It certainly wasn’t the same first class food and service the previous owners offered but I will be returning and hope the new owners employ some more staff soon.

Address: The Swan, The Wharfage, Ironbridge. Telephone (01952) 432306.

Menu Sample:

Starters: Warm crispy duck roll with rustic plum chutney & crispy spring onion ribbons (£6.50); caramelised scallops, king prawns & mussels cooked in a garlic butter, sprinkled with fresh herbs (£8.50)

Main courses: Trio of Shropshire pork & venison braised sausages served with creamy mash & red wine onion gravy (£10.50); aromatic lamb burger, served with mango chutney, fries & salad (£8.95); wild mushroom and pink peppercorn risotto served with parmesan crisps (£12.95)

Sides: Chips & garlic mayo (£2.50); mini Greek platter – feta, red onion, sun dried tomatoes, olives and pitta bread (£5.95)

Desserts: Selection available

Atmosphere: Pub atmosphere but with restaurant area and menu

Service: Stressed and busy but also bordering on rude

Disabled facilities: Steps up to the main entrance but a ground floor entrance to the restaurant for the disabled

By Kirsty Marston