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Hotel Hit Squad: The best of rural Spain in Surrey – inside José Pizarro The Swan Inn

José Pizarro The Swan Inn is the product of mixing a country pub concept with the Pizarro brand
José Pizarro The Swan Inn is the product of mixing a country pub concept with the Pizarro brand

At first, I considered it one of the weirder openings of the year. But actually, it makes sense. I’ve always thought of Spanish chef José Pizarro as a London phenomenon, so to see him open a gastropub in Esher, Surrey, was like hearing that techno musician Aphex Twin had created the theme tune for a new sitcom by Brendan O’Carroll, creator of Mrs Brown’s Boys.

But Pizarro is rural through and through. He’s Extremadura’s favourite son, not SE1’s. Just because jamón croquetas and oloroso sherry have become hip in London doesn’t make them any less basic back home – the Spanish just happen to care about food. So, when Pizarro took over The Swan Inn this year – from similarly feted chef Claude Bosi – he was taking his cooking somewhere that made sense: a local pub in a small village; small plates, for locals. But it’s more than that.

I’ve been visiting Pizarro’s first venture – the eponymous José in Bermondsey – since it opened in 2011. It was the tapas bar we didn’t know we needed, but absolutely did. José introduced me to the wonderment of medium-rare Iberian pluma, using a cut of pork from behind the neck of the pig. It is indescribably lush. I became distraught whenever it wasn’t available. Before he’d opened his sibling restaurant down the street that December – called, simply, Pizarro – he had earned a cult following. Today there are multiple cookbooks bearing his name.

José Pizarro The Swan Inn
The Swan Inn was previously under the management of feted chef Claude Bosi

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Pizarro’s media profile is magnetic – he is sweet, dedicated and humble. That aside: who doesn’t like really good tapas? There’s more to small Spanish plates than La Tasca, so the idea of mixing a country pub with the Pizarro brand is solid. Throw in a handful of refurbished bedrooms to head to after you’ve had a fino or five, or to put your visiting relatives up for the night when they are visiting from out of town, and it seems a winning formula.

It’s nearly an unqualified success. The weakest elements of the enterprise are the bedrooms. Pizarro had all the existing spaces renovated, and he has given them a vanilla makeover. My room didn’t have a reading light and the bed was on the small side for two not-so-small individuals. In fact, the whole room was on the small side. But these are overnight chalets, not luxury hotel rooms – although the furnishings are fairly high end. The showers – decorated with nicely muted Spanish-style tiles – are good. I liked the La Chinata body products, as well as the eco-cred throughout: the body wash and shampoo is kept in refillable glass, and filtered water next to the bed comes in reusable glass bottles. All hotels need to do this, and fast.

José Pizarro The Swan Inn
The weakest elements of the inn are the bedrooms

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I am sure the locals were relieved that Pizarro’s version of The Swan Inn isn’t, visually, too dissimilar from Bosi’s. In fact, it’s a little lighter in tone, and more casual. Half of the place remains an upmarket local’s boozer. I loathe gastropubs with place settings at every single table, to make the point that you aren’t welcome here just for a pint and a packet of crisps. Sod all that pretension. Here, you can eat in the front bar, or not at all, and at the back there’s a 'proper' dining room. There’s no overt theming – the only discernible signs of Extremadura heritage are the two huge blackened legs of jamón ibérico hanging from the ceiling at the front (adorned with silver stars when I visited, because nothing says feliz navidad like festive pork products).

You will, however, find José Pizarro-branded whites, reds and sherries on the wine list, and you’d do worse than order the Syrah Cuvée, a soft but striking blend of syrah, tintilla de rota and cab sauv.

José Pizarro The Swan Inn
The food menu here will be familiar to anyone who frequents Pizarro’s other restaurants

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The food menu here will be familiar to anyone who frequents Pizarro’s other restaurants, albeit with the canny addition of Estrella Damm fish and chips underneath a paella for two. Pubs, by their very nature, should please many of the people much of the time. The Spanish stuff is superlative: gummy jamón ibérico which needs to be eaten on its own, and not (as I shamefully tried initially) on the pan con tomate, which has a bright acidity that kills the cured pig. But do get that tomato bread, it’s the toast of the gods. Pizarro’s Scotch egg with black pudding and mint alioli is dense and unctuous, while the grilled aubergine with honey and blue cheese is a flavour revelation.

Best of all… a sometimes available special of carabineros with fried egg. This is the kind of dish that makes you want to move to Cáceres – two huge luminescent cooked red prawns, with the kind of texture you usually only get with raw crustacea, offering the biggest hit of flavour when you suck their brains out. Yum. José Pizarro The Swan Inn brings the best bits of rural Spain to Surrey.

Rooms cost from £100 per night, including breakfast. There are no accessible rooms available.

Read the full review: The Swan Inn