The George & Dragon Pub
Church Road,
Swallowfield, RG7 1TJ
georgedragonpub.com
0118 988 4432
The George & Dragon Pub, recently acquired by Siren Craft Brew, is a beautiful 17th century grade two listed pub nestled in the Berkshire countryside and within easy reach of Reading, Wokingham, Shinfield and surrounding areas.
If you want to eat at a traditional pub this will be totally up your street.
The pub has a relaxed atmosphere with warm tones, open fires, original brickwork and exposed beams.
While it has a vibrant local community supporting it, it is also popular with visitors from further afield, as it makes for a lovely day out into the peaceful countryside while being easy to reach.
It has served many purposes over the years – being a coach house around the turn of the 20th Century. It is now, thanks to the talented chefs, a gastro-pub with a great reputation.
With the festive season upon us, it should be no surprise that The George & Dragon has a Christmas Menu as well as a new Main Menu.
The drinks menu features a large selection of Red, white and Rose wines.
I decided to go for the Bombay Bramble Gin with the100% natural flavour of freshly harvested blackberries and raspberries. A real fruit infusion gives a distinct colour and natural flavour with no added sugar.
My husband opted for a pint of Sirens Pastel Pils, an Italian-style lager with clean harmonious flavours, classic base malts giving just the right sweetness to balance the hops, with light herbal notes and a crisp refreshing bitterness.
The Christmas Party Menu is priced at a very reasonable £27.50 for two courses or £32.50 for three.
For my starters, I chose the Harissa roasted aubergine with tomato and rose harissa pesto on a bed of rocket and drizzled with olive oil. Presented beautifully this was the perfect starter, light and packed a punch in the heat department.
The Main course offering caters for all tastes, from confit Duck leg with Lentil casserole, salmon lime & chilli fishcakes, six-hour slow braised beef feather blade or, for vegetarians and vegans, NDuja tomato & caramelised onion tart.
I opted for Traditional Turkey roast with stuffing, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets, Brussels sprouts, cranberry sauce and bread sauce.
The food was steaming hot, just how I like it, with crispy roasties. The Turkey were two chucky slices of tender turkey, succulent and cooked perfectly.The Gravy was flavoursome, thick and delicious.
For dessert I chose the sticky toffee pudding, very naughty but exceedingly nice. It was light airy sponge, sweet sticky warm toffee sauce complemented with a scoop of Jude’s vanilla ice cream.
I was very impressed with the Party menu, plenty of choices of each of the three courses.
My husband, being a bit of a connoisseur of pies, chose the classic Steak and Memento pie (£18.50). Braised beef feather blade, in a red wine sauce, encased in a light puff pastry served with smooth mash and a rich beef gravy (seasonal greens can be added as an extra, £3.95).
Every morsel was devoured and savoured.
“Spot on, I’m definitely coming back for this,” was his summary.
Our teenage Son chose the crispy Korean chicken for starters £7.25. Crispy chicken coated in Korean-style sweet and spicy sauce, topped with spring onions and sesame seeds. He enjoyed them very much.
For the main course, he chose the Prime cut beef Burger £14.95 a 6oz prime cut steak and loaded fries. The dish was very nicely presented on a wooden board.
The burger was chunky, tender, flavoursome and juicy, just how a burger should be! The loaded fries were dusted in cajun spice and topped with spring onions, crispy onions and coriander with an accompanying garlic mayo dip.
He chose his favourite dessert of Apple and blackberry crumble served with Vanilla Ice cream £6.95. The fruit was plentiful and tangy with a crispy crumble topping. This was perfectly accompanied with deliciously creamy and vanilla pod-flecked ice cream, “dessert heaven” was his verdict.
Last but not least, our 11-year-old daughter chose from the children’s menu, two courses for £8.95. She had the beef burger in a soft bun with chips.
Whilst she very much enjoyed the food, the portion size was more suited to a child younger than 11.
We all had a delightful evening at the George & Dragon Swallowfield, thank you and well done to all the staff.
The service was excellent, the atmosphere was warm and welcoming, candles adorned each table which created a wonderfully relaxed feeling.
The food was fantastic taking all palates into account – vegetarian and gluten-free options are available.
I would highly recommend the Christmas menu, great quality and very fairly priced.
CLAIRE WORSFOLD
