The Swan Hotel, Stafford

Charles Dickens didn't think much of this place, w

. He stayed here once after being stranded in Stafford, which he described as being: "As dull and dead town as anyone could desire not to see."

The Swan, which he branded "The dodo in the dull High Street," fared little better.

"When I mount up to my bedroom, a smell of closeness and flue gets lazily up my nose like sleepy snuff. The loose little bits of carpet writhe under my tread and take wormy shapes," he wrote, although he never expanded on whether he planned to return.

Well, as you know, there is nothing I love more than checking out the recommendations of our readers, even if Dickens' words were not, strictly speaking, what you would call a recommendation. And I suppose, if we're going to split hairs, Charles Dickens is not, strictly speaking, a reader of this column. But you get my drift.

The Swan is thought to have originally been two houses joined together in the mid-1700s by the construction of the familiar archway in the middle. It was around this time that they were converted into an inn to provide accommodation and a stopover for people travelling between the booming industrial towns of south Lancashire and the Black Country.

But while The Swan is one of Stafford's most instantly recognisable landmarks, finding the car park at the rear proved surprisingly difficult. After driving around the back streets of Stafford town centre for a few minutes, I succumbed and sheepishly asked a lady outside the Gatehouse Theatre how best to get there. The car park is at the end of a long, narrow service road off Mill Street which, in fairness, is reasonably well signposted.

While I can understand why The Swan management has found it necessary to install a security barrier to stop the car park being over-run by shoppers, I really don't understand why it saw the need to install a pay-and-display meter as well.

The libertarian in me sees red every time I see one of those things, and my gut instinct is usually to drive off. A sign on the meter said that customers would be refunded £4 of the £6 parking fee (what about the other £2?), but the problem was I did not have the change and the security barrier had already shut behind me. The good news is that when I explained, a very helpful member of staff provided me with a parking permit free of charge, so on this occasion I shouldn't complain too much.

And it is fair to say that the place has changed quite a lot since Dickens' time.

What the great man once described as "a tactless desert of a sitting room, with a chair for each year, a table for every month and a waste of sideboard where a lonely China vase pines in a corner for its mate long departed," has been transformed into a stunning, contemporary bar and restaurant, and on the Saturday night of our visit, the place was heaving.

No sign of Hard Times here, then.

At the back there is a delightful Mediterranean-style garden area, with block paving and large sheltered areas, creating almost a holiday feeling. Even in January.

It is clearly the place to be seen, and the bar was packed with young, stylish types.

And the restaurant is even more elegant, both the decor and the people.

The mixture of light wood and marble tables gives a bright, Italian feel, and the soft lighting gives a sophisticated ambience. I particularly liked the large wraparound booth-style benches, the perfect place if there's a group of you celebrating a special occasion.

Smart and affluent fairly sums up the typical diner, and there is a real buzz about the place. As a dining venue, it has no shortage of pedigree. The Swan was the first restaurant in Stafford town centre to be awarded an AA rosette for its food, and it is the present bronze medal holder for the Taste of Staffordshire Brasserie of the Year award, having won first prize on a number of occasions in the past.

And when you see the menu, you realise just why The Swan is held in such high esteem by the gourmet crowd. It's not so much the choice, although that is very good, with 11 starters and 17 mains to choose from. But the attention to detail was superb. The ingredients come from three main suppliers, including the Greengate Deli two doors away – that's what I call locally-sourced food.

So delicious did it all sound that I decided to break my golden rule – and order a starter.

I'm not usually one for starters, I tend to think they ruin your appetite before the main event, but the mini Cumberland sausages sounded too good to resist, so we decided to share a portion. Served with an exquisite mustard-and-honey dipping sauce, they more than lived up to expectations.

For mains both myself and my dining companion found ourself in the same quandary – we were both torn between the beef and ale pie and a steak.

I opted for the latter, an 8oz fillet, while my companion went for the former, which was being offered in lieu of the game pie which is the normal menu option.

They were both excellent, but I think the pie was probably the better of the two. It certainly looked alluring with a clearly handcrafted suet pastry lid, which concealed a multitude of treasures. With its succulent beef chunks, fresh vegetables, soft potatoes and a thick rich gravy, it didn't look a particularly big portion, but it proved to be extremely filling.

That is not to say that my fillet was not excellent also. While I would normally criticise a restaurant for not providing a steak knife, so soft and tender was this cut, that it proved not to be necessary. Thick but lean, it was a delight to the taste buds, and the excellent peppercorn sauce gave it a spicy kick.

Both meals came with thick, hand-cut chips, and there were generous helpings of vegetables.

In short, the food was superb and very hard to fault.

There is an excellent choice of wines, ranging from £4.50 glasses of house wine to bottles of champagne costing hundreds of pounds. Wanting to experience a touch of decadence without breaking the bank, I went for a £6.50 glass of house champagne.

To finish, we both had a chocolate and honeycomb with white chocolate sauce, which was stylishly served on a 12in slate, and the perfect way to round of a superb evening.

It comes at a price though. The total bill for food, a glass of wine each, an orange juice, a coffee and a hot chocolate was £65.35.

It is definitely a place to recommend. I came here with Great Expectations, and it comfortably exceeded them.

ADDRESS

The Swan Hotel, 46-46a Greengate Street, Stafford ST16 2JA

Tel: 01785 258142

Web: www.theswanstafford.co.uk

MENU SAMPLE

STARTERS

Olives, feta and sun-blushed tomatoes (£3.95)

Pan-seared fillet of mackerel, watercress and new potato salad with citrus dressing (£4.95)

Bruschetta of buffalo mozzarella and plum tomatoes with torn basil (£5.50)

MAINS

Beer-battered fish and chips with mushy peas and tartar sauce (£10.50)

12oz beef burger, apple and clove sauce, Somerset brie, toasted ciabatta, pancetta and chips (£10.95)

Tagliatelle of St James smoked salmon and lobster with chilli and dill scented creme fraiche (£16.95)

10oz rump steak with roasted tomato, mushrooms, onion rings and chips (£14.95)

Bertelins blue and walnut cannelloni with apple and celery salad (£10.50)

DESSERTS

Blueberry and banana cheesecake with toffee ice cream and fruit coulis (£4.75)

Fresh local strawberries with clotted cream (£4.95)

Sticky toffee pudding with butterscotch sauce and vanilla ice cream (£4.95)