We had arrived at the 'Black Swan' in Oldstead.
It was a complete surprise to me - Dan had let out the clue that it was a Michelin star place we were going to, and that it was in Yorkshire - well there aren't that many - so I was pretty sure I knew where we were going (the aforementioned Star at Harome) - however what I hadn't taken into consideration was that the Michelin awards had only been 5 or 6 weeks before, and this place had only just received their star - so I wasn't looking quite in the right place!
Anyway, we arrived along a 1 mile long track from Bylands Abbey (you have to pass through an archway of the abbey to get to Oldstead so it's suitably theatrical!) and pulled into an L shaped courtyard/car park. It was rather unprepossessing to look at - quite homely - looking rather like some nicely done up farm buildings. We parked up and went into the reception where we were greeted by a lovely girl - very friendly and chatty - who checked our booking and took us round to one of the 4 rooms they have in this lovely 'Restaurant with Rooms'.
I do think we got the best room - it had a 4 poster bed, and a cast iron roll top bath in the lovely bathroom (which had underfloor heating much to both of our delight!) mmmmm warm toesies!
On top of that there was a bottle of champagne sat on ice. Fab! I always like it when an evening starts with champers!
After sweeping round the room a bit and investigating all the luxurious trappings whilst consuming our champagne, we headed over to the bar of the pub. One of the really nice things about this Michelin Star restaurant is that it is basically a fabby pub, with a cozy fire, big tables to sit round, cosy nooks, lots of books, oh and excellent food! So down we went into the bar, and sat and chatted to the owners and staff, whilst having a pint. (Hmmmm Black Sheep on top of Champers; possibly a slightly dubious combination!)
Anyway, we were in for an early dinner so we hurtled back to the room to change (it turned out we really didn't need to, but we glammed it up anyway!)
We were booked in for the 7 course taster menu with the paired wines. Details here... http://blackswanoldstead.co.
As always in a Michelin restaurant, the food and service were impeccable. This time, though, it was very relaxed and friendly - much less 'stiff' than some of the places we've been to in the past. This really suits the lovely location and slightly more chilled vibe which I think they're going for.
Here are a few pics of the food - not all though - the camera went wonky in the middle :(
All through the evening, Dan had my lovely engagement ring in his top pocket which he patted smugly at various points during the meal.
"Go on, let me put it on" I kept asking.... I was answered with a pat of the pocket!!!
To cut a long story short, I never got to put my ring on at all that evening!!! We finished the meal, and walked the 4 pages back to our room, and zonked out for the night.
The following morning after breakfast (which was magnificent!) I was finally allowed to put the ring on! YAY! 5th December - official 'getting engaged' date!
When we got home we started the lovely task of ringing up the folks and friends to let them in on the secret we'd been keeping since August!!
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