Angel, Woolhamptonback to pub details please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
What was the BEER like, Sue Craigie?
You know, that stuff In The Evening this site's about?
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As I have a Tastecard, which gives me discount on food, I tend to look for restaurants that are part of this scheme. My sister and I live 40 mins apart so I searched for a restaurant about mid-way and came up with The Angel Inn at Woolhampton. The Tastecard website stated that I was eligible for 50% discount on the food consumed, however, when the bill came there wasn’t any discount shown at all. When I pointed this out the waitress came back with a revised bill, it did not show the full discount. I questioned this and was told that they only gave discount on the main course, not on the starters. After considerable discussion I paid and planned to take this up further in writing once home.
The bill was not the only thing we were unhappy with. There was only one other table occupied in the whole of the pub and my sister and I were sat at an adjoining table. We started with scallops which were nice, my sister ordered risotto for her main course and I chose the salmon primarily because it came with dauphinoise potatoes which I love. The risotto was a very small portion and, considering the price of the ingredients, it was very over priced. My salmon was over seasoned but the dauphinoise potatoes had to be seen to be believed. Dauphinoise potatoes should have a crust on the top but the potatoes themselves should be soft and creamy. I was served a block of fried dauphinoise, each side was crispy so I presume the pre-cooked potatoes had been fried in order to reheat them.
Once home I e-mailed The Angel Inn, quoted the terms of the Tastecard membership and requested a refund on the food as I had been overcharged. Unknown to them I had tracked my e-mail so I know when it was received as well as when, and how often, it had been opened. I did not get a reply. I sent a second e-mail with the same result. I then contacted Tastecard and gave them all the details, they subsequently contacted The Angel and reported back to me. The Angel Inn did not like having to give the discount and have now decided to withdraw from the scheme, however, under the terms of the agreement they could not do this for 30 days and during that time were told by Tastecard to honour the 50% discount. The Angel had answered every e-mail from Tastecard but still refused to acknowledge mine. A final e-mail was sent by me with the subject “Please have the Courtesy of Replying”. Silence again. I think it is unacceptable that a business should behave in such a manner. I will never cross their threshold again nor will I recommend it. These days there is stiff competition for business and I cannot see The Angel Inn flourishing in these difficult times if they treat their customers as they treated me. My rating for this restaurant is POOR.
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If you're going round all the Reading area pubs trying to drum up custom for the BOB, you perhaps shot yourself in the foot with the link you posted there, LordJ.
If people follow it they will see it ends:
"The Angel Inn is now run by former pub chef restaurant award winner Matt Van Wyck."
I've not been since Summer 2007, (when local refugees from the floods made it a temporary home, incidentally), though.
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Seen closed and boarded up today.
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Two pubs so close together - but which is the best? I was going to have a Stella Black for the novelty factor but they have run out. So I asked which one of the two real ales were recommended - I forget the name of the one recommended but the other one must have been shocking. Mine looked like dish water, had a really thin greasy head that disappeard and had great big lumps of something in the bottom. Tasted better than it looked, to be honest, but i left the last third - wishing I had saved my pennies for the Rowbarge.
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I was very disapointed with the service in this pub. We sat down at our table at 7:20pm and we didn't have our mains until 9:00pm. After we ate our starters a young waitress asked us if we had just eaten our starters or main then we proceeded to wait over 1 hour for our main.
The table next to us also had to ask them to clear there plates away as they had been sat there for half an hour.
Very upset when i complained about the time issues he said they were short staffed and bear with them. no offer of a complimentry drink or compensation and they had the cheek to put a 10% service charge on my bill.
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Visited yesterday lunchtime - Pride was excellent although pricey at �2.95
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Token handpull of very average London Pride available in what is basically a posho foody-cum-wine bar.
Wood cladding and wine bottles everywhere, all along the ceiling. Plant pots, leather sofas and ambient muzak to finish off. Must've cost a fair whack to kit the place out.
Didn't seem too keen on the Quinno and DeggyT funbus pulling into the place, perhaps we didn't look rich enough and only wanted a pint! As we got to the end of our drinks, waitress said they were closing for the afternoon and could we leave please...not entirely sure I believed her but not too fussed as I much preferred the Falmouth anyway! Mind you, we were the only ones in there at the time.
I imagine this might be the place to take a bit of posh totty for tea, but it isn't really my scene.
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Half way between Reading and Newbury is this delightful gastropub. Very friendly staff make everyone feel welcome. I had the smoked salmon followed by Welsh rib eye steak. Both excellent. Everything seemed home made and fresh. It makes a nice change from all the pub chains opening up!
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