please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Definitely a pub for locals (in a quiet residential street) rather than a city centre pub. But friendly service. Only one beer on, but a good one. Dodgy gents toilet in the back yard and no signs to help you find it! Very convenient for Reading West station.
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I have heard that a new licensee has taken over (ex.The Oasis) but that there was only one real ale now available and that was Greene King IPA !!! Also rumour has it that there is also a pool table in the back bar - looks like we have lost this once fine boozer.
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Licensee has handed the keys back to Admiral Taverns and they are now looking for a new tenant. Great shame - Admiral are another pubco who will not do deals in order to keep their good licensees. This was a Good Beer Guide pub as well. Let's hope that somebody comes forward to take over this excellent little terraced pub.
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Nice terraced pub with a long narrow beer garden out back. Two West Berkshire beers were on tap & I tried a well kept 'Pig and Tea' beer. Saw a bit of the Liverpool v Everton FA cup match. Seems a little out of the way and maybe half a mile away from our next pub the Nags Head. But well worth the diversion.
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A great community 2 bar pub, went with a small group so that does water down the 'locals pub' atmosphere, having said that I found it a friendly place. It does basic pub fare, you can get some cheesy chips with your beer and there are nibbles at the bar which is a nice touch. The real ales were in good nick with the White Horse brewery represented when I was there, �3/pint which is good value for Reading. I will return.
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Excellent community local of the sort that was common 80 years ago but is now virtualy extinct. Everything a pub should be and a contender for 'best pub in Reading'. Two ales on: Magg's Mild & Downton N.Forest. Well worth seeking out - it's actually not too far from the Nag's Head. Highly recommended.
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Local pub in the middle of a terraced street with a front and back bar and garden. Only two ales on (of which I went for the West Berkshire brew - that had some long name). I rate this pub higher than the much vaunted Nags Head because it is a small community local in the old style - a dying breed in the face of corporate greed dictating that only vast cavernous large bars can make enough profit.
anonymous - 26 Mar 2011 23:14 |
How does a pub like this survive ?
The other pub I knew in tiny, narrow, out of the way Brunswick Street shut over a decade ago (Brunswick Arms) , as did the Swiss Cottage just round the corner on Tilehurst Road ...
Faithfull local clientele, but never crowded.
The front bar feels like you've intruded in one of the neighbouring terraced house sitting rooms, especially as the handful of other people there seem to be treat as family ... lovely garden (shame the barbecue smells were drifting from the next door house !).
A bit run down (toilets ?) which makes you realise that they're running on a shoestring :-(
I do like this place, it clicks when it gets half busy and you're with someone who make you feel entitled to be there ... and suddenly you become a friend among really nice people ... totally unbigoted lovely folk.
Only negatives are the feel "its a local pub for local people" (if you're a stranger), and a limited choice of beers ... usually just two, both way understrength (@3.5%) for someone who drinks halves I like ESB / Speckled Hen strength ... and pretty much a single wine choice, though the bottle was still fresh and OK ...
An odd but wonderful pub !
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Nice big beer garden. Good pint of Harveys. Not a local, so I felt a bit 'watched', but it's a decent boozer.
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Very good back street pub, rare outlet for Harveys ales. Friendly. Old-fashioned with two separate bars and garden. Well worth a visit even though it's a bit out of the way.
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The two ales (Harveys Best and Brakspear Bitter) are still excellent quality. However the back bar desperately needs a lick of paint, some basic maintenance and a few new lightbulbs.
Simple stuff but it makes a huge difference.
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Can only agree with the last comment, I had Brakspears Bitter and it was excellent. A bit out of town, but the worth the walk especially if the weather is any good, as it's got a large beer garden out the back.
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Fine traditional backstreet community local in a residential side street to the west of the City Centre. There's 2 bars, unusually linked by a side corridor and a largish garden at the rear, accessed from the back bar. For the nostalgia buffs, there's even outside gents toilets.
The front bar is called Friday's Bar - which I imagine is named after the iconic former Reading footballer, Robin Friday - and, on my visit, was being used by locals to watch the horse racing.
There's some football memorabilia to add interest. Football scarves from Swansea City and Norwich suggest that the pub is popular with visiting supporters.
The back bar houses a TV and is also basic and relatively unspoilt.
A barbeque was being set up in the garden to cater for the expected increase in trade later in the day for the Burnley v Reading play off game due to kick off later that afternoon. The large cow, mentioned in a previous posting, is still present, but unlikely to make much of a nuisance of itself!
Two beers were on - Brakspears and Harveys. The Harveys at � 2.80 p was on good form. A third pump had a St Austells Tribute pump clip reversed, indicating that the beer has been ( or will be ?) available.
The pub is listed in the 2009 CAMRA Good Beer Guide.
This is an unpretentious side street local which, despite the limited beer range, is well worth seeking out
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Nice little backstreet pub to the west of Reading Town Centre. Originally we sat in the front bar with the one and only other customer - strangely quiet for a Bank Holiday Monday. Maybe people were being put off by the temperature in the pub - it was freezing. We moved to the rear bar for a game of darts. The room was just as cold. The service was friendly and the owners are obviously keen Reading FC fans. Apparently the ladies toilets were in a state of disrepair. There were 2 real ales on - Brakspear and Harveys Sussex Best. Check out the large cow in the yard at the rear.
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small friendly back street local a fair way from the town centre but close to a major bus route. Small choice of family brewery beers, usually Harveys and Brakspears, both well kept. The back bar opens out onto a large garden and access to the outside Gents. A good honest pub with few pretensions.
anonymous - 16 Feb 2009 11:38 |
A pleasant little ale house in a residential area about 15 minutes walk from the Town Centre. There a small quiet front bar, called Friday�s Bar I think, with a few tables, a fireplace and an unobtrusive jukebox, ideal for the Sunday papers. The back bar has a pool table and gaming machines. Two beers available on my visit, Brakspear and Harvey�s Sussex.
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Nice old-fashioned terrace pub, welcoming enough and with decent beer (small range but makes sense). Certainly worth a diversion from the centre.
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Went to visit Luisa and Garry who live in Reading and after passing was a bit sceptical after bad experiences of entering smaller pubs previously, (everyone turns, looks and scowls) however what a delight! We were welcomed by bar staff and customers alike, even got a cheeky high five!
Great little area out back for fun and games with a pool table, darts and giant Connect 4 (although was missing a few bits which made it a bit one sided). Luisa did get a bit moody though cause she wasn't very good at anything and in particular darts (was like playing with a two year girl)!
I like this pub and would very much like to go back but after not getting invited to Luisa's birthday is unlikely, might make the trip though on my own!
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Finally managed to get there yesterday as part of the local Ale Trail...well worth the wait. Old-fashioned look from outside, but a surprisingly tidy, clean and modern feel to the front bar. Decent beer on from Harvey's, small unobtrusive flat-screen with all football shown. Didn't go through to the back bar, but seemed lively with pool table and further screens.
Lots of Reading FC paraphanalia from the days whenthe old stadium was close by...very much a decent back-street boozer sandwiched down a one-way street between two main roads.
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Visited a couple of weekends in a row and the beer quality has been fab. I love a bit of Sussex...
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Marvellous. My preference is for the Harveys Sussex Bitter. It has a great atmosphere both for televised football and quieter times.
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Nice two-roomed backstreet community boozer, with a couple of good ales on in excellent form, including Harvey�s Sussex Best.
Inside is fairly functional with a small beer garden out the back, which impressively has TV for sports in a lean-to, so worthwhile going for a summers� day sports fest.
Reading FC pub, plenty of paraphernalia around the walls.
Enjoyable, worth the short walk from the Oxford Road and a good one to combine with the Nags Head on a crawl. I like it.
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Lovely beer! Great little boozer.
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Changed hands three times in two years now. Its one of the more expensive pubs to drink in and the new owners are trying to improve things with BBQ's etc.
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There aren't many real pubs left these days, but this is one, a little jem, hidden away in the back streets of Reading.
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Old fashioned backstreet boozer, takes some finding but repays the effort. Greene King bitters, well kept and reasonable prices.
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Deacent old boys bar, good Greene King beers, no mess no fuss. The beer garden looks well worth a visit once the weather heats up.
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Solid old boozer, proper old regulars, good beer, even smelled of beer like a proper pub. Result.
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This is a typical unspoilt back street town pub serving Greene King. Lounge bar and public bar which has juke box and darts. Nice little garden out the back with pretty bedding plants in season.
Pauline Metcalf - 20 Jul 2004 12:52 |
