please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
As Wetherspoons go, a good one. Very busy - but quick service, and a good range of ales all cheaply priced.
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Last Monday 20th February I went to the Hope Tap in Reading and when I got there I went to the bar and I ordered a beer and I went and sat by the table near the window and watched people walking by outside while it got dark and my beer was nice it was a Desperado and I watched all the people having a drink inside most of them were fat and chavvy but I still will return next time I go to the Hope Tap
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All roads in Reading seem to lead here. I ended up not finding the Greyfriars, finding the Gateway shut at 10pm on a Monday and coming back here.
So - an average pint of Foddens. Not had it before but it was uninspiring. Then had a large Talisker. For £3.75.
Tried to do the maths to see if it would be as cheap for me to fill a bottle as buy one in the supermarket.
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BrownBarellait is well known in 'spoons circles you were barred from a certain better boozer for how can I put this; INCONTINENCE/GRUNDY SHATTING! How is it anyone's fault your out of control derrière and staining seats sessions got you a barrage other than your brown rimming self eh? Think on that and can one kindly suggest you take a family pack of Andrex next time you frequent a hostelry eh?
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It's very interesting to read that the manager of one Wetherspoons is slagging off the managers of two other Wetherspoons! Mind you Lord J (the manager of the Back Of Beyond, his name is Jason) also slags off plenty of other Reading pubs:-
The Retreat,
The Three Tuns,
Nags Head,
The Malthouse,
The Horn,
The Prince of Wales, Caversham,
The Blagrave Arms,
all come in for the same treatment.
Perhaps the Landlords of these pubs should go down the Kings Road and rate the Back Of Beyond!
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Fairly standard Wetherspoons outlet with an element of downmarket clientele although not as bad as some. Beyond the usual Greene King dross, London Pride and the syrup known as Doom Bar there were only three other ale choices, two being from the Wild Weather brewery which I had not previously come across. These were Big Muddy and Little Wind, the first was not tried but the second was very acceptable. The third was Andwell Resolute bitter which was quite palateable but had a slightly unusual taste. Unfortunately the pub as a whole had nothing to tempt me back although there was nothing actually wrong with it. Unlike Arsenalfan36 I will not be returning.
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Usual Friday night. Plenty of punters in, cheap beer, and dopey and co. on the door bounce another poor unfortunate out of the door for the fun of it. When you make a comment, you are threatened with the same treatment. What a dive. Shame they don't show the same zeal in serving customers.
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I see very little amusing about Harding's flatulence. My good lady wife was recently served by the fellow only to bear witness to the swine nudging his colleague then batting out a sly one to the merriment of all. Behind bar that is! The sooner his area manager has a word in his whiffy shell-like the better!
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fair play to that si geez; he is biffing the tap's equivalent to monks claire now. they like 'em hefty do spoons.
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I see Simon Harding has arrived upon this establishment upon gust of his own flatulence eh? Having being dispelled upon a brown air biscuit from the Monks Retreat Simon is seemingly intent on farting his way to 'spoons glory it would appear. Dirty farting swine that he is.
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Although a bit too near the local job centre for my liking this venue is easily the best of the town's Wetherspoons. The staff clearly trumping the workshy Monk's mob and don't even get me started on the den of inequity that is the Back of Beyond. A staff award should go to barman Paul here who surely has to be one of the hardest workers a spoons has ever seen. I've seen the fella deal with difficult customers with grace and aplomb which is no small feat in Reading. Top banana.
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Middle of the road Wetherspoons: not bad, not great. Good range of guest beers and the cheap prices attract all sorts: watch out for the seasoned drinkers area to the left as you enter! Much more relaxed towards the back of the pub. Friendly barstaff.
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Not only content with being an EDL haunt the Tappage now homes the equally scummy Unison rep/public sector crowd. NOT ON MY WATCH SIR; NOT ON MY WATCH! These taxpayer fund abusing scoundrels should be stopped from ever entering a hostelry period. As Peter Gabriel said I am on my way I'm making it but it is no small wonder with these total tool bags stealing our taxes with their wages-of-doing-nought-of-a-working-day. What beggars belief is one minute your fat bald gout footed cretin is giving it the jive talk whilst chowing down on a taxpayer funded breakfast then heading back to office for a hard afternoon on the local paper forums! A hard life is it not? Nay it is not; especially whilst being propped up by the taxpayer with bloated guttage!
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nearly shat meself on way up the wooden hill in here. gimme a break!
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Take one average 'spoons, add a sweaty horde of jobless toerags (from the practically next-door job-centre) with a pinch of dodgy Polish imports and allow to simmer. Yep, you've guessed it pop pickers, another one to avoid...
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Put my score up a notch as the beer is pretty good.
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This hostelry sports the glowing adornment of being the regular meeting place of the EDL Berkshire Division. Not being a Muslim this isn't a problem for me personally.
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The HOPE Tap? Abandon hope all yea who enter here more ****king like it! Where is the hope in a bunch of unemployed giro rustlers and bar staff on six pound an hour? Edgar A. Poe wouldn't even put that cobblers into a tome! The best thing that can be said about this place is one day someone will put a fist in the face of the mouthy drunken giro-scroungers/drug addict types who frequent it and abuse the staff.
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The beer has improved and is generally good with 6 guest ales often on tap and local breweries featuring on a regular basis.
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Not bad for a Wetherspoons - and better then the Monks Retreat at the other end of Friar Street, being considerably lighter and airier, and with a (slightly scruffy) beer garden at the back.
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At least it has windows unlike the Monks retreat.
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Another great pub to visit with good food and good beer selections with plenty of room to move about, also caters for people in wheelchairs which is a big bonus over some of the pubs in Reading
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LIKE a bloated geriatric whale bobbing in a sea of young, trendy gastro pubs, The Hope Tap has chosen to eschew 21st century fashion and give its clientele what they want.
And what do the good people of Reading want?
Make no mistake, they don�t want some tiny strips of overpriced game garnished with vegetables so unusually named you need the aid of a dictionary to know what you�re consuming.
They want meat � big juicy slabs of flesh, sizzling and spitting on a hot plate like a scorned weightlifter who�s just checked in to the athlete�s village in New Delhi and forgotten to bring his anti-bacterial wet wipes and snake repellent.
As if welcoming punters to Dante�s seventh circle of hell, the sign outside picturing a steak engulfed in flames proudly announces The Hope Tap as a Flaming Grill pub.
While the decor is what you would expect from a chain pub � impersonal and charmless � this cavernous family boozer with a dark polished bar and tables is not entirely without a soul.
And this is mainly down to the exceptionally friendly and helpful staff who go beyond the call of duty to make you feel welcome and provide that all too often rare quality in pubs today � customer service.
From making sure I had all the condiments I needed to fastidiously checking everything was up to scratch halfway through my meal, the waiting staff were attentive without pestering.
I was so impressed I didn�t have the heart to tell them my so-called black and blue burger (�5.50) lacked both enough stilton cheese and blackened cajun spice to justify its name.
Fortunately, there was a dazzling array of ales, lagers and beers to wash the disappointingly bland grub down with.
With autumn already here, the beer garden has probably seen the last of The Hope Tap�s fresh air fiends retreat indoors, but it�s still a pleasant area where smokers can puff on their cancer sticks.
The last time I ventured into Reading borough I feared for my life at The Bugle also in Friar Street, where there�s apparently now a dartboard with my name on it.
Although I�m thankful they didn�t choose a toilet bowl for their voodoo curse, the threat was such I bided my time before returning to this neck of the woods again.
But it was worth the wait and The Hope Tap is proof that quality of service does not always have to suffer because of a pub�s size and a corporate chain�s logo tagged before its name.
However, with not a spot of water in the area, I am slightly miffed about the boozer�s nautical name.
Perhaps residents are preparing for a biblical flood and hope to use the pub as a giant ark?
If so, I�ll be more than happy to hole up in this pub�s immaculate cellar for 40 days and the first round is on me.
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The nearest pub to the Jobcentre. Need I say more?
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Oh dear - looks like Lord Jason (or should that be Jason Lord) has a little bee in his bonnet. He is, as I understand, the manager of The Back of Beyond - hence all the plaudits for that pub,but as Camra Colin has already said I'm sure Wetherspoons would take a dim view of one of their staff slanging off other pubs (and even other JDW pubs by the sounds of it). We are all entitled to our views of pubs and bars in Reading but it really is quite funny and perhaps a bit pathetic that this contributor has made so many disparaging remarks about other pubs whilst telling us all just how wonderful his place is (if indeed it is that wonderful?!?)
I wonder who has upset him - as if I cared!
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what is all this cobblers by lord jason? check out his other reviews, they are all promoting the same pub namely the back of beyond. is it a coincidence that the landlord of that pub is also called jason? this kind of thing shouldn't be allowed and i'm surprised wetherspoons tolerate this tactic. he'd be better off spending time at the gym rather than bigging up his own boozer online the fat git!
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Beer has been pretty good recently with a varied seleciton of Real Ales. The manager has run both the Baron Cadogan and The Monks Retreat before the Hope Tap and usually keeps his beer well. It is a Wetherspoons with all that entails but I use it on a regular basis and it's generally OK.
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Doh !
This is Weatherspoon ... �1:50 basic pint, �2:00 for their decent guest beer selection, usually well kept and no quibbles if you think its off ... �2:85 for 330ml wine (which is always perfect) ... their burger meals, steak nights, Sunday lunches, all with drink inc. are crazy value - would you rather do Mc'Donalds for a similar price ???
Only curry nights are dubious, but check out the price of a microwave curry from Sainsburys ?
Sure its not where you go for a romantic date, but the rear of this pub offers lots of light (expelled smokers have ruined the outdoor patio), and thru' the day clientelle varys from OAPs, East Europeans, Students tanking up pre-nightclub ... and its quieter on Fri eves than the Monks Retreat, which is best of times dark and claustrophobic.
Yes the stairs to the toilets stink of pee, but the Ladies is semi-OK, stuff that the pub needs to address ...
Please don't diss pensioners, unemployed, who can't afford likes of even "Slug and Lettuce", Sweeney's, or trad pubs like the Allied, or those of us who want a cheap drink while we do our shopping ... Hope Tap is OK, Weatherspoons Staff are always OK, honestly if you want an traditional pint town centre is there really an alternative ?
- Laura
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Real Ale was in good form and cheap, other than that a standard JDW. Very busy as it was a Saturday evening.
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Took forever and a day to get served here. Staff were churlish and rude. Full of drunks and jobless layabouts. Beer was kept okay.
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Probably the best spoons in town but that does not say much. Beer choice good but not always up to scratch. Not bad food if you like eating among down n outs.
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Spoons near the Jobcentre - seems to be a good place to visit if you're out of work and can't afford to pay more. Otherwise I can't think why anyone would go there - there are 2 other JDWs in reading, both better than this.
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Of the two W'spoons I visited in Reading , the other being the Monks Retreat, this is by far the better. A roomy bar area,wide and deep did not give the impression of being overcrowded on a busy Saturday afternoon. The ale was fine and the food was OK served quickly. Bar service as usual for 'spoons was slow due to few bar staff. The customers did not appear to be any differant to most spoons I visit ,a mix of all ages.
Next morning I called in for the farmhouse breakfast and a read of the Sunday papers. The food was a poor effort. Everthing had the look of being done past its best. I was realy looking forward to that breakfast,MacD could have done better.
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If you enjoy the smell of old man's piss, go there, you'll love it!
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Was served up a curry with bits of plastic packaging still in it - and the staff member just said it was to be expected with pre-packaged food, which I thought was pretty poor. Food generally of the low standard you expect from Wetherspoons - you get what you pay for - the beers are cheap and normally of acceptable quality, although I've had a few pints there that I've had to return as they were bad, including one that smelt of bleach - presumably the barrel cleaner not washed out of the lines!
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Another 'spoons in the same road as the Monk's Retreat, d�cor is standard 'spoons although this one is much more open with a large vertical drinking space in front of the bar with seating to the side and the rear. There is also an outdoor drinking area at the back of the pub. Usual wide range of well kept beers although this was during the Real Ale Festival. Staff ok and the customers were a mixed bunch
anonymous - 4 May 2009 10:59 |
The best of the three Reading JDW�s in my opinion, although it was a lot calmer on Sunday morning when I popped in for breakfast than it was late on Saturday night.
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one of the biggest pubs in reading. but with cheap beer and food it attracts customers not to everyones taste. bar staff helpful.
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I went in there as I needed somewhere which provided wireless access and the Hope Tap claims to provide free internet access. Although it did connect it kept dropping out. At least the ale was in good condition and as ever at a Weatherspoons, cheap. The comment made by "mericet" about the Hope Tap consisting of "old men who smell of pee" certainly has a ring of truth in it. Whilst waiting to be served the old man in front of me certainly had an offensive aroma about him enough that made me feel somewhat ill.
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Cheap food and beer.We all tried different beers on offer and found all to be of fine quality. Why do so many people have it in for these pubs?
lotus - 11 Nov 2008 16:09 |
You can tell which of the three town centre Wetherspoons pubs you are in by the type of clientelle -
Back of Beyond - Students
Monks Retreat - Chavs
Hope Tap - Old men who smell of pee
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As Quinno says this is a typical spoons building. Availability and quality of beers was good though. Staff worked hard to reduce queues.
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Come a long way from the 'Hopeless Tap' of old, beer quality still good and a lot less cold.
Wetherspoons beer festival last year was best in here out of all the �Spoons in town, the beers were spot-on.
Can still suffer from idiocy like not turning the clip round when the beer's off, but otherwise worth seeking out at the moment. Though as is usual with Wetherspoons pubs, you never know quite how long this renaissance is going to last. But I�ll enjoy it while it does.
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The greatest collection of winos in the western world - Brilliant! Think of it more as a zoo than a pub
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12 beers on hand pump, great! After waiting 10 minutes to get served we asked for the Loddon Dragonfly. It's off! Can we have the Loddon Hullabaloo? That's off. How about the Hop Back Crop Circle? Sorry, we're cleaning the line. We could feel a pub version of the Monty Python "Cheese Sketch" coming on. Why don't you turn the pump-clips round the other way if the beer is off and stop wasting our time. We were informed that that was against the law. WHAT!!!
Ended up with some passable Bombardier but made the mistake ordering the "improved" fish and chips. God, if this was improved, what was it like before!
If you haven't two pennies to rub together, get in there, the drinks are cheap.
I wonder if Tim Martin ever goes into his appalling pub chain?
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Cheap but full of old men and desperate
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Went in there for a quick pint, but waited for an age while the only girl behind the bar, that appeared to be serving, chatted to her mates.
Tables covered with empty glasses and plates, even the clearer places badly needed a wipe clean. Do they ever clear and clean the tables?
The manager was more concerned with the installation of new cooling equipment, than the service being offered.
However, a pint of Marlow Brewery "Rebellion Smugglers" bitter was acceptable.
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Ale range improved a bit, but now served too cold. Gah! off to the Hobgoblin...
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decent ale bit 2 smokey though,7/10
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If you want drunken Irish and down and outs this is the place to go.
anonymous - 18 Apr 2007 12:27 |
Oh dear oh dear!!! i actually manage a bar in town and this place is full of the scum we barred !!! lol i ordered food once for a quite bite one lunchtime , i enede up waiting 1 1/2 hours and in the end we got given the wrong food Tres pooey ( oh and the screaming kids !!!!) Arrrggghhh
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DO NOT EAT THE FOOD!
I ordered pasta in tomato sauce, simple but tastey you would think. Well a little to simple it was heated up in a microwave and all the pasta was rock solid!!
Burger was a little pink inside too. So avoid for food
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ONly go there if you're practically a down and out
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Well i hv to say i dnt agree, i actually work there and the service is not crap! the comment bout the door policy has changed we actually hv compitent door men i.d-ing ppl as they enter etc n we won an award to nyt at the pub awards ceremony. *Safer Bar Accreditation* may not have been great when u last visited but it has improved!! :)
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place is a depressing dump, I feel like crying everytime i work past the last resort of the socially inept, that includes the useless clueless staff.
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Didn't get IDed even though I look young, it was a little depressing. Toilets were in Siberia but the food was spot on.
Not the kind of place you would want to hang around for a great length of time, perfect for a crawl, get in and get out.
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I don't know who has worse bar skills: the punters or the staff.
Shocking place, serving just-in-date beer (I could tell by the taste).
AND, having followed in some little girlies in short skirts (perhaps they were 18, but certainly not 25), I got asked for id...
The manager nearly had a heart attack when he saw how old I am!
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Depressing pub. Service okay. Toilets are very, very far away!
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Not as good compared to the Monks (the other Wevvies in Reading I've been in).
Beer was fine but a very dull selection (Pride, Abbott, Loddon & Pedigree) compared to the Exmoor Gold and others on offer in the Monks.
Food was decent, so a plus point there, and the pub area itself was quite nice. Toilets were a hike to get to.
Maybe if the beer is more varied i'd go back in but not on last night's showing.
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Have to confess it was a very hard job to get served, but got there in the end. Nice layout but very manky toilets
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The epitomy of average, thats about it
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It always seems to take longer to get served here than in the other Reading Wetherspoons pubs.
The gents toilets stink as well.
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Weatherspoon's so you know you will be saving your money drinking here, also their curry's are top notch with a pint.
ANDREW - 10 Nov 2004 14:46 |
Not bad, anything over 20 people grinds it to a halt, and the glasses only seem clean after about 6 pints, but cheapness makes up for most of the faults.
Stuart - 5 Sep 2004 16:18 |
Good cheap Wetherspoon's beer and food, and a nice little garden/yard out the back. The gentlemen regulars are usually too drunk to fight.
enile p snirkette - 14 Jul 2004 16:58 |
Mostly used by alcoholic Irishmen. Was voted the worst pub in Reading by the local newspaper last year, which was slightly harsh (well, I quite like it anyway!) Cheap beer & food, the usual sort of Wetherspoons.
Warning - it's best to set off for the gents about 10 minutes before you need to go, as it's about 200 steps up to the top floor of the building.
Jelly - 2 Dec 2003 00:48 |
