please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
An 8 mile walk from Thatcham to Aldermaston was punctuated by lunch at The Bull. And very pleasant it was too.
From the outside a typical village pub. Not huge but with a garden front and back. Beers available were Landlord, Good Old Boy and guest Batemans Yella Belly Gold. We plumped for the GOB which was excellent. 3 pints of the stuff slipped down a treat. And at �3 per pint, it was 60p per pint cheaper than the beer we had last week in an inferior establishment which wasn't nearly as good.
Food - there's a sandwich menu, a starter menu, a specials menu and an a la carte menu, so there's plenty of choice. The food isn't cheap - specials are around the �13-�15 mark, the a la carte goes up past �20. We went for Bacon Chop, Sirloin Steak and Fish and Chips, all of which were very good indeed. My fellow walker who had the steak waxed especially lyrical about it.
The staff were chatty and very attentive. The pub gradually filled up through the lunchtime period and it certainly seems to be popular. And with good reason.
The Bull is kinda what I expected to find in this area but it is a very good example of its genre. Good beer, good food, pleasant staff, nice pub. What more could you want.
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The Bull re-opened Sunday 15th May 2011 and was looking good and busy.
Familiar face of Laura from the Queens Head at nearby Bradfield - a good pub too.
Worth checking out for dinner very soon.
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The Bull is re-opening in May 2011 and will be run by the same people who run the Queens Head in Bradfield Southend. Should be good if that's anything to go by!
ric27 - 19 Apr 2011 15:24 |
Passed by Monday 18/10/10 - not convinced the Bull is open - the note on the front door would suggest not. There are 3 of the bright orange planning notices though by the entrance to the car park so some work is being planned. West Berks council ref 10/01901/LBC found on the planning portal has further information.
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It appeared open when we passed on Sunday, but the phone number in the BT book 0118 974 4582 just has anonymous answer message. I'll go there mid week and check.
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Has this pub reopened yet? If so the new owners have gone very quiet and I can find nothing updated onb any website?
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Believed to have changed ownership just before Christmas.
Looked closed on New Years Day and appeared closed when passed 09/01/10.
Will add a review when I next pass and find it open.
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27th November evening visit - again a great curry for �6 including a pint. This time a Lamb Balti, marked as medium on the menu but actually fairly hot. We were pre-warned by the owner, Alistair so no problem. Plenty of people in, mainly eating the curry where we sat in front of a nice glowing wood fire. Something about a log fire in a pub serving good food and drink that I like!
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Stopped by for an afternoon yesterday. It was quite quiet, but I suppose that is to be expected on a weekday afternoon. I had a steak for lunch, which was nicely-cooked. They had a decent selection of local ales on offer - the ones I had were well-kept. Service was great.
Certainly worth stopping by if you're in the area and in need of refreshment.
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Visited the Bull Friday 30th October at 7.30pm. Very busy with a mixed age crowd- a good sign. The �6 curry including pint of beer offer still available. Glad we arrived when we did as the curry ran out later - Alistair - the owner - checked on us personally but he knows us by now so maybe we get special service. Glad too see too that the roof works appear complete now and the pub is looking good again from the outside without the scaffolding.
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I'm pleased to report that the Bull is still alive and well following my entry of 13th April but you wouldn't think so reading some of the other reports. We arrived at 7.45 after getting lost again - coming from the other direction this time. We were greeted by the owner and after a brief discussion on where we wanted to sit he whisked me behind the bar - the quickest route to the other saloon! My daughter and I had the creamy chicken curry - only �6 and quite delicious. Plenty of it too. My wife had the ploughmans. This pub is obviously in competition with the Rose & Crown in Kent (my only other 10) as the salad was enormous. A mountain of cheese and more grapes than Tesco's. As to the drinks, well I was spoiled for choice. Had a couple of pints of Butt's and was only charged for two. Came clean on that one as I'd had a third of something else.
The picture of this pub can never do it justice. There are currently renovations going on with lots of scaffolding about but if you want good food, superb real ale and nice service (we found it very efficient) then this place is it! Thanks for the free Wifi and we left to get lost on the way back to Newbury. Perhaps we'll stay here next time?
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We've been going to this lovely pub for years and this was a plus on moving to the area. We were delighted that a remained a pub but have found it has subsequently lost something. Nice guy who runs it but his staff are lacking in the politeness and service stakes.
On a recent visit found that West Berks beers were nowhere to be seen. Friends have given us poor reports on food but will judge for ourselves as we really want this pub to succeed.
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I was in here today, the service was shockingly poor. We waited half an hour for food only to be told that they hadn't even started cooking it. There were only two other people in the pub when we arrived as well so it's not like they were busy. avoid. go to the Boot around the corner instead.
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We stayed there for two nights of the Easter weekend, fantastic. �50 per night (no breakfast), which was just as well as we didn't need it after the curry night (�6 each including a beer). The food is mainly home cooked and lots of it and VERY tasty. We ate there 3 times. Sunday lunch �10 for fantastic roast beef. And then there is the beer, all micro breweries, the beer was very well kept, unlike some pubs. 4 handpumps on and in the summer 6! Definitely going back. The staff are very friendly, one that wasn't even working going and getting my wife a drink while the other staff were busy. I cannot recommend this pub enough.
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Planned our evening here whilst staying in Reading for the night (Good Friday). The pubs website was very helpful and with comments from this page convinced us to go. I think (like Dudley Moore) I've found my 10! Had a reserved table in one of the small bars. Friday night was curry night (3 to choose from). �6 including a pint. This was too good to turn down so we had a relatively cheap evening. Superb real ales matched only by the excellent service (so friendly here). Even the backroom staff made a point of saying hello when they came into the bar. Got quite lost on the way here but wow - was it worth it! Yes - a 10 definately and well deserved. See you again soon.
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This is a pleasant spot well off the beaten track. A traditional two bar village pub that has been refurbished quite sympathetically with a newish looking accommodation block to the rear. They couldn't keep the paintbrush away from the wood panelling but nobody's perfect.
Thankfully none of the gastro pretensions that bedevil so many pubs in this part of the world, it's still obviously a pub with a friendly welcome and most importantly a superb choice of local beers, mainly West Berkshire and a Marlow example too, all perfect condition. My only substantial criticism would be the lack of heat. It was distinctly nippy on the evening we called.
Well worth a visit, you'll need a map or GPS if you don't know the area.
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Absolutely great pub. Found it through the CAMRA GBG but I suspect that the entry in the 2008 edition was based on the pre refurb business. Well whatever that was like the pub now is really great. Super food - quality and price - and an excellent range of micro brewery real ales. Pub is full of character too. Not to be missed. Good walking country too apparently.
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A pub as god intended: unimproved, bags of character, charming staff, West Berkshire brewery beer and excellent, modestly priced food (delicious braised beef, home-made pork pie to make Melton Mowbray weep). To all gastropubs: Go thou and do thou likewise.
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This pub sadly was closed as a business when visited in late 2007.
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Very nice food, nice atmosphere and friendly staff. Watch out for the car park though - it's pitch black out there!
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Great beer (West Berks), good food, music & clasic cars
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