please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Not a conventional pub by any means, no pub atmosphere. But a central location, good range of beers from their own microbrewery, fast and efficient service, and wonderful (though not cheap) food - e.g. the Teriyaki chicken and cashew nut stir-fry that I enjoyed immensely.
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Very interesting smoked beer recently. Pizzas are well worth a try with some very interesting flavours
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I'm not quite sure whether to score this as 6 or 7 and my feelings are rather those of Newbury_drinker. Spacious and convenient for the shops, with 5-6 of their own beers - generally the same selection (Wheat Ale, Black Lager, Pale Ale, Pilsener) but with variation in the fruit and wheat beers. These are quite drinkable, though quite bland or overcooled - maybe the wheat beers and Black Lager are the most distinctive. The modern glass and steel is combined with comfortable seating and the staff are helpful enough. All in all, 7 is the score though by no means all pub-fans will agree with me.
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A brew pub that does a decent selection of beer.... tried the elderflower and golden ale on my visit, bit more expensive than other Reading pubs (about �7 for two pints) but not excessively so.
Pretty quiet at 2pm on a Monday (as you would expect) so service was prompt and pleasant.
Interesting photographs in the gents toilets!
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The bar is now in need of some TLc as some of the furnishings are gettng a bit tatty. The beer,as always,is fine and recent offerings have included a Stout and a Lemongrass and Chilli beer !!! Happy hour prices have gone up to �2.50 a pint which is still pretty good for Reading. It can get very dark in the bar area and after six the lights get turned down even more so forget about reading your paper!! One other thing,they keep the telly on in the afternoon (no sound) but it is always showing cr+p programmes - switch it off please or just leave the news channel on. Thanks.
Anyway, I use this place very regularly and enjoy the beer (it's not keg but it would take too long to explain).
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On first sight it's not the sort of place an old fart like me would like, but actually it's not bad at all. The beer is too cold, but most of it is the sort of beer that doesn't suffer from this quite as much as traditional English ale. The black lager is especially good.
Contrary to the last couple of reviews, the beer is NOT keg and indeed the pub is in the current GBG.
The only time I ate there (a few years ago now) the food was fine too.
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Likeable modern bar with tasty beer (don't care if it's technically keg); not as dominated by the really young as you might guess.
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popped in for a quick one on our tour of reading, it's all keg and brewed on the premises, but it was good tasty beer(makes you wonder why the big brewers can't make fizzy beer this tasty), tried the wheat and the black lager, will be back
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OK the beer is cold but the selection is pretty good and the quality is fine. Try the seasonal beers at present (Apple Wheat and the excellent Dunkel). Best time is 4-7 Mon to Friday when it is �2.00 a pint. Hoorah.
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Their food is surprisingly good ... pizzas even better than their pasta.
OK wine, interesting beer if only you had time to let it warm up a bit (zero degrees, hmmmm ?)
Unexpectedly nice place, especially the Gun Street facing bit !
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Al;ways worth a try as an quiet early place to eat before going on the town or just part of a crawl round town, although it does get very raucous later in the evening. Beers are always interesting if served a little cold for British palates, but let them warm up a bit before downing them and they are just fine. The food is generally very good inded, not over-pricey and they regularly offer a free nine-pint take-out in a proper metal cask with food orders over �30. A good and welcome variation to the plethora of mostly skanky town centre venues for Reading.
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Not a proper pub, but the pizzas are excellent and the beers make an interesting change. Efficient, friendly service. Much better than the one in Bristol.
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They must have at least eight different beers although I didn't count them. Pale Ale tasted good, the wheat beer didn't seem quite right. Loos are mildly amusing. Would visit again.
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I struggle to like this place much as a drinking venue, despite the beer being interesting and usually fairly good - I usually only go in for a pizza. Note: watch out if you're getting a half here, they don't exactly halve the price of the pint to fit...!
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Despite the ongoing discussions about "is this real ale or not" I like it and always have at least one pint of their Black Lager (�2 a pint during happy hour). I have eaten here with friends and it was OK but I must admit that they are sometimes short-staffed at the bar often at the busiest times. The latest fruit beer is Apple Wheat (not tried it but it was selling)
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As mentioned below my starter and pizza were rather late, this however allowed me to enjoy the black lager and the smoke beer, both of which I enjoyed although they were a bit chilly - however, warmest day of the year at the time so I was happy to let that go! The pizza was quite good and I would come back again - preferably when the weather is hot.
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Arrived at 12:00 exactly when the pub opened, it was a Sunday and we were the only ones in, we ordered our food, the time on my receipt was 12:02, I got my (wrong) order 53 minutes later!! How long does it take to cook a Pizza and a chicken salad? An 'OK' experience, but will not bust a gut to come back.
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Visited with the family and enjoyed the experience. Good food, friendly staff and the Black Lager is to die for. On the minus side, the pint of Pale Ale I tried looked like mud - I returned it only to be told by a surly barman that it had just finished brewing so it was cloudy. He and the brewer (if that was true) clearly no nothing about looking after beer as it should stand for some days after brewing has finished.
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Contempary meets "Spit and Sawdust". Tubular, glass -multi-level and reflective, with a busy bar area! I like my ales and my food, and this scored for both - and some atmosphere thrown in for free. The Micro brewery is gaining popularity again, and these ales are interesting and alternative. Can't rememeber the individual brands, but the reddish colour pint was rather sweet....that's not really the point though as the varied and fine selection ensures there's something to keep all real ale fans amused for at leat an evening; if however you prefer the global high St brands, they're there too. We had Pizzas which were averagely priced, home made and delicious. The arrived promptly too on a busy Thursday night.
We got some seats out on the patio, which on a summer's eve is quite nice (if you like pubs by the road). There's a busy more formal restaurant section indoors. Mixed clientelle , weighting on the late 20's and 30's crowd. However there's a more lively buzzing bar next door with noise pollution escaping out to street - and some eye candy to boot.
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This place is unusual in that it's a fusion of two worlds - the normal, unadvenurous trendy world of mega-brands meets with something rather more individual and quirky - and it works. The beer is all brewed on site (which seems to put people off, I guess because some poeple only drink big brands they've heard of) but it's very good beer indeed. I agree with Quinnos's description - a cross between traditional real ale and mass-produced lager.
Try the Black Lager - very tasty if you let it warm up a bit.
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Continental in style ,beer isn't like uk lagers and normally well presented. interesting specials (Bulgarian Honey Beer on our visit).Food excellent,consider sharing a pizza unless really hungry. Staff service excellent.
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Wasn�t keen on the ZD outlet in Bristol, but this one is better.
ZD beer their own beer on site, for those who don�t know. A fair range, it�s continental in style (ie not real ale as such) but it�s a decent halfway house between Stella and Summer Lightning.
The usual Crystal Maze Industrial Zone-style interior for drinking, which I personally don�t like but others think it�s a good design. However the outside fa�ade does look quite striking, in a good way.
Eaten there a couple of times (restaurant area a little more traditional), food is good and the service was of a decent standard � I was quite taken with pizzas.
I wouldn�t be tempted in to drink outside of summer though, it�s often freezing inside and doesn�t look inviting in the same way that the Allied does � quite often you�re standing.
Blokes toilets have some unusual decoration, a tick for that. Girl with the clipboard is my preference.
Trying to something a bit different, so good luck to them. Worth checking out I think.
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It's something a bit different, and it's rather good too. Decent value food, and the beers are fresh tasting and interesting. The pale ale in particular is very nice. The bar seating area already seems to be looking a bit scruffy at times, and can feel a bit impersonal because of all the exposed pipework and steel, but the restaurant section is very pleasant.
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