please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
The staff at this pub are quite possibly some of the rudest people I have met in a while, with the exception of one of the barmaids there on my last visit. When I ordered a drink for my partner, they gave me the wrong drink and did not seem happy about replacing it for what I had asked for. One barman in particular obviously did not want to be spending his evening working there and it showed through his attitude which other people around me at the bar also commented on.
It's dirty, it's dreary and to top it off, my pint was flat. I most definitely would not recommend ever stepping foot in this establishment ever again, not even for a stag.
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Visited for a late lunch mid week. Pretty quiet with a steady trickle of customers. Plenty of keg but no ale, settled for a cheap bottle of red wine and a daytime special of sausage and colcannon. The bangers are definitely the best in main street pubs at the moment.
A pretty average place with better clients than the Monks Retreat across the way.
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It's an O'Neill's, so you pretty much know what you are going to get. Large, with OK-ish food - the Irish breakfast is hearty, the drinks selection is mediocre in the extreme, with just Smithwicks as a proper ale on tap. The place is relatively inoffensive when quiet but when busy for a match, can be wild westish. The amount of "Big Four" supporters in a town like this with its own club is truly upsetting - we visited when Reading clinched the Championship title and were told to keep the noise down. Would that happen in any other town that had waited over a hundred years for Premier League football?
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A lot better since i dont work there anymore... great pints o guinness as always
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I�d not been in here for about 6 years and unfortunately the place hasn�t changed, it�s still an O�Neill�s.
I had a very quick pint as the bouncer wouldn�t let my stone cold sober, six foot four, 25 year old bearded brother in as he had no id on him. I didn�t really mind though as I couldn�t believe we had arranged to meet there anyway.
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Gets heaving on the weekend, but then again so would a midget's caravan parked up on the street corner selling neat turps in this part of town.
Been in a couple of times recently to try some of the Guinness Red, but it never seems to be on. So it's either incredibly popular or their ordering system is up the crapper.
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I have visited this pub a few times and really like it. The food is great, and very reasonable, and they do the best chips in Reading. Lots of choice, food wise, and they cater for vegetarians. Drinks prices are pretty much the same as anywhere else. They have large screens for live sports events. Definately recommended for the food. Staff are well-trained. Although it does not have a cosy pub-type atmosphere, I really like the place.
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End up here far too often but its a good place
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swaqrm absolutly rock this venue...best cover band in Reading by miles...good beer and good women...I love this place
anonymous - 31 May 2007 01:23 |
A theme pub. And the theme being 'irish'. Give that a miss then.
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Dont quite get the atmosphere of this place , its expensive and full all the time with all different kinds of people but it always seems to be busy !!! wouldnt go there al the time but maybe once in a while for a couple of cheeki ones
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Please its about as Irish as a plastic shamrock, does quite a nice Guinness but thats about it
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Beer OK? Only if you're a lager/Guiness drinker.
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I was very impressed with the toilet that comes out of the ground in the square opposite this place. Standard O'Neills really.
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Was in there last night for the Chelsea v Celtic Game, which they had advertised. Said to the Barman "are you showing the game?", He said "Yeh, the Liverpool game", I said to him "your meant to be showing the C v C game", and showed him the wee card I'd picked up in the bar a week earlier, he then said "Oh we must be showing that one, I just assumed we were showing the Liverpool game, because the Manager is a Liverpool fan". So Myself and my mate sat down with our pints, 5 mins later (kick-off time) they didn't have it on, the wee barman came down to me and said "a load of people phoned in and said they wanted the Liverpool game on instead, so we're showing that", I looked around the bar, there wasn't a single Liverpool top in sight. So I said to him, fair enough, you can have your pints back, and refund us, as we only came there to watch the C v C game. He said he wouldn't so I told him to get the manager. He went on the phone to the manager, who was probably upstairs with a pint and some chips, sitting with his Liverpool top on waiting for kick off...The barman came back, apologised and gave us the money back.
We found the GATEWAY pub on Greyfriar's street, and thankfully they were showing the match we were looking for (AND THEY WERE SHOWING THE LIVERPOOL GAME!), O'Neill's is off the menu from now on, The Gateway is a much better (proper Irish pub...not Plastic) pub, so I'll be there for the footie, Rugby, and Irish Sports from now on.
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Ah, the classic Oirish McPub (TM).
Barman was a good fella.
Oh I don't know, it's an O'Neills, whatever, just avoid the yuppie Guiness bores droning on.
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A good pub (albeit part of a chain) with good service, even when busy! It's always nice to see a pub that is clean as well.
Been there a couple of times recently. Once midweek, it was quiet and on a Saturday, it was busy but you could move without bumping into everyone. Plus, on Saturday the (covers) band they had on was very good.
The beer is good and it is one place in Reading where i have never seen any trouble.
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This place is better than i thought it would be, despite having the rugby on and Manchester United in the evening i really enjoyed myself. Better than most Reading pubs.
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Good atmosphere, but I am compelled to note the recent change to the menu, scrapping the favoured meal and a free drink, now offered only on the crock pot dishes. Frankly - a bit of a crock in itself.
TURN THE HEATING UP, MY THUMBS HAVE GONE WEIRD!!
Actually, two quotes from 'Withnail and I' come to mind...
1. The thermostats!
What have you done to them?
I haven't touched them.
Then why has my head gone numb?
2. This place has become impossible. Nothing to eat, freezing cold and now a madman on the prowl outside with eels.
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Good for a cheap 'lunch and drink' special, not good for a night out. Agree with the other comment: it's a pub, not a club. Chain-pub, but decent service.
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Ok, true, a mock-irish pub, owned by the same company that runs Scream. Good place to go for a few drinks, not a place to go for a night out, it's a pub, not a club. Live music Friday and Saturday nights. Major sporting events shown. Friendly, hardworking staff. Probably the best quality of bar service anywhere in Reading. Good selection of beer, all changed very regularily. 1am closing Friday and Saturday.
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The Music is ridiculously loud in the evenings, it's a pub not club! Beer OK.
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Warm, welcoming, friendly service. Nicely loco when it gets up to speed!
Mick O'Donohue - 11 Jun 2004 20:18 |
its fairly dire, there are worse places, and there doesn't tend to be too many under 15's
James - 24 Jan 2004 16:27 |
A dire mock-Irish pub which seems to be run by a charity providing employment for otherwise-unemployable bar staff.
Jelly - 29 Nov 2003 01:22 |
