please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Well Pangbourne, you appear to be bereft of decent pubs.
Was advised to go here to eat, but was seduced by a curry house around the corner.
In an unusual turn of events, I didnt fancy a beer (although I noticed they had TT Landlord on) and wanted a Malt Whisky.
Had trouble talking with the Polish gent serving - who offered me a Jack Daniels.
His asian counterpart then offered me a Southern Comfort.
After much scurrying around, they found a bottle of Talisker. Unopened, it had a noddy looking label that looked counterfeit. I examined it and decided to give it a go.
It did indeed taste like Talisker - so I am not claiming anything untoward. It did cost £9.
Maybe its been a long time since I ordered a Malt in a pub.
Never again. You do expect people to take a degree of pride in their job and knowing what a Malt Whisky is , is surely day 1 of training.
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Reviewing this again after a quite different experience in two years. Two words of woe - GREENE and KING and an example of how they should never be allowed to run another pub. Simply diabolical on Christmas Eve with hordes of aggressive geezers, ales with no taste and average food. The pub's name is almost an anagram of 'cheeky to**er' which is apt given how it is being run. Pangbourne, despite being a lovely Thameside village, currently has no decent pubs at all. Shocking.
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STAFF SULTRY AND HAVE THE NOT BOTHERED ATTITUDE.
OTHERWISE DRINKS OKAY AND HAS A NICE GARDEN
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After reading the previous reviews ,l would not frequent such a venue.
Monopolising Greene King pub so I wouldn't bother and avoid regardless.
The George hotel openly welcomes drinkers and has a range of well kept real ales.
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I HAVE TO AGREE WITH LAST POSTER. ADOLESCENT STAFF WITH NO CUSTOMER SERVICE SKILLS. I TOO HAVE SEEN THEM SERVING ROGER WHILE HE WAS BARELY ABLE TO STAND, HE IS AN ALCOHOLIC AND THEY SHOULD BE RESPONSIBLE. BUT THEY WOULD RATHER KEEP SERVING HIM UNTIL HE ONCE AGAIN WILL BE FOUND SLUMPED IN EITHER THE GARDEN OR TOILETS.
MADE MY OPINIONS FELT LAST TIME AND THE GIRL WITH MESSY DARK HAIR TOLD ME TO F WORD OFF AND MIND MY OWN BUSINESS YOU STUPID C-WORD.
I WILL NEVER VENTURE HERE AGAIN TO THIS DISGRACE OF A PUB. IT WAS BAD ENOUGH BEING OWNED BY GREENE KING. BUT IT IS NOW AS BAD AS IT GETS.
SAD. THE AREA IS BEAUTIFUL. RECOMMEND THE GEORGE HOTEL AND BAR IS ALSO OPEN UNTIL LATE
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the owners have now got it being run by some college drop outs with no customer service skills at all. A pub that doesnt have any ales on because they have run out and no vodka. Food looked ok as i sat near kitchen but looks like the usual frozen Brake Brothers faye at premium prices. An annoying middle aged drunk chap at the bar still being served more alcohol(even tho he could barely stand) and putting everyone off with his foul and lewd mouth was enough not to bother returning to what could be a lovely pub with the right staff/owner.
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Slightly strange pub in a very affluent area (check out the local house prices!) but mixed clientele and staff. Boring beer (well, it's GK, say no more) but in reasonable condition. I find the other pubs on the village strange too, in different ways - maybe it's just me... Anyway, it seems to be one of the better ones in the vicinity.
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Probably Pangbourne's best pub as the ratings at my time of writing suggest. A very enjoyable chicken kiev was polished off two thirds of the way through a riverside walk from Reading to Goring and a friendly atmosphere pervaded the bar. The one drawback is that scourge of Beer in the evening, a lack of choice on the ale front due to the globalizing mitts of Greene King.
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I came across the Cross Keys when visiting a friend in the area and really enjoyed my evening there. There was a really lovely friendly atmoshere in the pub and the staff were really chatty and helpful. We only ventured in for drinks but felt so at home we also stayed for dinner and sat on a lovely table next to the steam outside. The food was great and we had an overall great experiance in this lovely pub, so i would recommend it for anyone looking to enjoy a night out with friends
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The Cross Keys best features are that it is the only pub in the area with a late license until 2am, has a pretty beer garden and the drinks are very reasonably priced. However the staff are a lot less to be desired with a very gormless barman whose lights are on but nobody is at home, and a lary and quite rude eastern European lady. Their smoking policy of no one allowed outside after 11pm beacuse the local residents complain about the noise (well don't live next door to a pub then) is very frustrating, particuarly on a warm summers evening as inside is very hot. This pub also does not show afternoon or evening live sport.
gumbo - 15 Aug 2011 14:09 |
Been going to the Cross Keys once a week since the beginning of the year. The food can be a bit variable (between good and very good) but the burgers are always excellent. Wine list a bit short for the better dishes. Nice to see a place with Scrumpy Jack on tap. The building is small and can it can easily be standing room on quiz nights
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Walked up to Pangbourne last Saturday, and rolled in just before food stopped at 3. The food was great, not traditional pub fare (a bit classier than that) but quality at a reasonable price, and good real ales, which is always a point scorer for me. The eating area was a bit too restaurant-y rather than pub-y for me, but it still had a nice feel to it, and the service was very welcoming. Great food, great service, great ale.
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Just passing through Pangbourne on Sunday Lunchtime and we decided to stop here, not for food but for a much needed drink. I was a bit dubious when I saw the number of children heading through the door in front of me, but luckily they turned left into what I think is the eating side of the pub and I went right into the bar. Two excellent real ales, roaring open fire, good mix of very friendly locals. Very good service from chatty barmaid. Certainly one to come back to.
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Poor mangement policies and mediocre food a year ago meant I did not return until a few days ago, when the bar was jovial with locals, the fire burning, newspapers and good snacks were available and an excellent atmosphere prevailed. Ruddles, Greene King IPA and Abbott have been good beers in the past but it's not much of a lineup in West Berkshire Brewery country. Still, they serve hand cut chips and decent wine - and oysters at the end of the week.
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The Keys has been my local for more years than I care to remember and it has seen its share of ups and downs.
There have been great landlords like Clive, Robin and David but has also suffered from the reforms that Lord Young famously described as "the rebirth of the British pub". Yeah, sure!
In recent weeks, we have seen the (sadly temporary) Andy restore the place to something like its former glory, simply by looking after all the customers and the beer.
Let us hope that the new incumbents, who take over in a week, can continue on the same lines.
More later -
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Stll operating (very well) under a tenancy at will. New permanent landlords move in mid-January
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Gone into liquidation if my sources are to be believed.
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After visiting this pub a few times, both on week days and weekends, unfortunately it has not once impressed.
The bar/restaurant manager (a rather disgruntled middle-aged chap, with to be honest terrible social and customer service skills) has been usually a rather large part of the let down.
The first occasion I recall of this establishment, was a polite comment from one of my party regarding a slightly over-priced sandwich (he ordered a club sandwich, which very unusually came with no mayonnaise or butter....so was of course rather dry....it was also considerably smaller than the lower priced sandwiches on the menu)....which a polite passing comment to the very pleasant waiter resulted in the above mentioned bar/restaurant manager coming up to our table (we did not request whatsoever to speak to a manager.....just to provide feedback regarding the food.....something freely within a consumers rights to do....again politely....especially when asked the very common question of "how is your food?").
The manager came to our table asking the member of our party "I believe there is a problem with your food.......what appears to be the problem??", we of course were trying to eat at this point, and to create a mildly intimidating discussion full of general defensiveness made it not a nice experience at all.
Explaining that the bread was homemade and therefore increased the price of the sandwich really wasn't any excuse for not being a particularly good sandwich.
The last (and probably going to be the last) visit to this establishment was when I was with a group of eight people (on a sunday.....looking for a lovely sunday lunch, of course)......which resulted in a 1.5hour wait to be seated.....this of course was something that we were all ok with.....and it was understandable that places get busy and delays are of course inevitable.
Well I say "OK", but really we it became increasingly worse.
Waiting at a bar, you again would understand that it would be busy, but when the bar staff were really rather rude, and ended up pretty much throwing your drinks in your direction, you can imagine this is increasingly pushing you in the direction of really disliking the place.
We were eventually sat at our table, which was very pleasant and sat there discussing our food choices.
The waiter (also...again the above mentioned bar/restaurant manager) when coming to take our food order, decided then this was the appropriate time to tell us there were numerous things no longer available on the menu, forcing the whole party to in the end completely disregard having a starter at all.
We all gave our orders for main meals, and waited for 30-40mins for these to arrive.
Not one person was actually satisfied with what turned up......a medium-rare "gourmet" burger came medium-well done, another "gourmet" burger came with all the addings that were requested to be removed during ordering, a gammon with parsley sauce came with added gravy (interesting!), pretty much there was either something missing or something not requested, and all of the meals were not hot whatsoever, and were all luke warm.
This pub is not an average 'scampi and chips' pub......but maybe sticking that kind of pub would be more advised in comparison.
So in summary.......not particularly great food (considering the price), and not particularly great service....so therefore....not particularly happy customers.
It is a terrible waste of such a lovely pub, in a great location.
Maybe see this establishment as a drinking pub rather than a eatery or a place to expect great service.
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Oh and there's a serving hatch from bar to garden (see pic) which is a nice touch.
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Pangbourne doesn't have much in the way of good pubs, this one is the best by a fair way, mainly due to the wonderful outside garden next to the stream and the exterior character of the building.
Another Greene King pub, but this one does at least have the temerity to serve something interesting as a guest ale every now and again. Quality is usually fair to good.
Worthwhile on a summers day.
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Pleasant pub in a nice town, beer selection was pretty good and a nice beer garden to enjoy it in.
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Nice pub with 4 ales on offer - Everards Tiger, Titanic, GK IPA, Ruddles. Prompt needed to get the Tiger topped but no fuss. 'Garden' is dominated by the smoking shelter (but no smokers) & if you're a bit hot the river Pang runs by (it's a bit shallow though).
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Nice beer garden and a good selection of ales, 7/10
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Nice pub, very ordinary food and the temerity to impose a surcharge for serving food on their own terrace. They lose two ways: no tip and no second visit.
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Hooray, the food was brilliant, had the Smoked Haddock (Mash, asparagus and an egg on top)....Yum yum, really good. Have worked in Seaffood restaurants before now and the dinner I had at the Keys was really terrific. The portions was just right, the sauce was spot on (recommend getting some chips to soak up the rest of the sauce). Full marks...Well done. Great honest service too. Your chef should locked up.
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Had Sunday lunch here with a group of friends. Great service - they even reserved two tables for us in the restaurant and on the patio so we could choose. We chose the patio, which was very pleasant by a stream (not the Thames!) with ducks and fish. Bar menu was a bit restrictive (they do a sort of 2 or 3 course menu with more choice but we all just wanted one course) but the food was widely praised (ploughmans, baguettes, etc.) My bacon cheeseburger was very tasty, a huge platter and very good value. Only slight negative is the beer. All kept well but it's Greene King mostly, which isn't all that inspiring (imo).
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A pleasant traditional pub with a warm welcome and top quality food at very reasonable prices. Well chosen wines and an eclectic clientle and to it's charm. The clinical dining rooms left me cold and choice of beer might leave some real ale fanatics at a loss.
anonymous - 8 Jun 2007 09:41 |
The public bar is pleasant enough, although has suffered some �attention� but the rooms in the extension are completely without any character whatsoever. Yes, low beams and flagged floor are all very well but the discerning drinker won�t be satisfied with just Greene King IPA and Ruddles County.
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Went to a 'Call My Bluff' Wine tasting the other night, what a novel idea. Basically a tasting based around the game show. Great opportunity to try wine in an informal atmosphere, none of the normal snobbery associated with wine.
Tucked in to a whole lobster afterwards. �10.50, unbelievable!!!
anonymous - 22 Mar 2007 18:32 |
Chuffed to bits that the Keys has changed hands. New owners seem very nice and the new staff are very friendly. Had a face lift in January and is now very pleasant to eat at. Thought the food was absolutely brillant.
A must for anyone who likes a good pint and a good meal!
anonymous - 22 Mar 2007 18:30 |
An architectural gem, like going back 200 years (I imagine - I'm not quite that old!).
Bateman's XXXB among the real ales on offer.
The staff were quite happy to supply pots of tea to three of our party of eight.
All in all an enjoyable visit. Didn't notice the presence or absence of the river as it was dark.
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An excellent venue to spend a relaxed afternoon in the garden by the river or a bubbly evening in the friendly atmosphere of a traditional english pub. Welcoming environment supported by happy mix of new and long term staff, reasonable food and a good wine list perhaps a little pricey.
anonymous - 23 Dec 2004 10:53 |
Have visited for working lunches and thoroughly enjoyed the good and the atmosphere. Good selection of wines. Liked the staff - friendly and welcoming. Have been for a couple of evenings since - very lively and busy on Friday eves - nice crowd - will come again
anonymous - 10 Dec 2004 12:35 |
I can relate to the other comments.
Staff were not terribly friendly, but neither were they in anyway unhelpful.
Food was very good, and reasonably priced.
I went during the winter so no chance to try sitting out the back.
This area has many really excellent country pubs, so I confess that although this pub seems fine, I'd rather be sitting outside by the Thames or elsewhere!
Beer was OK, nothing special.
Rob - 7 Feb 2004 15:49 |
I've had a couple of good meals here and they serve superb draught Hoegaarden (for those of us who like Belgian speciality beers, and can afford them!!)It was vey disappointing, that on my last visit with my fiancee, our meal was disturbed,(with other patrons)by a dog barking in the pub. On politely requesting that the animal might be controlled or taken outside, the member of bar staff who was antagonising the animal informed me that "pubs are noisy places, if you don't like it youcan leave." We left. I regret to say, that I can no longer recommend this establishment to my friends and colleagues, which is a shame because I did enjoy the beer and the riverside patio.
Christopher - 29 Jan 2004 23:20 |
Old smokey pub with lovely patio garden by a stream. Happy staff with happy regulars.
Andrew - 27 Sep 2003 07:04 |
