please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
This third rate dive makes me shudder. It looks as if it's stuck in the gutter of Calcutta it's so dirty and neglected. Ironic for somewhere that seems to charge sky-high prices for what it calls drinks.
AVOID.
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There is talk of real ale becoming available in this place and it may be from a local brewery which would be great news.
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OK - you use this place if you feel you "fit in" ... green, liberal, socialist, kinda global outlook ?
Free band nights (v good), films, and its where the local folk club meet.
Their food looks lovely too (for vegan / veggie stuff) and can anyone quibble with a place that has always stocked "Erdinger Piquantes" for �3:50 ?
- Laura
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Poor.
Basically it is what it is, the bar staff are average and the beer is alright. That pretty much sums' it up in all honesty.
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This is not a pub at all.
If you like VERY expensive (read rip-off) price drinks with hoardes of hippies into vegetables rights and peace, this may be somewhere you'd be mad enough to look at. No local beers, weird and very unprofessional staff.
Avoid like the plague. You might catch it there...
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Here is something refreshing different. A nice place to go and have a decent beer in a relaxed atmosphere. Sometimes they have live music, and that's always a bonus. Good food, too.
Just one criticism - some beer doesn't work so well when chilled almost to the point of freezing. Lager and European Beer - yes, real ale - no!
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I'm with beerprincess on this place, I like the fact you can mix and match the drinks and punters. It is all a bit 'right-on', but given what they're trying achieve, I think that's fair.
Some unusual fayre, Ethiopian bottled beers among them. Also a bottled conditioned ale from blighty in a light blue wrap - though I forget the name of it, Neil�s beer or something. Wells banana Bread beer also on offer. Beer prices not cheap, but worth the premium for the novelty factor.
The Ethiopian food on offer is also excellent, would recommend getting some in with your beer. Be adventurous and you�ll be rewarded amply. It's also a lot more filling than it first looks.
Catacomb toilets also de-fumigated, a great improvement. Has hippy trance-dub music nights and local musicians banging their bongos if that�s your bag.
Worth putting on a crawl list if you're visiting the town.
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It's a shame that Nero couldn't get past the politics and enjoy RISC for what it is: a decent, chilled out caf�-bar. It's the only one in Reading where you can genuinely enjoy a beer or a cup of tea, at any time of day or night, without anyone looking at you like you're some kind of wally!
I like it in here.
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Not my first choice when going out but it makes a change now and again. All a bit too "right-on" for me, having a beer you can watch the local do-gooders go through to the meeting rooms, wringing their hands over the state of the third world. The whole place smack of PC correctness, hippyness, and veganism. Its not helped by all the fairtrade this and fairtrade that posters/signs everywhere. Please I want a drink in peace without havingto worry about all the children in India with cleft palates
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The Global Cafe & Bar, now sells authentic Ethiopian food! The only place outside of London to do so, Thursday night is buffet night, all reasinably priced and well tasty too. Look out for brilliant dj nights at the weekends: Monky Waltz & Global Warning.
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The lead singer from Orson seems to work here. Fairly pleasent kind of place, not really my kind of place. Worth a visit but nothing to write home about.
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The Global cafe is always guaranteed to provide a chilled atmosphere, world music, good selection of bottled beer, fair trade wine and would ya believe organic vodka! Oh, forgot to mention the obligitory ghost downstairs, a walk to the loo has never felt sooo lonely!
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When Neil from the Young Ones graduated in 1984, he came to Reading and opened this place.
Full of the more, ahem, 'eccentric' uni crowd (we were served by what appeared to be a lesbian Phil Oakey does Goldfrapp thing), but a great bottled beer selection and draught Budvar save the day.
The toilets are in catacombs below and smell of a tramps sleeping bag. Need to get some air in. But otherwise well worth a visit for the experience.
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Nice bar, well worth a visit, cafe style atmosphere, bottled beer selection is large and varied plus budvar on draught. Agree with other posts below, food used to be better but is still ok.
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RISC bar! scary best bottled beer line up in town, full of hippies mind but they clear out leaving you the a good run to the bar. Dunno where they get the bar staff from, always quiet attractive young women but very very slow. They do some weird poetry nights and raise money for lesbian dockworks in nigeria type things but if you tune that rubbish out and just enjoy the beers and the slightly "Beatnik" atmos it's well good. The foods gone all veggie again, which is a shame as they used to go great jerk chicken.
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food, beers, world music. It's worth a look anyway. Slightly too earnest and "shave the whales" type thing, but you can't argue with the beer selection and the quality of the food, which for the price, is very reasonable.
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Thsi place is OK, wide selection of bottled beers, cocktails and a cafe atmosphere during the day. Does food as well.
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Godo bar, draft Budvar and lots of bottled beers, slightly "grow your own yoghurt" crowd but that might not be a bad thing to some. Very child friendly, non smoking area at the front. Food is global cuisine and almost decent value.
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Got even better after the recent mini refurb. Food is now mcuh better, nicely child friendly with an expanding range of beers and cocktails.
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Interesting range of organic bottled beers. A nice change from the chain pubs.
Bob - 13 Nov 2004 19:13 |
Great friendly pub, Budvar on draft (cheap for reading as well) and a good selection fo bottled beers.
Ed - 15 Mar 2004 13:43 |
a great place, very laidback, nice atmosphere, very diverse, friendly bar staff, VERY gay friendly and a comfortable place to have a bite to eat and a drink.
Jonathan - 5 Mar 2004 21:26 |
cool, lots of diff beers, v laid back, good tunes, something bit different, good staff, good for a a chat and a chill. slightly expensive bottles only minus.
captain cool - 3 Mar 2004 10:08 |
Excellent laid back cafe bar. Bottled beers from around the world, weird fruit juices, good food. A little bit of Barcelona in the middle of Berkshire.
Jelly - 13 Dec 2003 03:16 |
