BITE user comments - Beermole
Comments by Beermole
Closed in Spring 2015 and the premises are now boarded up.
31 Dec 2015 19:55
Closed again. At least Fullers fans can now go across the road to the Three Guineas, but it would be good to see someone manage to make a go of the Corn Stores. Been underperforming for years now.
27 Apr 2015 13:53
Reopened after major refurbishment on 4 Dec 2014. The central entry divide between the two bars has gone to create a through and through pub although the choice of furnishings and floorings creates variety from the carpeted lounge area on the right to the high tables and bare flooring on the left.
The important stuff: eight handpumps serving six Wadworth Beers and two ciders. The beers we tried were all in great nick and there's also a daytime menu of light meals and snacks. Landlord and family are from South Africa, friendly and helpful and deserve success.
Recommended - this looks like a traditional pub on th eup.
6 Dec 2014 16:25
Re-opened on 1 October, looking much like it did before the closure if a bit cleaner and tidier. Initial beers were Doom Bar and two from West Berkshire; food menu to be offered later apparently.
4 Oct 2014 12:39
Not before time but the Retreat seems to be on the up and settled under a new landlord, friendly, welcoming and a man who knows what he's doing. Generally five ales available, all guests from respected breweries plus a range of British and European bottled beers. The place is clean and tidy, live music is back and it's good to be able to say that the Retreat is once again well worth a visit.
4 Oct 2014 12:35
I like this pub. On the corner of Great Russell St and Museum St, looking over to the British Museum the pub attracts tourists and Londoners in roughly equal numbers. With a traditional Victorian interior, if you look carefully you can see the doors that would originally have led to separate bars - how small some of them must have been!
Food is the Taylor Walker standard of hearty pub fayre and enormous cod and chip suppers, which seem popular with the foreign visitors; and the beer is a good range of cask ales and craft beers. A welcome resident beer is Theakston's Old Peculier which is worth a visit on its own. CAMRA members get 10% off cask ales which makes the prices well under £4: very reasonable for Central London.
10 May 2014 14:04
On the up side, Theakston Old Peculier is now a regular beer here, good news as it's becoming harder to find in London. The other beers tend to be from the better known brewers and all appear well kept.
On the down side, you'd need to love the beer and love the pub to pay the prices! As the previous poster commented, £5 for a pint of Old Peculier! I thought I had misheard! Despite that, the Ship is certainly very popular and it's standing room only at busy times.
10 May 2014 13:56
Refurbished and well presented after its previous incarnation as Bar Copa. It is now one of the Greene King "beer hero" pubs where the licensee can choose half of the real ales free of the brewery tie. Six handpumps dispense beers of which only Greene King IPA is a regular. The others aren't the most exciting in the world: Wadworth 6X, Tim Taylor Landlord, Batemans XXXB for example and they tend to be on for a week or two at least. Quality is fair rather than great but on the upside I did enjoy Belhaven 80/- here recently.
Despite the "beer hero" status, this doesn't come across as a real ale bar. There's as great an emphasis on shots and lagers as ale and the bar staff don't appear particularly interested in the beers. At weekends, its dim lights and loud music. Still, it's very comfortable and clean with tables cleared and wiped as soon as they become vacant.
2 Feb 2014 15:27
Back street pub that's had a difficult 2013 after the departure of long serving licencees Jane and Bernie. As the year draws to a close, the pub now has its fourth landlord of 2013 - he's only been in charge a few weeks so it's too early to pass a verdict. But there's no doubt the recent history of uncertain beer deliveries and unpredictable choice has affected trade.
Beers today are unlikely to exceed four and will probably be from larger breweries but that does include the likes of seasonals from Thwaites and Tim Taylor's Golden Best. Sharp's Cornish Coaster seems to continue as the regular beer.
A pub in need of more punters!
28 Dec 2013 17:02
New licensees, friendly young couple, seem to be settling in well. Beer range is Wadworths with IPA, Discovery, 6X and Swordfish as regulars and seasonals promised, kicking off with Old Timer during the winter.
There's hearty home made food at lunchtimes and early evenings, a new juke box that mercifully is kept to a moderate volume, and for those that care for it a pool table in the public bar.
Recent refurb means the walls are now painted a rather stark white (could do with some signs or mirrors to break it up) and the lower woodwork is painted pale green.
It's not exactly the Eldon as it used to be but the beers are well kept and it's still worth checking out as one of the ever decreasing number of traditional boozers left in Reading.
28 Dec 2013 16:38
Now re-opened as The Outlook once again, following refurbishment. The smells of fresh paint and new carpets abound! Also new is a bank of six handpumps that feature Greene King IPA, two Greene King guest beers and three guests from other breweries: Dark Star, Everards and Timothy Taylors when I visited.
31 Aug 2013 18:13
Annie and Brian, Reading's longest serving licensees, retire at the end of October. After 39 years! Get along and visit this traditional back street pub before they leave. Wadworths say they want to keep the style as is, but whoever they get to take over will have a hard act to follow.
20 Aug 2013 19:15
The Retreat's third licensees of 2013 are now installed and keeping up the emphasis on good beer. The range may be a bit reduced compared to the old days with five beers generally the maximum on now, a mix of local and regional/nationals. Marstons group have featured prominently on my visits and Sharps Cornish Coaster continues to be a regular. Worth checking out and watching to see how things develop.
20 Aug 2013 19:10
First visit on Sunday after finding the White Lion in an "off the motorway" guide. Absolutely tremendous. Literally 3 minutes from the M6 (junction 16) and a fine traditional country pub with awesome food. The roast beef for £6.95 was the best value for money I've had for years - piled high with succulent lean beef, rich gravy and all the trimmings. The beef hot pot was also excellent according to my partner. Menu is limited and there's a bit of a wait but absolutely worth it.
Six Marston's group beers are available and the Burton Bitter was top notch. Add in friendly service and characterful surroundings and this is pub perfection!
7 Jan 2013 11:33
The Coopers Tavern, Burton-Upon-Trent
If you're in Burton you must visit the Coopers. A timewarp pub that attracts young and not-so-young alike. Great Bass on gravity dispense straight from the barrel, as well as Joules beers and guests. The tap room at the rear is amazing - small, awkwardly laid out, inefficient for staff and customers, but simply marvellous! Great staff too, friendly and knowledgeable.
18 Dec 2012 17:43
The Roebuck Inn, Burton-Upon-Trent
Friendly traditional pub which serves a mean pint of the very hard to find Ind Coope Burton Ale as well as Draught Bass, Pedigree, Abbot and guests. Handy for the station and opposite what was the Ind Coope brewery.
18 Dec 2012 17:40
Good to see Theakstons beers appearing more often now. Beer condition seems to be getting better as well.
15 Dec 2012 15:30
Under interim management while Fullers look for a new permanent licensee. The place has been refurbished without greatly changing the character but it badly needs some customers! Hope it settles back to the good old ways under the new team when they arrive.
22 Nov 2012 21:27
Always been a good pub but the choice of beers has greatly improved recently. Even Dartmoor Jail Ale has been on tap recently! And in great nick as well. Also beers from such as Everards, Bath Ales, Hogs Back and Otter on recent visits. Nice to see longer established brewers featuring.
22 Nov 2012 21:24
Get here while you can! Contrary to camra colin's post the pub is alive and doing business at least until New Year. The "crummy couple" are actually a pair of hard working and lovable eccentrics who have made the Retreat what it is today - a busy community local with real ales, cider, Belgian bottled beers and live music several times a week.
Beers include Loddon Ferrymans Gold and Sharps Cornish Coaster with guests tending to be session bitters from local-ish microbrewers and porter or stout at the stronger end of the scale.
Sadly owners Admiral Taverns don't want to build on success and made the landlord and lady an offer they had to refuse. They will leave in early 2013 and will be a hard act to follow.
1 Nov 2012 15:31
Trying to think of something positive to say... it's handy for the Alehouse and Hope Tap? This used to be a decent Wetherspoons boozer but has fallen away badly. There's probably a dozen handpumps in total but expect a couple to be blank, a couple to have "available soon" tags and you will often be told that a beer that is apparently "on" is in fact "off". Service is variable, most of the bar staff try but the supervisors and duty managers give every impression that customers are a nuisance to be tolerated or preferably ignored.
1 Nov 2012 15:22
Great turnaround under the latest manager. Interesting menu - where else have you seen crocodile, kangaroo or camel in Reading? And more adventurous beer policy: London Pride and Doom Bar are regular and the three guests include a dark beer with Theakstons Old Peculier often appearing. Nice atmosphere. Recommended.
1 Nov 2012 15:14
Traditional pub architecture but now geared to football and rugby on TV. Three real ales are often from Caledonian or national brands, but seldom in great nick. Could be so much better.
1 Nov 2012 15:12
Middle of the road Wetherspoons: not bad, not great. Good range of guest beers and the cheap prices attract all sorts: watch out for the seasoned drinkers area to the left as you enter! Much more relaxed towards the back of the pub. Friendly barstaff.
1 Nov 2012 15:09
It's a bit of a love it or hate it place. Much brighter since the refurb and name change, with the wood panelling in the corridor and back alcove booths cleaned and sanded. Beer (and cider) take pride of place with three West Berks beers and five others, all guests. Good to see oversized glasses used. A bit basic for some, but the new name tells you all you need to know. For non-locals, expect the bar staff to be randomly anything from helpful and pleasant to disdainful and surly.
1 Nov 2012 15:04
Like stepping back in time, and not in a bad way. This is a traditional two room backstreet local that reminds me of how pubs used to be in the 1970s and 80s. Beers are from Wadworth (it's a tied house) and there's often live music on a Saturday night in the main bar, but if it's not to your taste there is always the lounge to escape to. A gem.
1 Nov 2012 14:55
Still the best of Reading's three town centre Wetherspoons. New guest beers always ready to replace any that finish; rare to see an empty handpump here. Less frenetic than the Friar Street outlets at the weekends (well except when there's a student pub crawl passing through). Currently running a Wetherspoons beer festival but with the beers served straight from the cask.
1 Nov 2012 14:51
The Retreat, Reading
Many of the locals have returned, the live music has returned (but watch out for the Beginners Ukelele nights!) and a decent and very well kept beer range has returned. Coupled with new furnishings, a general makeover and, last but by no means least, a genuinely friendly landlord, the Retreat is well worth a visit these days. Beers are chosen to provide variety compared to neighbouring pubs and often favour regional breweries.
31 Dec 2015 20:00