please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Beer quality currently excellent. Service a little more variable...
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I do miss Bob's, but I'm not sure why...
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If Tim Martin visited during the last beer festival, he obviously had no influence whatsoever. The current festival is exactly the same - i.e. warm, flat beer served from barrels kept in the front of the bar. Why can't they keep the festival beer in the "cellar" and serve it through the pumps, in common with the other Wetherspoons pubs in town?
And another thing - the two regular duty managers are the idlest specimens I've ever set eyes on. They are adept at finding something to do, however trivial, other than serve customers.
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Beer quality incredibly variable – can range from excellent to awful. The last beer festival was so badly managed that Mullet Man Tim Martin appeared in person to see what was going wrong!
The nicest Spoons in town in terms of décor, but not in beer.
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Packed out Spoons with the usual suspects. It's the lairyness that gets me, an awful lot of shrieking. The beer is too cold and it takes ages to get served.
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It's just another JD Wetherspoons'. If you can't afford to drink in a proper pub you can't beat them. : )
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Visited here for the first time last night (Fri 15 June) Staff were friendly and efficient and we got served quickly. Clean and confortable - atmosphere seems better than the other two central Reading Wetherspoons - not as scary !
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Ales generally OK or better but service can be painfully slow. Rumour has it that there is only one real manager for the 3 town centre Weatherspoons which explains erratic ale quality and service. As with most of these pubs, I find it is better to stick to the bog standard meals - fish & chips, chilli etc. They once served me an inedible roast here. No smoking - hurrah!
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Mixed review for this pub. Enjoy the Sunday Roasts but every now and then I get a stingy, luke warm meal. The bar staff can be pretty slack and it can take an age to get served. It's non-smoking so it's a different type of clientele e.g. nicer! No kids, hooray!
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Reasonable food, a good stop for refuelling during a pub crawl. Quite empty for a Weatherspoons on both of my visits.
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Its ale fest time in this pub in October. The fest started 2 days ago. The beer we had was straight from the cask so it should have had more life and taste than it did. Pub is nevertheless comfortable and 'good for a Reading pub'
anonymous - 22 Oct 2006 18:07 |
Great pub that is clean and not full of under age kids.
Staff are great always remenber my name and drink. great quiz night on weds.
anonymous - 16 Oct 2006 21:40 |
Not bad for Wetherspoons I guess, but their policy of ID is completely OTT.
anonymous - 26 Sep 2006 18:10 |
Well well, went back in on Saturday, and was served by possibly the rudest and amateur barmaid in southern England. The blonde one who looks like she's sucking a lemon.
The management in here must be pretty ropey to let such an awful person serve, she's only fit for bog-scrubbing duties.
I won't be going back. Whetherspoons are really going downhill fast.
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Second best of the three Spoons in Reading. A cleaner and brighter establishment than the others, but the ale and selection of, is way inferior to the Monks, though better than the Hope. Ate here, usual Wetherspoons fayre. Not really worth a stop with so much nearby.
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the managers ARE rude and obnoxious. they used to run the George in Staines a few years ago - I worked for them. EVIL!
anonymous - 25 Jun 2006 12:56 |
best beer garden in reading and the best wetherspoons to. love the bobs
anonymous - 15 Jun 2006 22:26 |
fab pub
anonymous - 15 Jun 2006 22:25 |
Unfortunately visited by taxi extremely drunk after Reading Beer Festival on Saturday so remember very little,nevermind!
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Rude staff, very small portions of food, Manager non existant, very slow service.
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Well...what can I say, typical wetherspoons, beer garden out back, but by the smelly river. The manager was the rudest manager I have ever met; turned up on a sunday evening with group of mates for a meal, couple had ordered cokes, when I went to order a coke and food the manager asked me for ID…. yes ID for a coke and food, I obliged as I am 20 this year. He then insisted on ID from everyone, everyone in the group was 19+, but unfortunately one of my mates didn’t have any on him, but he wasn’t drinking anyway, non of us were as we were all hung over from Saturday night. He then refused to serve us cokes or food unless we had ID, and he asked my mate to leave as he could not prove his age. When questioned he stated that he was not allowed to be in the pub unless he could prove his was 18+, when we asked if a family came in for a meal, would he ask the children to leave? He stated yes, even though it advertises a family area! Sounds ludicrous I know, this guy obviously had a problem with us, very strange, maybe he doesn’t like students! Ironically we headed up the road the Monks Retreat, another wetherspoons in town and had the meal there!! The guy was rude and very unhelpful, avoid the place, unless he’s been fired by now which would not surprise me!
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Pretty much what you come to expect for Wetherspoons. Reletively good beer, well priced and a good pub grub menu.
Layout is good and outside area good in the summer
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Nice pub, but occasionally long wit for food.
Now has a music licence (yes, I know- in a Wetherspoons!), mostly background jazz.
Chilled out.
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The best Wetherspoons I have ever been in. Non-smoking, large with a good (cheap) bar. You are always able to get a seat (even on a Friday night) and during the summer they have a seating area outside where you can drink your pint and sit next to the River Kennet.
Would you really expect that from a 'spoons?
Now open until midnight every night too!
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Went to bobs this evening, it was great, lovely curry, great staff, v v friendly manager, was spoken to politely but still friendly, and that made me feel valued as a customer, food always great, ale top notch, good selection of world beer, slight criticism do we need tv's? otherwise best pub by far, will definitely return next week. THANKYOU BOB A BIRTHDAY TO REMEMBER
anonymous - 20 Jan 2006 05:51 |
The best Wetherspoons in Reading. Plus the whole pub is no smoking. Heaven. Who cares about the oldies, they have life too you know. Good food, good atmosphere!!!!!
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Weatherspoons. No Smoking. No Swearing. Also the regulars make the Last of the Summer Wine cast look like extras from Grange Hill. However it is cheap, rarely any aggro (as the coffin dodgers can hardly wake up let alone get up) and there are usually seats free. And the food is passable (bib not included).
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Nice Pub, good selection of beers and ciders, if you sit at the back you can look out over the canal, there is an outdoor patio area with heaters. Non smoking, inexpensive.
No TV, Pool Tables or other such annoyances.
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Easily the best Wetherspoons of the four in the Reading area. Great location with good ale selection. Even better now it's no smoking, as all the chain smoking lager louts go to the Monk's Retreat on Friar Street, meaning much more mature drinkers there.
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Nice location just by the canal
anonymous - 3 Aug 2005 18:27 |
This pub is a disgrace! The staff seem to do anything possible not to have to actually serve you or clear your table. I sat there for 40minutes once after eating my main course, waiting for my dessert and the staff just kept walking past, looking and seeing that I was finished eating and just ignoring me! Working in a pub myself, I understand how important it is to keep all the customers happy... lets just say I won't be going back there again anytime soon.
Fine for a quick drink but wouldn't stay too long if i were you, unless u want a torrent of verbal abuse at 10:59pm
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Top Pub!! Serves a fine selction of well maintained cask ales and the food looks good to. A really friendy atmosphere with a great beer garden next to the river which when sunny you need to get there early as it gets really busy.
anonymous - 5 Jul 2005 17:14 |
Had a great quiz night there last weds.
anonymous - 5 Jul 2005 17:10 |
I agree with previous comments regarding service - it is appalling.
Individually, all the bar staff seem pleasant enough but collectively they're as much use as a used condom on a tennis court. Most of them can only work at half speed on a good day. If more than two punters are waiting to be served, they take it as their cue to wander off to find some other little job to do - the pony-tailed and the short bald duty managers are particularly guilty of this.
This place needs some fresh managers and fast.
anonymous - 28 Jun 2005 14:08 |
Is this the most badly managed pub in history? Picture the scene : half past five on a sunny Friday afternoon (6th May) - it's a fair bet that lots of people might turn up for a drink after work. So, do Wetherspoons make sure they have sufficient staff at the bar to cope with the rush? Do they f***! I counted 27 people waiting to be served with 3 bar staff working, only one of whom seemed to know what he was doing. We chose to walk a few yards down the road to the Outlook where we were served a fantastic couple of pints straight away, even though they too were busy. OK, we had to pay a bit more for the privilege but it sure as hell beats having to stand around for 10 or 15 minutes waiting for one of the useless Wetherspoon crew to get round to serving me.
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Thoroughly agree with the previous post concerning ignorant non-committed staff. I would emphasize though that service and cleanliness has declined in ALL of their pubs – some far worse than others. The reopening of ‘Bobs’ as a non-smoker should have heralded a new beginning yet the old problems are still apparent.
Last Saturday (a potential money spinner due to very large local Beer Festival) breakfast wasn’t being served, service was appallingly slow due to insufficient bar staff and the tabletops had that repulsive ‘stickiness’ that one normally associates with The Hope Tap.
It’s sad to see this once groundbreaking chain declining into mediocrity - especially The Back Of Beyond once the best of the four local Wetherspoon pubs.
anonymous - 4 May 2005 12:01 |
Of late, the bar service has been even more hit and miss than usual. In particular, a gormless-looking pony-tailed wazzok of a duty manager takes the biscuit - he always seems to manage to run off and find other little jobs to do whenever the bar gets busy.
Guys - it's very simple :-
1. When the bar is busy, come and serve your customers.
2. Do your other jobs when the bar is quiet.
3. If you're short-staffed, put a note on the door so we know to go somewhere else.
anonymous - 29 Apr 2005 01:03 |
Weatherspoons standard fare - so you know what you are getting - although must congratulate them on making it non smoking.
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This pub is now a no smoking pub.Its great to be able to sit and have a meal and drink without smell of fag smoke. Well done Back of Beyond.
anonymous - 21 Mar 2005 18:40 |
Standard wetherspoosns fodder, but none the worse for that, does what it says on the tin i suppose !:)
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Plenty of room here, and usually a good selection of ales.
This pub has been selected by Wetherspoons for their "no smoking" experiment starting in May. It'll be interesting to see what sort of crwod they attract once all the smokers have been kicked out.
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Quality place a lot of wetherspoons attract a less than salubrious crowd but this is a great pub!
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Great atmoshere in this pub. Lovely and warm with fab food and good ale to wash it down with.
M,Bishop - 14 Nov 2004 16:44 |
Went there yesterday. Out of 12 real ale pumps only 2 were working. Took ages to get served as well. Bloody disgrace!
Jez - 13 Nov 2004 18:41 |
Great pub for a few beers at lunch or after work. As its a Weatherspoon's pub you know its cheap booze & food.
ANDREW - 10 Nov 2004 12:13 |
Good pub, but sometimes let down by the fact that most of the real ales are not available. The other Westherspoons in Reading don't seem to have this problem, so what are they doing wrong here I wonder?
Bob - 8 Nov 2004 16:13 |
We use this pub all the time and find the staff and Managers very Pleasant. Its very clean and the beer garden is lovely.
Added bonus it's Great value for money.
Simon - 6 Sep 2004 16:51 |
Used to be my fave pub until the current manager arrived and some of the staff became aggressive and offensive, which is a great shame because the outside garden and the couches at the rear of the pub are great, as is the curry, but this can also be enjoyed at any of Reading's other wetherspoons.
Stuart - 5 Sep 2004 16:04 |
Too many customers from the Prudential - apart from that, nice pub - great curry
bob - 30 Aug 2004 09:13 |
Cor blimey! A Wetherspoons where the [normal strength] lager doesn't invoke vomiting. And generally OK in all aspects. Worth a visit.
Jim - 2 Aug 2004 12:34 |
Great beer garden to chill out in.
Good service from the bar staff.
The best wetherspoons in Reading.
kirsty - 1 Jun 2004 16:31 |
great pub but too small for the amount of people it attracts.
rachel - 24 May 2004 15:03 |
Lovely Pub but the staff are extremely rude at closing time!
We usually leave on our weekly visit discussion how they do not have to be so rude and they would get more co operation in drinking up if they asked nicely.
I worked in Pubs and I know the law but I can't be bothered to argue with the stroppy so and sos!
As a musician I like to be able to talk a great bonus in Wetherspoons pubs generally.
Fiddler - 19 May 2004 09:32 |
great pub.
jess - 18 May 2004 17:09 |
They have a Beer Festival on the 26th to the 31st of May ( Bank Hoilday weekend ) with 30 Reals Ales on. also they have a Curry Festival on two of the nights ( Weds & Thurs )Must be worth a vist.
paul - 12 May 2004 11:05 |
A good wetherspoons as long as you like 'em - you know what you're going to get and you know you're going going to get a bargain of a pint. Always has lots of guest beers so you can't really complain. Better than the JDWs in friar street that are a magnet for every crumbling old drunk in RG1.
Justin - 21 Apr 2004 22:46 |
Better now that they 'reopened' ie taken down those useless umbrellas. See more of the sun now and more visible to the 500k flats opposite.
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Best JDW in Reading.
Nice terrace in summer.
Good real ale.
Friendly staff.
Phil - 6 Mar 2004 16:59 |
"WE LOVE BOBS" "WE LOVE BOBS"
Great atmosphere, a nice pint, top service, and thus a good place to start a night.
If ya can try the Wetherspoons in Henley, Catherine Wheel i think, its a lloyds bar so you get music too.
Rob Green - 9 Feb 2004 17:29 |
Friendy pub with good mix customers.
Good range of real ales.
Steak out extra Tuesday nights
Curry club Thursday nights
Nice outside area by the river that is heated.
bob - 19 Oct 2003 19:57 |
i must say i think its pretty good actually, nice place to chill with mates and i particularly like the patio area near the river.
rach - 14 Oct 2003 16:26 |
Maybe I have just been unlucky, consistently .........
I have to say the curry night is good but I have been disappointed by the every day stuff. Its possible that things have improved as I have not eaten there since my last poor experience of cremated garlic bread and over cooked chips...
Monty - 1 Sep 2003 10:22 |
Have to disagree with "Monty".
The food is good and consistent with JDW establishments across the country.
Agree with "Vindaloo" on the bier-halle aspect.
PsychO - 31 Aug 2003 12:42 |
OK for the beer but the food is consistantly poor. It may be cheap but even taking this into account it does not match the standards of other Wetherspoons ...
Monty - 21 Aug 2003 15:43 |
Excellent cheap beer and food if you like a "beerhall" feel.
Vindaloo - 13 Aug 2003 14:32 |
