please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Currently closed and looking for a new tenant. They'll have to widen the customer base to get this place into profit. Difficult on a street where the sun only shines for 30 minutes a day.
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Has had a good clean post-smoking ban and a lick of paint too – and looks much better for it, the ornamental glasswork really stands out now. Still feels a bit of a shed though, they’d do better to get some booths and partitions in to break it up a bit.
Beer quality also improved considerably (Courage Directors, Best and Bombardier are the usual) and the awful Rn’B megamix TV has been switched off. A good improvement, impressive.
So would recommend popping in now and then. Tends to be an after-work place so rammed at 5:30pm but dead as a dodo come 9pm. Often looks closed on Sundays as well.
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It's now reopened after a total overhaul. The inside retains the old Blagrave features (nice stuff, quite old fashioned and interesting) but the loos are now useable and the menu's been updated (trios of bruchetta, penne pasta and tapas!. The ales remain nice, with the pipes properly cleaned. All in all, a nice place, hope it does well... all the locals have gone, that's for sure!
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Men blasting air horns, bar staff from Human Traffic, a pool table with one ball always missing. Reading town centre dives I salute you!
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Decent "real" pub, worth a visit
anonymous - 19 Apr 2007 12:39 |
Not a very "stand out" pub, but worth a visit primarily due to its location near the station. Definite crawl material but not if you are looking for a nicer hostilery. I agree about the banging tunes a little out of place.
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I just went in there and it was a pleasant atmosphere.
However, I may know the individuals you are speaking of and by all accounts they should be treated with utmost care. The company they work for, a business information provider, tends to regard them in very low esteem and therefore they feel obliged to lord-mayor it in the nearest hostelry. There is no offence meant, its pure frustration.
The Blagrave is a most excellent purveyor of beverages.
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I like this pub, it's quite fun. However, there are a group of people who regularly frequent it on Wednesday and Friday lunchtimes and afternoons (think they work nearby) and get horribly drunk. They then start swearing and shouting stuff like Tourette's Club, which can be a bit offensive - although it's also quite funny for a bit. They've calmed down a bit lately since a speccy chaps left their group, he seemed to like one of the other blokes and there was nearly a fight. Otherwise, nice place, pleasant Polish barmaids, rubbish but cheap food and plent of ales.
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Yes, the "zero-raters" are losers but, on the other hand, this place doesn't deserve a ten.
"Extremely average" would be my rating. I met up with an old mate on the basis of what was written here but found that it isn't a place we could warm to and soon left. Not bad but then again not great.
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Decent boozer very close to the station. Courage Best, Directors and Wells' Bombadier (yawn) on yesterday, but kept and served well at least. The bar staff are nice people.
Wood and glasswork around the bar is very pretty, but the rest of the pub is a bit bare and smokey. Also plays loud televised teenypop/RnB fest which is totally at odds with the surroundings and punters. Turn it off, or at least put something a bit more appealing on.
Worth a pint for the architecture, but no more I'm afraid, unless they get more interesting beer in.
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Great town centre pub, perfect for watching the footie or rugby. Good atmosphere, good beers and good regulars. Well worth the effort, especially in a town dominated by plastic chain bars.
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I like it here, has a different atmosphere than most Reading pubs and the Polish barmaids are a welcome addition. Tends to run out of ale at important times and some new tunes on the jukebox are needed but otherise a fantastic place.
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Good to see a top Reading pub getting good ratings. This is the best saturday afternoon pub in town, not too busy, good beers, sky sports news on in the background. It's great on a Friday night with a good crowd and lots of promotions. Too quiet during the week though.
Total change in scene from the drinking barns along Friar street and in my opinion, far far better.
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I'm going to de-lurk here, i've noticed this "zero" review phenomenon on this, pubs which are in the top ten suddenly drop without reviewed being attached.
This sort of behavior lessens the utility of the site for me and probably for many others. The adminstrators of the site should take note, they shoudl make you write a review before you can rate a pub.
I live in Reading and I agree with the other posters, this is a good pub with good beers, good regulars and a handly location, maybe not the best in the country but still very good, and therefore i'm going to rate it highly, but because of the "zero" rater, i'm now going to give it a "TEN". just to spite the person.
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Nice one, looks ropey from the outside but is a great find once you get through the doors. Beers are good with weekly guest ales and well kept lagers. Pool tables, jukebox and lots of seating. I'm tempted to score it poorly to keep it to myself but thats unfair. One critism though is that it shuts early some nights because it's "QUIET", I can't help thinking that this is more for bar staff convienience rather than commerical sense.
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The best drinking hole in central Reading. Good beers, good crowd, odd bar snacks. Jukebox is slightly odd and the plasma screens seem out of place but the rest of the place is top quality.
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Like it. Good music but can talk without shouting. Good beer, trouble free crowd of what seem like nice punters. Ran out of beer a couple of times though.
A real pub in a town of fake platic bars.
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Nice pub, friendly atmosphere also a good choice of beers.
Would reccomend
anonymous - 19 Jan 2006 12:53 |
I find it intriguing that someone has obviously just given this pub a zero or one hence the masive drop in rating but doesn't have the balls to write a review. Is this because you haven't ever been to the pub but prefer another one in the top 10? It's a cracking little boozer and while it isn't the best in the country at least everyone reviewed it honestly. You twat.
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Nice pub to start a night, friendly staff, nice beer, not many pubs sell '1664' love it, good music and a bloody huge TV screen. Please let this remain an undiscovered pub as otherwise the chavs will come a flocking!!
All round a good pub
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Good pub, good place to drink, much much better than the plastic chain pubs around it. Real ales are kept well, if in too short a supply, and there is a decent selection of lagers etc.
Strangely the Gents toilet door is always broken.
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Solid pub, much improved over the last few years, pool table, decent beer (which occasionally runs out alas) and not too busy. A decent place to drink in Reading Town centre.
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Nice little boozer. Like to start a night out here but also good for meeting up with mates for a drink after work. Easily recommended.
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Recently re-vamped, but where are all the tables and chairs? If you don't mind standing, then this place is great - nice beer, reasonable prices. Only other let down is the ventilation - seems a little smokey, and that's coming from someone who doesn't mind a cheeky puff...
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Good town centre pub for an after work beer or watching the rugby, sadly let down by thick-wit Australian bar staff who repeatedly tried to short change me with Euros!
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usually one good real ale available.lovely old fasgioned interior, beautiful smoked glass windows above the bar.
Phil - 6 Mar 2004 17:01 |
Great pub to have a good quite drink in. They do a lovely Guinness. Friendly staff. Highly recommended. The outside paint is a bit garish though.
Jonathan - 5 Mar 2004 21:32 |
Best pub in town for watching football (or rugby if you insist).
Ignore the two or three resident alkies slumped on chairs at the bar.
Jelly - 7 Dec 2003 02:11 |
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