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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Sunday, 13th March 2022
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Detail Pages
The Hop Leaf, Reading
Reading
RG1 2QZ
Served areas
Reviews of The Hop Leaf (Average Rating: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Hop Leaf
After the departure of the previous long-serving licensees, the place was shut for a good while. Re-opened a few months ago. Some repairs have been done and the toilets are nicer. However the place is very bare now and whilst the bar billiards table remains it is often covered-over, so no use for an impromptu game. 3x Hop Back and a Downton usually on. Quality has been variable – I’m not convinced there’s much in the way of cellar knowledge here at the moment.
August 2015
The Hop Leaf continues to be one of Reading's premier boozers and is well-worth the walk up the hill from town. There's now also a pinball machine in addition to an A1 Bar Billiards table and darts. The guest beers have finally been reinstated (blame Mr Gilberts for their loss originally!) with the likes of Titanic Mild, Downton Choc Orange and Black Country Pig on the Wall over recent weeks. Excellent.
May 2013
Many moons have passed since my inaugural visit in 2006 and I am pleased say that Surly Woman was moved on shortly afterwards! The licensees who have been in place since have built things back up and the installation of new lines last year has helped keep the beer cool on hot days (of which there seem to be many here). The inexpensive Hop Back beer (5 plus a couple of guests from Downton/White Horse/Two Bridges) is good. Darts board and Bar Billiards table often in use and a warm community atmosphere inside. Now also serves two real ciders (Westons Scrumpy and Old Rosie) plus a Perry (Westons again). Also check out the heat-based range of bar snacks. Daily papers also available. Music is ROCK from the landlord's ipod. One of my favourites in Reading, worth the short walk from the town centre.
20 September 2006
The start of our Reading pub crawl last Saturday. Got there 5 minutes before opening. A surly-looking woman opens the door bang on 12 and looks rather disappointed to see paying customers, eager for (as I have been hyping it up to my mate) a quality Hop Back brew. Go in, pat resident cat on the head, order two GFB's and sit down. Surly Woman disappears out the back, shouts "get out of the f*ckin way" and boots the poor moggy into the middle of next week, judging by the unholy howl it emits. Surly Woman returns 5 minutes later with sandwiches, sits at the end of the bar scowling at her platter and ignores us (which was a shame as we were debating the ins and outs of mystery shopping, a subject I am sure she could have contributed to) until we finish and leave.
On 18th March 2022
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Hop Leaf
although its layout hints at a former two bar set up, now knocked though into a single space. You enter into a shallow but wide room with a very old-fashioned carpet, plain white walls broken by a dado rail, a few dark lintels which show you how the pub might once have been laid out, and some obscured glass in the front windows. Hard backed banquette seating has been formed into a series of long U-shaped booths down the front wall, with tables and low stools to the left and some old pews over to the right. The servery is directly opposite the entrance, running along the rear wall with a brick counter front which includes a newspaper rack set into an integral pillar, plus a modern bar back and a simple but quite pleasing pot shelf. Décor is sadly almost non-existent, leaving the room almost entirely devoid of character, which is a real shame. The space to the right tried to make up for such shortcomings by presenting a decent looking brick fireplace and a bar billiards table, making this arguably the best place to try to bag a seat. Pop tunes chuntered away in the background, but it was the general chit-chat of the bar staff and a decent band of locals that thankfully prevailed. A few picnic benches are available outside the front of the pub, but these face a fairly busy road and didn’t seem like a particularly appealing option.
They had no less than five Hop Back beers on the go when I arrived – Thaiphoon, Summer Lightning, Citra, GFB and Crop Circle – plus a guest in the shape of Downton New Forest Ale. I gave the Thaiphoon a whirl and thought it was in great shape although not my favourite beer from this brewery. Staff seemed to be well acquainted with their locals and were just as friendly when serving strangers.
I had really high hopes for this place, having enjoyed other Hop Back pubs in the past, but whilst the beer side of things was all good and well, I felt the pub itself was a bit plain and soulless, enlivened only by a loyal band of regulars. Not quite the destination pub I’d hoped for, but still worth checking out for those Hop Back beers.
On 11th January 2022
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Hop Leaf
Had the place to myself at 7pm on a Monday Night.
Decent pub - in the Good Beer Guide. Most of the beers were from the Hop Back brewery. Ever going against the grain, I went for a New Forest Ale from Downton Brewery.
Missed the Pinball machine!
Decent visit blogged at http://bit.ly/2i4SbeS
On 16th August 2017
- rating: 7
[User has posted 277 recommendations about 276 pubs]
View more reviews of The Hop Leaf (10)
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- Official page of the Hop Leaf - www.hopback.co.uk
- Facebook - The Hopleaf
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Hop Leaf - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Bar Billiards : Yes last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Beer Garden : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Car Park : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Child Friendly : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Darts : Yes last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Function Room : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Hot Food : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Jukebox : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Karaoke : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Live Music : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Live TV Sports : Yes - rugby - last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Micropub : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Pinball : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Pool Table : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Quiz Night : No last updated 22 September 2015 by Quinno _
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Real Cider : Yes last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- Wheelchair Access : No last updated 18 March 2022 by Quinno _
- WiFi : No last updated 22 September 2015 by Quinno _
