The Bull, Reading

Unfortunately the organic Brakspear Oxford Gold had run out ystdy, leaving a choice of Hobgoblin & Brakspear bitter (£2.90!). Genuinely old, with low beamed ceilings in the main bar area and a huge open fireplace burning logs. I could imagine this being a very good drinking environment for locals but it seems to be aiming beyond that, and the commercial radio in the bar and the young staff sit a little incongruously with the 15c image. Also, could whoever writes the bar notices please learn that changing a singular into a plural does not require an apostrophe! So it's bills, customers etc…, not bill's, customer's… Sorry, but why is this basic grammatical error becoming so common these days?

A traditional street corner local in the heart of Wargrave, the pub is arranged on a couple of levels around a bar counter and despite offering a few food options has managed to retain the feel of a pub that is designed for drinking first and foremost. There are two main bar areas, each sharing the same bar counter which had a number of stools around it. One bar is down a couple of steps from the other and this is a pleasant, if slightly spartan room with black wooden boards on the floor, a whitewashed ceiling with plenty of black beams and there were a few more black beams on the wall as well. An exposed stone wall was at one end a low stone wall along one side. There were numerous old black and white photo’s and the obligatory horse brasses dotted around, and a large brick fire-place with a log fire, although this was not list on a recent cold March evening which may have made it a little cosier. A smaller room was up a couple of steps at the end and this had a more contemporary feel with lighter laminate flooring and a number of brown leather sofa’s and arm chairs. A couple of large flags were prominently displayed on one wall, and there was a small plasma up in the corner, although this was not in use. The menu offered a small selection of “pub grub” dishes such as lasagne, fish & chips, chilli con carne, etc., and these were mostly priced around the £10 mark. There was also a specials board that offered another half a dozen options. My curry of the day (Chicken Balti) was a decent enough dish and came with rice, naan bread and a poppadom as well as an enormous pot of mango chutney. Beers on tap were Ringwood Boondoggle and Brakespear Bitter. There was also a pump for Fortyniner, although this appeared to have run out. Unfortunately the solitary cider was Strongbow. All in all this seems a decent village local with a friendly landlord and a decent food offering. If only they could sort out their appalling choice of cider, I’d say it was well worth a visit.

Bull page at the Brakspear site - www.brakspear.co.uk

Bull page at the Brakspear site - www.brakspear.co.uk