The Ibex, Newbury

Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Ibex

Good Beer Guide entry in quite a remote but pretty village in West Berkshire.

There is a single room with multiple separate areas, including a space reserved for diners to the rear right-hand side. On our sunny Wednesday late-afternoon visit, doors to the rear were open, where there is a patio with tables and a nice garden area.

On arrival, we were asked if we were dining with them. We weren't. Instead, we were there to try the cask ale, of which there was just one - Bond Brews Moore Beer. A second clip (Fuller's London Pride) was turned, with the barmaid informing us that a local beer from the Indigenous Brewery, just up the road, would be coming on that evening. The number of pumpclips stuck on the beers attested to the range of beers they have presumably stocked.

The pub has a nice, traditional feel. The solitary unisex toilet didn't seem sufficient for the size of the pub, but with few other customers in, it was fine for that particular time of day. A framed picture on the wall detailed all you needed to know about ibexes.

The landlady was propping up the bar, whilst it was her daughter working the bar whilst being back from uni. She gave fairly short shrift to a foreign tourist who entered having claimed to have booked a room. She told him she couldn't let him have it unless he could provide a confirmation and sent him on his way! He did later return with some kind of email, but it all seemed a bit unprofessional, especially since this guy had probably spent most of the day trying to find the place he had booked!

I'd say this one is worth seeking out, not only for the real ales, but for the comedy behind the bar and also for what sounded like decent pub food.

On 27^th June 2024 - rating: 6
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