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Submitted on Friday, 16^th January 2026
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The Retreat, Reading

8 St Johns Street
Reading
RG1 4EH

Correct details

Served areas

Reading Central

Reviews of The Retreat (Average Rating: 7½ of 10) Add Review see review guidelines

paulof horsham left this review about The Retreat

The Retreat is a two-roomed pub in a quiet street slightly outside of the centre of Reading. The front room is smaller with 3 tables and the bar supporting 5 hand pumps; the back room has seating for a fair few more.

The pumps carry simple black and white clips (nothing brewery branded), with a traditional selection of Hophead, Harvey's, Tribute and Plum Porter, while the keg selection comprises Guinness, Aspall's, Amstel and Leffe.

Nothing too exciting here, but worth a visit.

On 16^th January 2026 - rating: 7
[User has posted 620 recommendations about 576 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

john gray left this review about The Retreat

This is a lovely smart looking pub after the refurb.4 regional beers on and my Sussex bitter was spot on.Sat outside talking with a few locals so had a pleasant time.

On 26^th January 2022 - rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about The Retreat

Set slightly out of the town centre, this is a welcoming little backstreet boozer with a very simple two-room layout. The front room is a rather cramped bar area that felt a bit like a micropub when I arrived to find a packed room with barely enough space to get to the bar. The room has some pleasant modern floorboards, half panelled walls painted in a gloomy shade with somewhat warmer upper sections, and the servery along the right-hand wall. Benches along the front, left and rear walls provide the bulk of the seating options, supplemented by a load of low stools and all serving three or four tables. The bar counter is made from the same panels that adorn the walls and has a surprisingly simple bar back that suggests the whole thing has had a relatively recent refit. A large clock on the back wall acts as the room’s focal point, whilst a few old enamel advertisements add a much needed splash of colour. A corridor to the rear left leads you into the rear room which is fortunately a fair bit bigger and therefore acts as a most welcome additional seating area. The room has a tartan carpet and similar paint scheme to the main bar area, with rows of tables and chairs down either side, whilst the walls are decorated with a collection of old brewery mirrors and a TV screen is mounted next to the small servery at the front. Four small tables with metal garden chairs were squeezed into the tiny front paved garden area, which was quite a quiet spot given the pub’s backstreet location. The toilets rank as some of the smartest I’ve seen in a pub for a good long while and the gents had a large photo of someone taking a leak in what I would guess was the old toilet block.
I was a little taken back to find five handpulls in operation when I arrived, giving me a choice from Taylors Golden Best, Brakspear Gravity, Harveys Sussex Best, Otter Ale and Wye Valley Butty Bach. A very friendly and welcoming barmaid served up a decent drop of the Butty Bach which I took out on the pokey front patio given the packed front room and empty rear seating area.
I was aware that this pub had been through a lot of licensees over recent years and was therefore a bit sceptical about what I might find here, but I thought it was a very nicely presented pub, perhaps still needing a little bit more time to fully find its feet, but clearly attracting a good bunch of loyal customers and managing to keep a decent selection of ales on the go as a result. Worth making the short detour to check out.

On 7^th January 2022 - rating: 7
[User has posted 3387 recommendations about 3387 pubs]

View more reviews of The Retreat (18)

This pub features in the following crawls:
Reading - a Friday afternoon by Clive Thompson
Reading ramble by Quinno _

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