The Retreat, Reading

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.

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.

Not easy to spot in the dark, but worth the effort. Long & narrow with the bar along the right and divided into a small front & slightly larger rear room, the latter surprisingly houses a pool table which seemed something of a waste of space on Sat nt, but maybe comes into play when quieter. Very busy, chatty, bustling bar with a great range of beers - Harveys, Ringwood Best, Loddon Ferryman's Gold, White Horse Wayland Smithy, Grand Union One Hop & Brass Monkeys, Ascot Ales Anastasia's Exile Stout; and since this was the day's penultimate pub I think it quite an achievement to decipher my notes to bring you that list. Very good pub.