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The Retreat, Reading
Reading
RG1 4EH
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Retreat
A very decent backstreet pub,can appear a little shambolic inside at times but this serves to add a certain charm to the place,good beers including Whitehorse, Loddon and Ringwood always been in good shape in my experience. Unfortunately The Retreat is under threat of closure when the lease runs out and will quite possibly close before the end of the year,so get there while you can.Recommended.
On 24th June 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1872 recommendations about 1845 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
picasso 09 left this review about The Retreat
An excellent, eccentric pub, worth seeking out,beers always in top condition.Firmly among my top three Reading pubs.
On 4th April 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 14 recommendations about 14 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
I L left this review about The Retreat
A superb but quirky pub. The entrance is through the small front drinking area and this is where the main bar is. On walking through to the rear drinking area the place opens out a bit more with various items of furniture abounding along with a piano. The bar extends a small way into this area. Much tidier than it was on a previous visit but still a little bit different than your average pub.
A very nice selection of fairly local ales are normally available and I have never had a bad pint i here. Proper cider is also served.
Many wouldn't like this pub but its what makes visiting British pubs more interesting. A number of locals where in there on our Saturday lunchtime visit and I hope it doesn't change any time soon.
They also have numerous bands / musicians in here on certain days.
On 9th January 2012
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 287 recommendations about 284 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
an_ ecumenical_matter left this review about The Retreat
Yep its all aready been said. Great pub,friendly staff,excellent ale(though odd pricing policy),lived in,GO THERE.
On 10th January 2010
- rating: 8
[User has posted 39 recommendations about 38 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Old Boots left this review about The Retreat
Small 2 bar back street pub, smallish pleasant front bar serving well kept local micro brewery beers, mostly from Andwell and Loddon, plus Ringwood. Good range of German and Belgian bottles, plus draught and bottled ciders. The back lounge is a bit scruffy and somewhat odd, there is a decent juke box, pool table and lots of board games etc. piled up on top of the piano. The customers are a mixed bunch and there is a sort of sub hippy atmosphere in the back bar.
On 21st November 2009
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 3269 recommendations about 2978 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about The Retreat
If the phrase hidden gem had been penned for a pub it would have been penned for this one. You have the feeling of having entered some eccentric Aunt's parlour as you step through the door. The whole place has a delightfully disorganised feel to it. Eggs were on sale at one end of the bar and a pot for recycling batteries sat at the other. It's clearly a ‘green' bar and a campaigning one judging by the posters decrying beer duty and lambasting Alistair Darling.
Among the clutter of the back bar there's an old piano, that we didn't try out, and a £1 a game pool table, which we did. There's a good jukebox with a lot of old jazz numbers as if to accentuate the step back in time. To round all of this off the beer selection is very good with 6 hand pumps. I had a couple of good Lodden Ferrymaster's whilst my mates raved over the Old Hooky. They also have an impressive range of bottled beers including Chimay, Rochefort and an interesting smoked German beer that I was tempted to try. Unfortunately, unlike time in The Retreat, we had to move on.
On 2nd February 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
train man left this review about The Retreat
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.
On 2nd December 2007
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 412 recommendations about 411 pubs]