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Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Quinno _
Submitted on Wednesday, 30th December 2020
With picture contributions to 5000 other pubs
View all this pub's pictures (7 more images)
Requested be closed with reason - For sale: Closed November 2023
Detail Pages
The Jolly Anglers, Reading
Reading
RG1 3EA
Served areas
Reviews of The Jolly Anglers (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Jolly Anglers
This is a surprisingly basic two-room pub with a decent location alongside the River Kennet. The pub has been given a modern refit that has left it all feeling a little bland and devoid of character, which is a shame given that it has managed to retain the two bar interior. You enter through a short corridor with rooms off to either side, both of which have modern floorboards and plain painted walls, dotted with a few arty photos here and there, but mostly left blank. The left hand room seems to be the smaller of the two, but both have their own bar counter and plenty of smart chairs serving simple rectangular tables, each with placemats and a small potted plant on top. Large tables under the bay windows provide a little variety, but as the right-hand room extends beyond the bar, more of the same basic seating arrangements appear, including one table positioned rather unhelpfully beneath a dartboard. The bar has a modern timber fronted counter beneath a matching ganty with a long panoramic photo of Limassol on it for no obvious reason. The mirrored bar back was quite nice and had been adorned with a railway station style clock that hung from a small post. Pop tunes were audible in the background, but they seemed to be coming from the kitchen, which was churning out plenty of plates of comfort food, rather than deliberately being piped through the pub. A few seats are available outside the front of the pub, on the riverside path, but this space was in the shade early-afternoon. My plan to take advantage of their rooftop garden backfired when it turned out the space was closed for a private function, which was a shame as it sounds like an unusual space complete with its own bar, cinema screen and pool.
Just the two cask ales to pick from - Andwell King John and Bond Brews Bengal Tiger - with the former setting me back £2.00 for a half and being in good shape, albeit far too sweet for my taste. The barmaid didn’t endear herself upon my arrival, serving me whilst talking to some super-needy customer who had arrived just before me, but she redeemed herself with some good-natured banter when I left the pub without taking my jacket with me.
This was a bit of a mixed bag, as I was encouraged by the two fairly interesting beers, the good quality of the ale and the potentially warm service, but the place is just so dull that I can’t imagine wanting to come back on a regular basis. Maybe I needed to see the garden to get the full effect - I’ll be sure to pack my trunks if I’m back this way again.
On 7th January 2022
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Ian Mapp left this review about The Jolly Anglers
Came here in 2006 on a walk. This week, i am completing a similar walk - along the Thames from Caversham and then onto the Kennet, where this little boozer sits by the gas tank.
Three punters and one of those was a Labrador. Decent pint of Plain Ales.
On 23rd May 2015
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1337 recommendations about 1323 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Jolly Anglers
Small canal-side pub that was the centre of a well-publicized tussle between pubco Enterprise (trying to shut it) and local residents/CAMRA (trying to keep it open) in which the latter have, for now, prevailed. Three to four real ales (down from six) remain at the bar, and personally I don't rate them. Pub grub is offered and there's a dartboard. Live music is also a regular feature, plus pub dog. The walls are purple.
On 1st October 2014
- no rating submitted
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
View more reviews of The Jolly Anglers (5)
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- Official site of Jolly Anglers - www.thejollyanglers.com
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- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Jolly Anglers - whatpub.com
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Beer Festivals : No last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Beer Garden : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Car Park : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Child Friendly : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Dog Friendly : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Live Music : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Micropub : No last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Real Cider : No last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- Wheelchair Access : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
- WiFi : Yes last updated 04 May 2022 by ROB Camra
