Hope & Bear in Reading

Wow the food and staff were amazing. Had a wonderful time! Thank you Alistair ,Harriet and Dan for a wonderful evening

Really a shame giving a review like this, but had a very bad experience today with on le of the guys behind the bar. Immediately judgemental, rude and rushing payments. The lack of care, manners and basic courtesy was so disappointing to experience. The man in mind had a short pre-pubescent beard, scruffy hair, tattoos and a Los Angeles Lakers hoodie with a chain. looked to be in his mid-20 to early 30s. Hope the team can up their training to ensure a nicer environment in the future. Left the pub immediately after a drink as we were not willing to deal with the lack of customer service. Real shame to write reviews like this, had a great experience with the pub in the past but that will stop today. Hope they can sort their issues with staff internally and bring back a nicer atmosphere to the pub.

Lovely pub, food has never disappointed, and great cocktails too! Surprised this place isn't more popular. Will return.

It's not bad, but it's VERY student orientated. The beer selection is pretty good the food is pretty good. However if you walk to the bar at the same time as 15 students walk in the staff will always serve the 15 first. This is frustrating as the 15 don't even know what they want to drink. I understand that they cater for the students and that they are a big part of their revenue but surely staff maintaining and managing orders in turn should be a thing? A lot of these big groups only stay for 1 drink then go on to the next pub. In short you won't get served in turn if a big bunch of students turn up. This means you'll wait a long time because (fair play) they ID each and every one. Also an annoying habit they have is charging you on card before you get your drink. On multiple occasions the beer they then pour runs out and I have to make a different choice resulting in a refund needed on my card and a new amount charged. As with all card transactions the money coming back is delayed but the money going out is instant. I understand that they don't want to pour until they know the person has the money to pay for it, but this really sucks. In short. Nice pub, good garden, good beer, staff are nice but not attentive to who is next, food is good if a bit pricey for what it is.

Lovely spacious pub, combination of locals and students. Friendly sociable vibe

Really good pub, dog friendly, Super friendly staff and really good food.

The food was the worst 😞 thing what I eat 👎👎👎

An amazing pub. Came here for Sunday lunch and had the sharing platter. Great food and good quality produce. We even had to take the chicken legs home for dinner the next day. AMAZING!

Best pub in reading, great atmosphere and very welcoming

Enjoyed a Sunday roast at this establishment. A very welcoming atmosphere, the staff were courteous, and the quality of the lunch was spot on. We will definitely be back.

Came here for a roast yesterday and really enjoyed the food, however hated the dreaded QR code for ordering purposes, especially as it didn't have draught beers on there so we had to go to the bar anyway to order which made the QR code seem pointless. The wait for food was way too long (1 hour) but it would have been a bit more acceptable if anyone had come over to keep us updated a bit and perhaps asked us if we'd wanted more drinks ( a missed opportunity for extra drinks sales I think) but no, total radio silence and even when we did ask someone, they seemed to have no clue as to wait times. Such a shame as the food was really great and I'd highly recommend it but the absolute lack of personal touch to accompany it is a huge loss in my opinion.

One of my favourite pubs in Reading. It has a real mix of people & all the better for it. It has the Gastro pub vibe but it is so much more than that, with a popular Quiz and Poker on Tuesdays & Saturdays. They do a mean Bloody Mary too!

Shan is an outstanding bartender! She’s incredibly helpful, knowledgeable, and exceptionally kind. Her professionalism and warm demeanor make every visit a delightful experience. Highly recommend her service! Lauren was very helpful too.🔥🔥🔥

There is a great venue! Have eaten and drank in there a couple of times but was at a private wedding in there yesterday! As always staff were excellent, food and drink amazing! Really nice local!!!!!

My favorite place in Reading. We always visit when I'm at my daughter's!

Overall best pub in the town. Vibe is great. I strongly recommend their firecracker pizza which may be the best dish in the town. Also recommend their poker games every week.

We had a lovely meal, excellent staff and dog friendly

Amazing atmosphere and always friendly staff

The Quiz master is amazing!! And so is the staff!!

Fantastic atmosphere, really good fish and chips, great staff... every thing you want to find in a pub, would recommend!

Love Hope and Bear, we always have a good time. Friendly staff, quick service and great food.

This place is one of my locals and over the weekend I realised I had lost my cherished Zippo lighter...and the last time I had it - was here. Came in Sunday and speculatively asked if I had left it. Aidan - the lovely barman - reached into his pocket, and produced my lighter! Made my weekend - and faith in humankind restored. Top job Hope & Bear! 😀

I had a lovely relaxed afternoon here with a very tasty lunch and everyone was friendly. I would recommend it to anyone who wants a comfortable atmosphere to catch up with a friend

Always a good atmosphere and great Sunday lunch, love that they do events from live Music to Poker. Stalwart in the area

Amazing food and atmosphere, and the service is always, without fail, second to none.

Food is delicious, staff are very friendly and the place has a nice aesthetic. Go every Sunday for a quiz which is always good fun and friendly. Poker is a good friendly crowd as well

Terrible service and roast was horrible

Table of 8: We left before we ordered food, because the staff were so rude

Horrible service, rude waiters, told my very calm father to keep his voice down. Found to be extremely disrespectful. Won’t be returning

Very poor customer service and poor quality food

My family and I popped in this afternoon for a sunday roast! The atmosphere is amazing, the staff were friendly, and the quality of our roast was perfect. We felt very welcomed and would highly recommend having dinner here again!

Service and Sunday lunch was lovely Friendly atmosphere would definitely recommend

Best meal I have had in a long time and absolutely fantastic service. So polite and can’t wait to go back!

I came here with my family for Sunday dinner. The food was amazing, my beef was cooked to perfection, the chocolate brownie was incredible. I would definitely recommend this place, the staff were all super friendly and helpful, nothing was too much trouble. I can’t wait to bring the family back again

Lovely place had a really enjoyable meal with my wife. Excellent food and service.

Lovely pub - good fun, great range of drinks, very friendly staff

Great local with friendly staff and service. Good food too. Thanks for being dog friendly.

Student friendly prices for drinks during the week

The friendliest place in town, lots of events (poker, live music nights etc) great food, amazing atmosphere! :)

The Firecracker pizza is the best!

horrible service, very rude staff and poor quality food. Beware the fake AI reviews they use to bring up the overall score!! would not recommend

Great little pub with lots going on, plenty of activities ranging from music nights, poker and pub quizzes! Great place to relax after work, or unwind in the beer garden under the heaters. Would always recommend and I try to stop by as often as I can when in the area. Manager is always happy to chat, and the staff like to get to know the customers as well, it’s well worth a visit.

In for the rugby, good drinks and great garden for pre match drinks, great range of beers and as always friendly staff. Good menu, the charcuterie board is a lovely addition to menu, love the pumpernickel served with it

Love the poker on Tuesdays. The one with long hair is always so lovely.

Came here last Tuesday and had great fun at the poker night! Will definitely be coming back, especially as it is 20% off Tribute!!! Brilliant!

Quiz Master is amazing! 100% recommend

Went for a relaxed night out with friends and got surprised by the Rock'n' Roll Bingo. It was so much fun and we even won something. Try it! 😀 Despite my friend being slightly cheeky to the bar staff, Sam, Tash, Dan and the rest were amazing as always!

Good selection of drinks (big fan of Sxollie) at a reasonable price. Food is tasty. A proper gem of a pub in east Reading

Roast dinner was OK but not enough gravy and only 1 pig in blanket (there should have been at least 2-3 IMO) the Roast potatoes was ok but I prefer crispy ones For value for money this wasn't good enough

Had a damn good time. I ate the food and then remembered I was supposed to take photos, must mean it was good right? 😅 Either that or I'm too fat to wait. Anyway quality food, I'm a calamari connoisseur. So if anyone knows what up, it's me. Aoli was lovey, squid wasn't chewy, just needed slightly more seasoning on the batter. However, still very good and this place gets my seal of approval.

The bar staff was very pleasant, The food arrived in good time and was hot and delicious.

Fab food; great setting and atmosphere. Ever so accomodating when dealing with a missed order on my part and extra guest. Staff so polite

Seamless service for dinner, came with a big group of 11 and had pre ordered for xmas dinner.servers tacha and lauren were so so friendly and the food came out so quick. Note not too much parking but it was a Sat eve.

Been there with a friend. Excellent food and service. Will surely go there again!

Loved the live music, saw Louis and Bill this weekend and it made my night 🙌

Good typical pub grub that solves a problem of hunger! Quick service and good choice of beers.

Totally disaster, I ordered the shared camembert and baked in sourdough bread, the bread was unedibel far to hard to cut or even to eat, will be thinking twice about visiting this place again

The service and drinks were good. The food was ok - I had sausages and mash and one side of the sausages were burnt (I didn't send it back because I wanted to eat with the rest of the group). My partners pie was a bit dry. One of our group is coeliac - the information on the menu gave him two choices but after ordering the pork belly and sitting back down he was told that actually the pork belly WASN'T gluten free so he had to have the steak. He really enjoyed it but the menu information needs updating. The dining room is very noisy - it could do with some more soft surfaces.

The Bar manager was fantastic. Very friendly, attentive and was all too happy to help our charity cause. Had a lovely evening.

i asked for no sauce on my burger and it comes with mayonnaise. on what planet is mayonnaise not a sauce? imagine i had been allergic. THEN when the food arrives we are never asked if we want and salt, pepper or sauces and during the meal nobody asks if you are enjoying it. i promise you will get better service at wetherspoons and that is much cheaper !!! i suppose getting you to pay before your food arrives is the typical bait and switch, but unfortanely for hope and bear they are a one trick pony as i wont fall fool for their scam again

Booked a lunch to visit my son as he’s at university in reading . All I can say is what a fantastic and wonderful experience to have our lunch at the Hope and Bear ! The food was delicious and the staff were so lovely , funny and very charming - we shall definitely be returning. Just brilliant service as well as food - well done and thank you !

Do not use this pub if you come in a car. Used the car park for 30 minutes grabbed a coffee and drink with a friend. The tablet to register the car was unresponsive. After reassurances from the staff at the time an subsequent conversations over the phone I now have a £150 fine to pay. Unacceptable and will now look at legal options to recoup my money from the company. Despite assurances this has been sorted I am still to this day being chased for a fine, this is now harassment! Dishonest management don't trust this establishment. I am now looking at taking legal action.

amazing place, brilliant friendly staff

I really liked the bar tender who was really friendly and served my pint really quicky compared to other bars. The pint I got given was really good aswell .

Amazing quiz by Sam on a Sunday night! Great atmosphere.

Booked here for a little reunion with two of my friends from uni and our families for two main reasons: 1. Nostalgia - this pub used to be the Upin Arms when I was at uni and I spent a lot (too much?) of time here back then. 2. My friend was over from Malaysia and craving a Yorkshire pudding and the roasts here looked good. We booked for 12:30 but a combination of traffic and children meant we didn't actually order until 1:30. The server swiftly came out after we had ordered through the QR to say that there was now an hour's wait for food. We asked if they could possibly prioritise the children's food. The server came back and told us that yes, the chef would prioritise the children's food and that the hour's wait was only really an absolute worst case scenario. In the event, no one received their food until over an hour had passed. In the meantime one of the three families was informed that some of the items on their order were unavailable and they were offered a substitution. This was a little curious a although the items in question were part of all three families' orders, the rest of us weren't offered a substitution. The last of my friends were served their food after 3:10, 1 hour and 40 minutes after we ordered. My burger was good, my wife said her chicken was dry. The children's meals, to the pub's credit, were refunded. ...but my friend's long wait for a Yorkshire pudding goes on, as this was one of the things they ran out of...on Sunday roast day.

Booked 3 weeks ahead for Sunday lunch for 2.45pm, arrived to be told food was an hour wait and no Sunday Roasts left, very disappointing as this is the second time this has happened. Such a shame as the food is very good just disorganised to run out so early on a Sunday.

Took a few friends here for dinner on a Friday night. Lots of punters using the outdoor seating so the inside was busy but not overly so. We bought our little dog along and no fuss with it being at the table with us. Food was top notch and we were all happy with our dinner. Good selection of low and non alcoholic bevs too. We will definitely be returning here when the weather cools and the fireplace is lit!

Our local pub for over a year now, great selection of drinks and the food has always been good, although prices have increased quite a bit and you can't afford to order food as often as you wish. Had the nachos a few times and these are proper ones, probably made and baked in the kitchen... many other places just give you doritos!

Great bar, great vibes and good selection of beers on tab! great night out if you’re a student

Had a great time at Hope and Bear pub, thanks to Anam’s exceptional service! The food was delicious, and Anam was friendly, attentive, and made sure everything was perfect. The drinks were great, and the food was delicious. The cozy atmosphere made it a perfect spot to relax and enjoy the evening. Highly recommend!

great place! loved anam’s service

Absolutely lovely place, food and drinks were delicious, special mention to the amazing staff and manager for the bottle of champagne to celebrate our engagement, making the evening extra special! Would definitely recommend and we will return if we’re in the area again. Thank you so much!

Great food and atmosphere but pretty expensive

Nice pup, order via app or at the counter. The food was very tasty, but a McDonalds burger is hardly smaller.

Great pub, good selection of drinks and really nice food!

Worst pint of guinness I've had in the whole of Reading.

Thank you to the waitress and chef for helping me with my food choices last night. We need more Chefs like him. He went out of his way to prepare me a meal I could eat. As I have oil intolerances. Lots of restaurants won't tweet the menu. Hope and Bear. We're different thank you 😊

My wife and I absolutely love this place...it's quiet, cozy and the staff is friendly..the food is good...there's a good choice of drinks.. we don't have any complaints..

Not been into this pub since it was Jack of Both Sides! Love the decor and the atmosphere. Menu looked good so will try the food next time!

An old pub a bit run down but good food and friendly team. Enjoyed it

Lovely pub, great ambiance and decor. Food was exceptional, had a range of small plates and the flavour combinations were delicious. Well thought out dishes, great selection on menu. Fresh tasty food cooked perfectly. Would highly recommend. A*

Came in for Sunday lunch a few weeks back. Lovely food and drink, polite and friendly staff - we’ll defo be coming back again soon! Well done - good service in a world where this seems to be a dying art! 👍

Great pub and especially fantastic quiz on a Sunday night. The host, Sam is just brilliant and we love coming as often as we can! Thanks Sam! You're incredible!

Nice Gastro Pub. Good good and fast service. Can be a little noisy at busy times, buy nothing compared to a Spoons. Good pool table, TV, and Poker tables too...

Great place Greatchef , brilliant food and superbly cooked , conor chef i belive , a credit to the whole team and Great bar staff , thank you 😊 one of Readings hidden gems 💎 food was beautifully cooked and happy to pay a little more 😋 personally.🌟 Gunness nicely poured and a few different beers, lots of outdoor seating and Parking

I love this pub, yummy burgers and nachos 🤤

Nice place for beers - overpriced and food was okay

We love the sunday quiz, it makes our week. We come from Tadley to do it most weeks. Food is great and lots of choices for drinks. But the best bit is the quiz host Sam! She is brilliant!

Not good. Nobody greeted us. Just stared at their laptop until I interjected. Had no vegan/vegetarian option for roast even though we went at 1245 and hardly anyone was in there. Better places to go for sure.

Love this pub, especially the Sunday night quiz hosted by Sam!

We love the staff, especially Sam!

Quality quiz on a Sunday! Sam is a ledge

Nice pub with good menu and good beer range.

Awesome place. Very clean, nice placement of the tables and very attentive staff. We ordered food and it was delicious. It's my favourite place now. Thank you.

OMG what a place, came for the Sunday quiz. Very fun night out with friends, bubbly lovely service and an absolutely amazing host. Sam, I love you 😘😘😘❤️❤️❤️🤩🤩🤩

Excellent stylish place, really enjoyed our visit, it has and outside space, and a great ambience....

Best pub in Reading, by a country mile.

The atmosphere is conducive to relaxation. The music is calm, unobtrusive. The hall is divided into zones so that visitors can communicate calmly and not interfere with each other.

Return visit yesterday for 7 of us, we were given a nice big table with comfy seating, a great selection of beer and drinks, the food was fabulous, shared nachos between us to start with then most had roast but two had fish pie and 1 chicken schnitzel. Lovely presentation and flavours, empty plates all round, we then treated ourselves to a selection of cocktails which were carefully prepared and well presented, afternoon finished off with a few games of pool. Would highly recommend a visit 👌