The Clifton Arms in Reading

Friendly and welcoming if a little scruffy.

My recent visit to The Clifton Arms was, unfortunately, an extremely disappointing experience. We decided to go as the bar-tending staff is always really friendly and it's usually a nice environment. I went there with a close friend to enjoy a night of playing pool, but what should have been a fun evening turned into a distressing encounter with xenophobia and unfair treatment. As two young women, we were enjoying a private conversation in Spanish next to the men playing pool. However, a group of rude men took offense to this and randomly, aggressively confronted us, demanding that we "speak English" because "it's England." Their xenophobic remarks were not only inappropriate but also made us feel extremely uncomfortable and unwelcome. To make matters worse, the owner of the pub did not take the time to investigate or understand the situation. Instead, she chose to side with the regulars, stating that it was "boys' night" and promptly kicked us out. This decision was deeply disappointing, as it showed a clear preference for the regulars over fair treatment of all patrons. It was evident that many other customers knew the men were in the wrong, yet the owner chose loyalty to the regulars over justice and inclusivity. We decided to go to the other side of the pub to order two last beers (which by the way, we had only had half a pint of fosters in the night so far), and whilst being served the owner cut us off. Adding insult to injury. Not even the bartender knew why we had been cut off, but had to follow the owner's rules. As a result, what should have been a pleasant evening turned into an unpleasant and upsetting experience. The lack of support and the blatant xenophobia approved by the owner encountered at The Clifton Arms have left a lasting negative impression. I would caution others, especially those who value inclusivity and respect, to reconsider visiting this establishment. Overall, I hope the management of The Clifton Arms takes this feedback seriously and makes efforts to ensure that all patrons feel welcome and respected, regardless of their background or language. Until then, I cannot recommend this pub to others.

Absolutely rubbish service, didn’t even serve us a drink but told the lady in front of us he would happily serve her. We weren’t locals so felt out of place, but we have recently moved into Wolsey Avenue and wanted to checkout our local. Won’t be returning anytime soon and will be recommending anyone else to go to the fox and hounds as it is a much friendlier pub. If I could rate is minus I would.

Horrible place. The manager is rude and messaged me on messenger giving me threats! Avoid at all cost

Great place. Lovely and friendly all round. Great Guinness too

They have good prices, good staff, good scenery and good locals.

Great atmosphere, lovely bar staff and locals.

Nice pub.staff are great and friendly Not many pubs as good as Clifton as

The last time that I visited this pub was the 70's. Little has changed... Great beer and pleasant staff. But this pub could really do with a revamp....

Lovely pub, great prices for drinks and their bartender 'Louisa' is a real joy! Fantastic customer service and very attentive. Couldn't ask for more! Totally recommend

Fantastic people, dog, service & atmosphere. "Full English" pub.

I feel comfortable in this pub I like it. Miss Gordon but Cassie the dog is still here.

Just love this pub. Full of locals that are happy to chat, the cutest old pub dog and great landlord xx

Great pub off the beaten track.

Propoper pub with great staff always pop in when I get the chance.

Proper pub, friendly staff and locals, good beer selection. Pool and Darts. My cuppa tea. It's either your thing or not but its mine 😁

Fantastic pub , great atmosphere and good selection of drinks,A proper old fashioned pub with great staff and a lovely staffie called Cass

Great pub good prices lovley staff great service

Lovely lady behind the bar super friendly and a lovely pub dog who wanders around, the pool table is okay but you can't get to all shots due to space and the top rail is lose on one end. I also found the drinks a little on the expensive side too.

Old style pub ,darts , pool and plenty of different beers etc

Absolutely love this place. First time and met some great people. There really aren't many places that still have this old skool character. I miss that and will defo will be going back to Beat Mr Brown, the legendary local champion of pool 🎱 🤣🤣🤣

Friendly local pub. Staff are all polite and happy, and the place is dog friendly.

Just don't bother unless you've been coming for the last 15 years, you will not be welcome. There's a dog, literally the only thing going for it.

Very friendly had a nice evening 👍

This is a pub of the older type. At first the local folks that go there will happily serve you a drink and will let you choose cash or card or most payments you like. The pub gives you options as to how to sign in. However, this pub is not recommended. The pub does have an early digital style duke box inside it. You can play whatever song you like. If you are into Pool there is a pool table. If you play darts there is a darts board. You can even watch sports on the TV. The pub although I have not even drank a single pint of beer or larger or ale there. The pub does have some great selections of beer, ale or larger to choose from. However, there is a draw back, although you can get to know the staff there and they are friendly initially the problem is that they will turn on you and become really unkind, unfriendly and disrespectful and intolerant of others. The landlady there is called Shona who is cooperative, friendly, and genuinely cares about her customers because she wants to keep the pub going. However, the bar staff that work there, are most now but not when I first went there rude, aggressive, do not like you turning on or off the duke box because someone else is has put a song on that other people do not want to listen to. If someone does turn off the duke box you as someone who listens to the duke box will become the target to blame. Therefore unless you want to go to this pub to watch football or sports I highly recommend another pub. This pub is not recommended and as another person has already stated it is Unfriendly and Awkward. I personally was told to shut my mouth by al least two of the staff there so I would not recommend this pub at all.

Very nice local pub. We were on a boat on the Thames, happened to tie up for the night at the other end of Wolsey Road, which turned out to be 5 minutes’ from the pub. Friendly, genuine , with a decent range of beers. We’ll be back.

Excellent waitress service out to your car due to these difficult times. Sunday roast was amazing. Just like my grandmother used to do. Loads of meat and roast potatoes, had all the trimmings. All at a very reasonable price. The landlady has obviously gone through a lot of trouble to please people during these miserable and difficult times. Highly recommended.

Good old fashioned pub good beer

Proper pub with real people, great atmosphere & everyone welcome 👍

Lovely little boozer! Great for a pint, packet of pork scratchings and a game of darts.

Great place and great people staff very friendly

Welcoming and friendly staff, also a cute dog 😊

A proper pub whose publican keeps her beer spot on.

Top! Hele gezellige pub! Bediening erg goed! We waren hier voor een wedstrijd van Chrystal Palace. Topsfeer! Pub en stadion midden in arbeiderswijk. Mooi voetbalsfeertje. Echt een aanrader. Voor en na de wedstrijd sfeer proeven in de pub. Na de wedstrijd heb ik mijn tas met paspoort laten liggen in de pub. Werd vervolgens in het hotel gebeld door Evelina, medewerkster van de pub, dat ze mijn tas hadden gevonden. Ik ben ‘s nachts met een taxi naar de pub gegaan om de tas op te halen. De pub was inmiddels gesloten maar Evelina heeft gewacht tot ik er was. Heel bijzonder! Ik ga zeker weer een keer terug naar deze pub.

Great fun weekend here for our visit to Caversham.

Owner, employees and patrons are so nice and so fun.

Fantastic Proper pub! Great! Awesome food and service.

Quiet Tuesday evening. Bar staff serving but acknowledged me at once and apologised for delay. Landlord? was pottering behind the bar too. Sky Sports on but unobtrusive. Possibly suffers from being 2 minutes from the Wetherspoons and the Fox & Hounds. Whilst there are 5 hand pumps, only 2 beers available this Tuesday evening - Brakspear bitter and Courage Best. Brakspears was in good condition.

Proper no frills pub with friendly staff and locals.

Great pub, barmaids are always cheerful and helpful.. sky sports.. Wedneesday & Fridays £2.35 for dinner! Mmmmm roasts are great..

real pub, not full of kids and people having 3 course meals

Traditional pub, in the get heart of Caversham

Friendly place to have a drink while the washing was processed at the laudrematte

I came here twice during the course of reading festival, well priced food and had free tea and coffee with breakfast. Pint wasn’t overpriced either must say the cheesy beans on toast was the best I’ve ever had. Had that classic old pub charm and great atmosphere 5/5 would 100% come here again and again

Great pub if you like a pub to be a pub. Great staff, lovely land lord and lady. Sport on TV, pool table, juke box and dart board.

Popped in here for a coupe of drinks in passing on 12/08/2018. A good regular no-nonsense pub that quenched my thirst very nicely!

It's a nice pub.Some bands are brilliant and some are down right awful...There's never an inbetween. Not liking having to walk past the band to go to the loo.

Very cheep and cheerful with friendly staff

This is mainly a regulars pub but new people are given a good welcome. Top tip for newcomers is to put money in the jukebox (assuming the football isn't on, so the machine is turned up) and people will most likely talk to you. If the football, rugby, cricket etc is on, it's really easy to strike up a conversation with other watchers. If you want to be left to yourself, sit at one of the tables, and if you want to chat, sit at one of the bar stools. I'll admit I'm a regular myself at this pub, but I started going when I moved in about 18 months ago, and have always felt welcome. They've got 3 Sky/BT boxes, and they're happy to change the channel on one of them if you want to watch something (assuming no-one else is already watching something on that TV). The benefit of this pub is that it's not too noisy so you can read a book or watch TV and suit yourself. They've got decent broadband so I've even worked on the laptop on occasion. I recommend you give it a go!

Very much a regulars haunt, popped in for a quick drink with a mate, pint of Brakesperes which was ok. Strange looks from the locals, not sure why, very "clicky" feeling at the bar area. Live football being shown, darts board. Didn't eat there, just a pint, didn't stay any longer, could get better elsewhere nearby.

Never seen it taje so long to pour a pint, friendly though and decent place.

Just popped in for a quick drink. Football was on to so I thought I'd stay for a couple more! Atmosphere was ok, but this was mid afternoon. Food menu looked ok but decided on another drink. Pleasant afternoon.

Good local boozer. Well kept draft beer. Good pub food too, not fancy but much better than you'd expect and good value. It's not the Ritz but a good place to have a decent beer whilst you watch the Football.

Unfriendly bar staff, let down by unfriendly regulars which make it a terrible pub to go to for a one off food or drink. Be prepared to get stared at by the regulars if you go near their precious pool table. The old man bartender didn't help matters either

This is a small pub with limited seating. The bar area on the occasions I have been in was normally filled with locals at the bar, making it a little awkward to get served. There is however an outside area should you wish to escape the crammed indoors. Perhaps the most disappointing thing is the unfriendly atmosphere if you happen not to be a "regular" - you know, the moment you walk in heads turn, making you feel as though you are somehow intruding their space. The lack of reviews for this place would suggest they cope quite nicely with their regular trade, but it isn't somewhere I'd recommend nor want to go again - despite giving it a few tries. Plenty of other places in Caversham!

My local pub, always nice and good service. Scratch the dog!

Little bit worn around the edges and very much a local but ok.

My local. Great pub. Good food and friendly staff. A Breakspears pub. For those interested has at least two real ales on at any one time and has won awards for keeping and serving beers. I can't vouch for though because I drink Guinness! Still highly recommended. A proper pub!

A traditional pub run by Shona and Gordon, nothing has changed here in the last 30 years. A walk back in time, Sky Sports, sticky carpets and dated décor to match. Dogs are allowed into the bar area. There is a covered smoking area adjacent to the car park. There are limited seating and tables available outside. The pub menu is traditional, roast dinners, gammon and chips, steak and chips etc. What's on offer is split between the menu and the traditional chalk scribbling above the bar. All the staff are friendly. The pub caters mainly for local punters. There is limited car parking. I am sure that this has the effect of deterring potential customers. There is nothing pretentious about this pub that also provides food, a restaurant it is not nor is it a bistro. Food is only available at set times. You will be offered nuts, crisps etc at other times. I had a roast lunch, Nothing fancy just a good honest cooked meal. My plate was pleasantly full. A good portion of meat and vegetables all of which were well cooked. The roast potatoes were anaemic and there could have been more gravy. Having said that I was satisfied. The food is great value for the money.

Decent local pub, friendly staff.

My daughter and I found this place at the weekend. Since it's slightly beyond the turnoff to Henley it's little surprise we've been in and around Reading all these years and never dropped by! Ok - traditional pub; on entrance felt like I'd gone back to 1992 :-) Sky Sports, Pool table and 1990s décor to match. Standard pub menu - scampi & chips, steaks, gammon etc - although the menu they serve doesn't quite match the traditional chalk scribblings above the bar... Very accommodating staff, very friendly - including the punters. No nonsense fancy this, fancy that. Just a good honest cooked meal (as they advertise) that went down a treat ...and my steak was cooked to perfection too. All in all, a very pleasant alternative to the corporate 'norm' of Wetherspoons, Alto Lounge et al.

Its a very friendly local pub, used by the locals, mostly........... can be very crowded, and appear to be un-friendly...... the land lady"Shona" is a really caring person, Gordon on the other hand, is hardworking, but can be,a bit obstinate. Once you get to know him, he is funny and friendly

Great rolls and beer every time. Great pub used by us for an after shooting welcome break couple of pints and a cheese and onion roll.

Friendly pub with outdoor seating (though this gets quite smokey). Clearly a place with a group of regulars. It is cask marque certified, but the selection of ales is not particularly extensive compared to some nearby establishments. Didn't try the food, but seems to offer lots of pub classics.

I had always passed this pub historically and thought that it looked like a rather pleasant place, but apparently looks can be deceiving, and pubs in Caversham have once again proved themselves as a whole to be a let down. The first and only time I entered, the entire pub fell silent as if I was the intruder in their midst. A few of the regulars seemed to find something exceedingly amusing about the way I ordered my pint of Nicholson's Oxford Gold, before I walked calmly to an empty table in the corner.

Good traditional pub good food and pleasant, you can't get better.

pool and darts ideal for me and food is really good ps brilliant rib eye melt and a few specials

Decent enough pub but was let down by some of the regulars being less than friendly and dominating the pool table. I love a bit of banter but this was just awkward and a little threatening.