The Hope Tap in Reading

Wetherspoons you get what you pay for!

Service is excellent and always quick no matter how busy we are. Very cheap and food is therefore not amazing but definitely decent

Typical spoons. Plenty of tables, easy to order via app. Food and drink brought out quick enough. Good value.

Spoons always best value beers!

Great value food and friendly staff. A historical setting in which was once the original Reading Cooperative Society premises. Very convenient for Reading station. Three basic but delicious meals and drinks for around £20.

Went for a meal with family, got told to hurry up as daughters had to be out by 9

Food was very good, atmosphere was very pleasant and welcoming, friendly and polite staff. Also my first time here.

Nice and simple place, decent food at a decent price, all the staff were friendly and approachable, just what you need in a pub

£3.50 for unlimited Tea and Coffee plus a lime and soda... Such great value of money you can easy sit and spend time with family and friends without breaking the bank .

Had to send the food back twice as got the wrong order then when the food finally came it was burnt 😡

Good selection of food and beers. Quick service despite it being busy. Toilets very clean although a long walk away! Great prices.

Good service, good location and a typical Spoons

Look it's a weather spoons it's full of old men and what can only be described as one level up tramps, but it's exactly what you expect cheap and cheerful and if you are OK with this like I am then you won't be disappointed!! Four of us went in for food we was served very well food was nice and we all had a drink and it came to £30.00 I mean come on you can't complain it's not a regular thing for us but every now and then perfect... if you are ever so slightly snobby avoid but if you a regular person who's looking for some nice food at a cheap price then this is the way forward!!

Food is good, value for money drinks. Very difficult if you need extra cutlery etc, takes a lot of time

It's a spoons!! In the centre of Reading, where you get a table of local gents who like a beer or ten. Toilets about four miles north!!! You need to go before you need a pee, to be on the safe side!! Haha

Great atmosphere and very friendly crowd. We were made very welcome and thoroughly enjoyed the night.

Typical 'spoons food but done well, great value for money as usual although my pizza was a bit low on toppings compared to usual. Always very busy & sometimes full with drinkers even early in the day who can be a bit 'lively'. Server seemed a bit disinterested, going to the wrong table then plonking our food down in the wrong place even as we were saying who's was who's and left only one set of cutlery. Nicely decorated but often difficult to find a seat

Cheap and cheerful!! Great service, no wonder it's always packed.

We love this pub. Cheap food. Food is normally tasty but this time I picked something different to my normal and it wasn't great. But otherwise lovely atmosphere.

Only stopped briefly for a drink and quick bite to eat. The drinks came out quickly after ordering on the app, the food also came out quickly. Food was good, as expected.

Breakfast was ok, toilet door cubicle needed a good clean it was really sticky.

A busy wetherspoons this. Good staff. Food excellent value

There is a previous review that mentions the SIA door supervisor being incredibly rude. I also had the displeasure of coming across this person and wrote to SIA to raise a concern. Great way to lose out on money.

Our night at The Hope Tap was completely ruined by the unreasonably rude Indian/Bengali security guard. We understand needing to show ID, but his aggressive attitude was out of line. He was arrogant, dismissive, and spoke to my partner like we were causing a problem just by being there. His behavior was far from normal for such a simple request, and it left a bad taste in our mouths. We won’t be returning if this is the kind of treatment we should expect. Shocking. Please get help if you’re in need !!!!

Delicious Tikka. Great fish and chips! Drinks were a bit weak but tasty.

Lovely place to have a drink and chat The only thing is the toilets are up a mountain

I only accept being called dude when I'm being delivered my food.

if i could give 0 i would, but frankly your staff are all incredibly unprofessional and rude. how is a staff member listening in on me and my friends conversations and making jokes about it? it’s extremely unprofessional and quite literally a joke. this staff member; Evie, listened in to our conversation and continued to mock what we were talking about loud enough for us to hear and mocked the fact we were here on a tuesday at 11pm, how are you doing this whilst you’re working it’s just frankly embarrassing. me and my friends all work in hospitality and aren’t able to go out regularly so what does what we’re doing have anything to do with her? it’s actually embarrassing and your staff are giving you the worst image.

Haven't been for some time. Was really pleased to go back and its so reasonable. Lovely to see a Dad with his little daughter after school so relaxed.

we were harassed by two males whom we did not know, who began physically fighting and pushing us, the security and staff did nothing to help us, and the later refused to serve us further. we tried on several occasions to speak to members of staff about this situation and we were either ignored or told to "leave" as they were "too busy" which we found very rude. not a good experience as three young females (19) being physically assaulted by two older men and having no help from staff or security.

This place needs a revamp. It is what it is. Spoons

Worst portion sizes I’ve ever experienced. I think it’s safe to say that Wetherspoons is now just an overpriced McDonald’s

Cosy place to have a breakfast. Food and service are good.

Best spoons breakfast I've had in a while. So good ate there 2 days running (sat and sunday). The fiesta breakfast and eggs benedict were great. Eggs poached perfectly with runny centres. Plenty of ham and hollandaise sauce

Food was cold when severed I asked for a poached muffin with mushrooms and they severed me poached toast with mushrooms and the mushrooms had no flavour. Don’t recommend!

Good selection of beers. Great service .

Regular spoons, plenty of space, great price, friendly staff.

This is one of the better Wetherspoons. It's always very busy, but the service is good and of course the prices are great.

Abysmal. Kept me waiting for half an hour then informed me they didn't have the menu item I asked for. They refunded me, but were so rude! Even spoke to the manager who gave me evils throughout our exchange. Bizarre, depressing and unreliable service. Avoid.

Cheap beer and then cheaper beer and cheap cocktails. All ridiculously cheap. Very much a young person's place, ie 17 to 23.

Its a Wetherspoons. Food is passable simple meals (ie microwave or fried). Staff were nice. Prices are good.

Yet another fine weatherspoons:-)

The staff like to smash the used bottles into a massive bin. I thought the old guy with his back to them would have a heart ❤️ attack when suddenly they started slinging bottles into the bin with such aggression the building shook. Unnecessary. And frankly terrifying. Wouldn't recommend this grotty, smelly, rough place to anyone. We needed some refreshments and didn't realise until after purchase how bad it would be.

It was my first time on this Wetherspoon and I was very pleased. The new menu has very interesting options 😊

It's really good for pre boose and seating space is quite adequate

Called in the morning for coffee food looked nice nice pub very busy 😋

Ordered a Doom Bar and an IPA via the App, arrived at the table, and the kid said, "I don't know which is which", then turned to leave. I asked if he could take them back and re-pour them to know for sure, and he proceeded to return to the bar with them, wait 30 seconds at the end of the bar, then return with the same drinks pretending to know. I took them up to the bar, and after explaining to 2 highly confused staff, finally a bad tempered 'manager' came in and reluctantly proceeded to pour new drinks with quite an attitude. Par for the course, I guess.

Recently visited and really enjoyed the food and the service was great. The staff are really friendly and helpful. The food was fresh and served quickly after ordering. Thank you!

Very busy place. Staff friendly n polite. My 1st visit to this place n wasnt disapointed

It was concerned regulars were able to brag about getting a key on Ebay for the disabled toilet instead of using the public toilet, I am disabled but had to walk up several flights of stairs.....the staff seem to see this as normal.

Would be great if food arrived hot. Update 24/06/22 still getting almost cold food. Further update: Visited today 26/07/2024. First time received hot food.

Chicken wings are the best here. When you order it might take 15-20 min max to arrive. This place is very nice for a snack and hanging with friends.

Very mixed staff. Was not impressed with a barmaid telling a customer twice to F. Off. 1 alleged manager ,didn't care about service or que jumpers. Other manager could not apologise enough. Food was good .

Typical weather spoons . A bit scary at first but generally friendly and obviously cheap.

Hop Tap Wetherspoon Pub offers a fantastic experience with excellent service. The atmosphere was pleasant and uncrowded, making it a comfortable spot to relax. Prices are quite affordable, adding to the overall appeal. Highly recommended for a casual and enjoyable outing.

Cheap beer and cheap food. Where else can you find beer this cheap in a town centre? If you want a pint of beer in the morning then this is the right place for you as they serve all day. This spoons is nice and big but does get busy. There is a small beer garden out back. Nothing fancy about this place

We love Hope Tap, you can't beat the price of drinks and the food is of good quality on a budget. We've always had a great time! However, we've had a couple of issues recently where our table has been refused drinks because too many were coming to the table. Ok, let's break it down... 9-10 people each ordering their own drinks, most of us buying the 2 for £7 cocktails, or shots etc. Yes it's going to look quite crazy seeing 20+ drinks on the table but let's be realistic, it's hardly going crazy! There's a new manager who just seems to be on a power trip. It's disappointing because otherwise this place is 10/10.

Bartender doesn't bother to keep track of who's next even though it's basically empty. She just serves whoever is in front of her and doesn't bother to tell you if you're standing in the "wrong place".

Rude girls that work at the bar don’t come

Not the greatest experience. The staff was rude and I feel race had a big part to play with it 🤷🏾‍♀️

Ideal place to try the English breakfast and eggs Benedict (we went twice because everything is so good), the boys were delighted with the American breakfast (pancakes/pancakes) and of course the beer was great. Without a doubt I would repeat. Breakfast is served from 8am to 12pm.

Just had a drink in the beer garden. Nice sunny evening. I noticed a group of young lads having their ID's checked by staff, which is reasonable, but I saw 3 different staff members ask them for ID in a five minute period whilst they were sat down. If I were in that group, I'd be complaining about being harassed.

Bouncer Richard is the best!! Love his energy!

Our breakfasts were very good apart from the sausage. Once again I wish Wetherspoons would start offering quality sausages and I would be happy to pay more if they did. Lovely staff and it's a spacious restaurant, with an outside courtyard with smoking and non smoking sections.

Great value and excellent table service

Jumped in here avoided the rain had some food and endless coffee great place good atmosphere 👌

Only popped in for pint, very niçe

Excellent service all round. 20 of us descended on the place for lunch, we moved tables and chairs so we could sit together which wasn't a problem. Apologies to the staff as we didn't return the tables and chairs to their original places before we left (we all had to catch trains). Thank you for hosting us, we will return on our next get together.

Cheap coffee and blackcurrant and sodas

Spent a pleasant Monday afternoon here. Had a bit of a shock when I went up to the loos. There was sick all over the floor 😱😨 I reported this at the bar, and next time I went up, everything was cleaned up! Amazing! By a strange coincidence I was reading in the magazine about the awards for loos. Well deserved, keep up the good work, loos are very important! PS whatever we may think of Tim Martin's politics (yuk🤣), his pubs are pretty OK!

A JD Wetherspoon pub which served a lovely breakfast at a decent price. Unlimited Hot drinks are available at £1.56.

Excellent place for early morning breakfast, probably the cheapest in town. well worth a visit .

Great atmosphere very friendly staff and drinks are very reasonably price to say the least nice out door space great size venue Would recommend security visible but not in your face nice 👍🏿

Great food, good value for money and fast service

Classic good value food and drink. Wetherspoons is one of the only honest pub chains.

Had baked potato, cheese, coleslaw, salad and a pot of salad dressing, potato was Luke warm. Had really upset tummy after

Great place, more popular with locals. The day I went there, they were out of pizza so many vegetarian choices were taken away from menu. Ambiance is lively. Prices are reasonable, almost half compared to other places nearby.

First time in the UK and I'm so glad this was the first pub I visited and experienced UK night life

Classic spoons, although it's only a 26 mile walk if you need the toilets so pretty accessible!! As a spoons you get what you pay for. I ordered chicken and chips. Both the chicken and chips were good, but I did finish my chips by the time the chicken rocked up. Clucking mad!

A typical PUB with good beers, and especially COLD ones.

Busy place and packed on a Friday evening. The beer we had was just on the turn.

Visited on an early Saturday afternoon - busy seat-wise but fairly relaxed environment, most visitors are 65 and plus year-old seniors. A question: considering all the above, why does this place need security guards? Makes you feel watched and paranoid about being potentially unsafe and something due to happen, all you want is to finish your food and leave the place.

With my bf getting some drinks and food and this one server girl kept coming to our table and speaking to him and acted like I was invisible she came about five times and everytime was giggling and trying to flirt with him so disgusting and embarrassing for her really not what I wanna be doing trying to enjoy my birthday

Breakfast was okay, not great compared the other Spoons I've been to. Hot drinks machine dispensed luke warm drinks and the hot chocolate didn't work at all.

Large family group and they made us very welcome. Definitely going back.

Such lovely people that welcomed me in like family. A huge thanks to Liv, sara, Poppy and their friends. I can't believe it's so cheap!

Stopped here for a late Sunday lunch. Beers were inexpensive especially when compared to London prices. Food was similarly priced, decent in taste and more than adequate in portion size. 2 cocktails were only 7.50 which I thought was a steal. They have a large sample of drinks and a good spread of food options to choose from. Do visit.

It's a wetherspoons, you get what you expect. I grab a seat, order using the app, food and drink appears with no fuss or bother.

Another Wetherspoon. A nice palce to hangout at center of the city. Food and beers are available all the time. Good place for groups and individuals. Love this place.

A Typical example of the species but pretty decent . Visited with a friend on a Friday lunchtime & despite a cavernous interior we were lucky to find a seat , albeit next to the disabled toilet. Packed to the gills but of course one knows why - great value. Quick service at the bar & despite the crowds our food arrived after 10 mins. Good quality meals served hot , efficient & friendly staff. Decor is pleasant with wood panellng . Toilets upstairs after climbing long flight of stairs . Clean throughout & a small smoking area out back. Usual sprinkling of professional boozers as is the case in all Wetherspoons.

It's a spoons you know what you get

It's a spoons, therefore cheap. Not a large outside area Always busy and difficult to find seats. Toilets are upstairs

It's a not very nice Wetherspoons.

While it's a Wetherspoons, this one is really tired! Spoons used to be cheap and cheerful, but the Hope Tap does not feel welcoming

Really apparent how tiny it is when it gets busy, but fast service nonetheless

Avoid Fridays and Saturdays - this Spoons is best visited in the morning or afternoon. I have overheard it described as an "old folks home" either side of noon as most of the customers will be over 70! The selection of guest ales is always good. The bacon butties in the morning with endless tea is a good choice. From 2-5pm small or large pub classics are always a good choice one one does not have to wait that long. At night and weekends (not Sunday) - the local wildlife do take over rather! Recently sat outside on a Friday morning in 20C with a pint and, as it was still "brekkie", toast with marmalade.

Beer kept well. My food (chicken tikka masala) was good other than the naan being over cooked and slightly hard. Great service.

Had a great day out with my friends very reasonable prices

Average food, unlimited drink refills

It’s always a good sign that the place is busy when you arrive, and this was what happened yesterday night (Good Friday). Having managed to find a table, and ordered my meal, I found the staff to be friendly and hospitable at all times. They were very busy, but all had a smile and a word with people. My food and drink arrived way faster than I thought it might, so kudos to the kitchen team. I will definitely return here when next in Reading, without question.