the old boot inn in West Berkshire

We had our wedding reception at the Old Boot on the 7th September and it's hard to put into words how amazing the team were in making it such a memorable day/evening. Mel and Michael were amazing in the run up to the event. Totally calm and collected in planning. Things I was worrying about where instantly addressed and my slightly frantic Bridal brain was put at easy at every turn. The Tepees and garden looked incredible! ALL The staff were charming from start to finish. The food was EPIC...some of the best I've ever tasted at a wedding, all the while feeling very relaxed and unstuffy. EVERY guest has commented since on the amazing venue so I would strongly advise anyone looking for somewhere in the area to go try it out. Brilliant!

Lovely setting. Amazing food and staff were so welcoming, friendly and helpful. Would highly recommend it. Would definitely visit again if in the area.

Small pub with a ton of charm and surprisingly good food! Lots of pub standards with an elevated touch. I had the salmon teriyaki bowl (which isn’t a pub standard) and it’s worth the trip! The salmon was perfectly cooked and the homemade teriyaki sauce was delicious. Sticky toffee pudding was EPIC. This place has a relatively new owner who is making The Old Boot Inn a perfect destination spot.

Highly recommended this pub, especially in the summer months. The garden is fab and the food is tasty. All the staff are attentive and friendly.

Really disappointing as I had heard of this being a great spot. Nice sunny day to go out and we we sat inside the outdoor tented area. It was absolutely sweltering inside, people were fanning themselves and not an aircon or fan in sight. We then moved outside and our waiter said he would come and get our order. Half an hour later I approached him to come and take our order to which he said he would come straight away. 10 minutes later we simply left. Hugely understaffed and a couple of fans could have done the trick.

We order beef roast and to be honest it was not great meat was cold Yorkshire pudding was soggy and tasteless portions were small I.e 4 small roast potatoes 4 small carrots and weird vegetables that did not belong on a roast dinner . I feel like they have tried to be fancy but lost the basics in the process was not worth £24 If you want a roast probably get a better one at a Toby carvery for half the price. I mentioned about the food and the owner just said thanks for the feedback and walked off no apology or even a gesture of some form of refund poor customer service. The service was very slow and seems like the staff have no idea what they are doing and it wasn't even that busy its a shame because its a lovely pub with a great outdoor space shame the running of the place and food don't match the location.

One of the nicest pubs I’ve ever been to and to our surprise wasn’t rammed on a Saturday evening. Beautiful venue, lovely garden area, great food and service. It’s a shame we don’t live locally or we would definitely be paying it a visit more often!

Great country pub with plenty of covered outdoor space and things for kids to do.

We went for lunch at the weekend and it started well with the outside space looking lovely and a welcoming greeting from the owner. We ordered food …..flat bread with toppings. Their pizza oven was hot so we didn’t expect it to take long. 40 minutes later we were still waiting and asked a waiter what was happening and he went to find out. He told us it would still be a couple of minutes. We asked if we had been forgotten and were told no, but were given no reason for the delay. 10 mins later our food finally arrived, but it was not clear which plate was mine and which was my husbands’s. We went to find a menu to work it out. The owner came over, said sorry for the delay, but didn’t give a reason for it and clarified which toppings were on which plate. My husband said that he hadn’t been impressed with the wait, at which point the owner lost his temper, picked up our plates, the food fell on the floor and he told us to leave. We said we needed our money back as we’d paid in advance, so went to the bar to get it. The owner then shouted loudly across the restaurant, where there were other diners, that his staff should ‘give these ungrateful people their money back’. I have never experienced such appalling behaviour. We had not been rude, had not harassed him or his staff and had been kept waiting for 50 minutes without explanation. The staff indicated we were not the first to experience such behaviour and others that we have shared our experience with had heard similar stories since The Boot changed ownership. We will not be returning until the ownership changes.

Fabulous restaurant with amazing decor , location and absolutely incredible food. Highly recommended!

Lovely restaurant BUT sadly when ordering a roast I was left without a Yorkshire as the Canadian/American owner had taking the rest home. He was also rude to the wonderful staff infront of us which looked like they doing 4 jobs at a time bless. Thank you Michael I won’t be returning sadly and if I do please put an extra Yorkshire on my roast. One star for each waitress care they were lovely

Lovely restaurant BUT sadly when ordering a roast I was left without a Yorkshire as the Canadian/American owner had taking the rest home. He was also rude to the wonderful staff infront of us which looked like they doing 4 jobs at a time bless. Thank you Michael I won’t be returning sadly and if I do please put an extra Yorkshire on my roast

Fantastic pub, has a great garden and serves even better food. Would come back 100%

Lovely find in the countryside. Had a fantastic lunch treating myself to the venison burger and a few pints alongside a group of friends. Great service, great food and great location, not much more than you can ask for!

Really enjoyed dinner with drinks at The Old Boot. The teepee is amazing, the photos don't do it justice. Had the steak and my boyfriend had the haddock and chips, followed by sticky toffee pudding which was divine. I had the brownie which melted in my mouth and am now very full. Beautiful old pub, supplemented by the lovely teepee with great views out the back over sheep fields

Lovely large family gathering at this super country pub, many thanks to all the staff for looking after us

Came back after hearing it had been taken over by new management. The teepee is beautiful, they've upgraded the space and added in an outside bar and oven. the staff are very friendly. Our main meal was lovely, we shared a flatbread to start and chicken liver parfait. I then had the sea bass, you have to order a side if you're hungry. We also had a Caesar salad with coconut chicken and children's meal. At the end my daughter wanted a slice of the cake on offer. We ordered, it arrived, nothing special just a slice of cake and when the bill arrived it was £6.50. I asked if there was a mistake as this is over the top pricing for what seemed like a shop bought cake, pic attached for reference.

It is quite a lovely place. Now that it’s sunny it’s such a great plan to go and enjoy a drink and their tasty food. It’s a trendy place, but it wasn’t very crowded which was good. Service could be better maybe, but they were lovely and helpful. Would 100% recommend and I will be coming back.

Real gem, we went for Father's Day, and the whole experience was just brilliant. I loved the setting and the food.. well done to Michael and the team .. we will be back

Very limited food choice. Quality and taste poor. Not great value for money. Lacking atmosphere in the main pub area. Underwhelming experience.

The tepee is a lovely venue. Great flat breads and food. Reasonably priced and the staff are all welcoming and friendly. Recommended for a relaxed evening out.

Excellent Sunday lunch! Thanks to Micheal and the team, love the open kitchen.. and having all the meat prepared over coal & wood makes all the difference!! A must visit!!

New management have very strange way of running this pub. directed me to drink in the teepee , why? the bar was not open, I did not want to be told where I can drink so I left

What a venue !! We recently had our wedding lunch here.Not only were the staff so friendly & welcoming the food was absolutely incredible a huge thanks to Micheal and all the staff who made our day so special!!

Great place to eat and drink. You will be very surprised when you visit the garden! Great service and great food!

The food was very nice, albeit the portions were quite small. The new owner has only just taken over so I am not being too critical, however the service was very slow. The owner mentioned they were three staff down so this is probably why. We sat in the garden in the large marquee. This was all very chicee and quite nice, but the actual pub was empty and closed.

We were recommended a list of pubs by a friend who lives locally and we were not disappointed. This beautiful old pub has just reopened and has the most amazing, covered outdoor space. We had Sunday lunch and a bottle of wine but this was no ordinary roast dinner. All the cooking is done outside by a very talented chef and my wife's roast chicken and my beef were both so tasty. The chicken is brined before cooking and then cooked in a smoker and the flavour was amazing. Add the friendly staff to this mix and you've got a totally superb experience. We just wished we lived closer so we could come here more often.

What a fabulous surprise we had today when we booked for Sunday lunch. Hadn’t been here for a few years and thought it was closed at first when we arrived a little before our allotted time of 12.30 and the front doors were closed. We ventured around to the rear garden and were astonished to see the most amazing HUGE outdoor teepee style marquee in the garden and what a glorious space it was. Easily holding 150-200 covers with fabulous furniture, comfy sofas in a chill-out area, a bar and an outdoor kitchen opposite, and still the garden had enough space for picnic tables and a children’s play area. Food was excellent, so was the service, prices were reasonable, and the whole vibe was simply sublime. Quite simply one of the nicest Sunday lunches we have had in a while. We met the new owner Michael who explained he had only taken over three weeks earlier. Highly recommend and I will be pursuing my bosses to use it for a future staff event! We will be back ❤️

Amazing date night - thank you very much! Food was outstanding - highly recommend the steak & Caesar salad, and the venison burger. Beautiful setting - will be back with kids & dog next time :-)

We had an absolutely amazing lunch at Tobi’s secret garden at the back of the pub. The staff were all super friendly and the food excellent. We will definitely be back!

Lovly family pub amd great food

We came here recently for Sunday lunch and we had a lovely experience. We were sat in the conservatory, we had our little dog with us and she was made very welcome. We went straight for the mains, we chose the beef which I must say was absolutely delicious. The Yorkshires, roasties and gravy was superb but the vegetables were a touch too al dente for our liking. The red cabbage, parsnips and sweet potatoes were perfect it was just the carrots and brocoli that were crunchy, but saying this we thoroughly enjoyed our meal. Puddings were amazing, delicious apple crumble and home made custard and a huge slab of sticky toffee pudding with ice cream was divine. We would definitely return, such a lovely little village with this amazing pub.

A cosy old pub. How country pubs used to be. Mismatched comfortable furniture and a friendly atmosphere. Dogs and kids were welcome. We had a Sunday lunch. I had curried parsnip and cauliflower soup with bread and marmite and leek butter. It was delicious. My partner had scotch egg which was soft and runny and on a bed of lovely piccalilli. I had the roast chicken, which was tasty and moist. All veg perfectely cooked and seasoned, with crispy fluffy potatoes. My partner had a burger which he really enjoyed. Chef clearly knows how to cook, present and importantly season food. Thank you it was a wonderful lunch. Serving staff were friendly and attentive. It was a busy service but everything was lovely.

Came with my mum and sister for an early mother’s day lunch (after a lovely but cold and wet Alpaca walk at Bozedon farm). The outside looked so so, but we had booked based on previous food review and we were not disppointed. The food was absolutely delicious we had steak/venison/hallumi burger and deserts. The chef/manager (Canadian) came out to ask how our meal was and if we had any feedback. He told us a bit about his cheffing history (Fat Duck; Four Seasons etc) and his plans for the pub. The only reason it didn’t get 5 stars was it wasn’t warm enough inside unfortunately due to the glass front for the fire having broken the day before so they couldn’t turn that on. A fan heater was there instead, which helped, but not quite the same. Would definitely recommend and go back again.

Delicious Sunday roast in a historical and cosy country pub filled with families, locals and visitors. Big portions! Good to be told that next time we found order smaller portions as we left most of the vegetable on our plate. Highly recommend it but book as they tend to get very busy on Sunday.

A great local pub. Good selection of cask ale. Lovely staff. Wood burning stoves. Dog friendly. Great pub food available. May need to book if dining. Lots of parking space. Fantastic! Highly recommend.

We love this pub so decided to make a.booking for my husband's birthday. We came along with our daughter yesterday 28th. The booking was for later in the day as we were busy and couldn't get there any earlier. All seemed well upon arrival, we ordered our drinks and all decided to have the chicken roast. Well that was a mistake. I like my veg with a slight crunch however, this is no exaggeration, the broccoli was raw, the carrots were far too crunchy, the cauliflower cheese was also raw and had zero cheese on it, the Yorkshire pudding was cremated, my daughter had the same and no gravy. It was appalling. I waited a while until the waitress came over and told her how poor it was and that I didn't want another roast, she made no attempt to offer anything else just said we will remove it from the bill. My daughter didn't eat hers either, again, this was removed from the bill but that's not the point. It was a birthday lunch and there was no care and not one person seemed bothered that 2 out of 3 diners left with no food. It was a real shame as we loved coming for food but will think twice before coming again.

For the past 2 weeks I have walked 6.4 mile round hike - The Old Boot Inn being a halfway stop over. Lovely to be warmed up by the fire and refreshed with hot chocolate + fresh biscuit (not supplied on prior visit). Friendly, clean with sophisticated ambience. 👌

THE place for an awesome Sunday lunch experience. Staff are friendly and attentive and the food is amazing. Really nice and relaxed atmosphere with a great garden to enjoy.

Stopped here after a muddy walk with friends and our dogs and were put in a lovely snug area with log burner. Food and service were excellent

Fabulous roast ..,,just love coming here.. Food fabulous and staff great no better way to spend a cold sunday. Fires 🔥 lovely

We had a lovely Sunday lunch with generous portions, tasty veg and well cooked meat. The staff were helpful with my questions about gluten free options and there were plenty so I didn't miss out!

We went for a Friday night drink and ended up staying for food, which was delicious. Lovely pub, lovely atmosphere, it was busy but we could still hear each other talking. We will return

LOVED it! Great food, great atmosphere, great location! The fire was going which made it lovely and cosy. We were welcomed in and will definitely be back soon 👌

Great spot with the most friendly staff, pet friendly and great outdoor garden area when the weather is nice. The food is first class - we loved the duck cottage pie and the fish & chips. 10/10 from us! ⭐️👌

Lovely evening meal at the Boot. The duck shepherds pie was particularly tasty. Good service in a lovely village pub atmosphere.

I lovely friendly pub. Good range of ale and lager as well as a couple of ciders. (We didn't have food, so no rating)

Charming pub with fantastic views. We didn't eat but there were plenty of eaters there.

Shame there wasn't any delicious Loose Cannon beer on tap. Food was excellent though.

Do not recommend to anyone with allergies. The menu only had allergies listed for some items. Some letters did not correspond to the allergen. On speaking to staff, items with GF were supposed to be Gluten Free, but the chef could not guarantee it was GF as they did not keep any packaging for the food and couldn't refer to the ingredients. All also cooked on one grill so would be cross contamination. Lady behind the bar with blue blouse on was as miserable as they come and only said two words during the whole order. Such a shame as the pub has a lovely setting, great atmosphere and great potential.

If anyone wants a dog park with dogs running free n a pub garden , then chance your luck here! Absolutely outrageous that they don't enforce dogs on leads where young children are playing, and people visiting that don't necessarily like dogs either. It is only a matter of time until there is incident here! We had our young border collie pup with us, when two separate dogs came right up to our pup as she sat settled on lead chewing her bone. If you want a better experience try the pub down the road (The Bull)! A much more professional establishment with a lovely garden and great food!

Excellent local in a historic village. Good selection of beers, great venue to bring family / friends / dogs and welcoming atmosphere.

Beautiful country pub with great food, service and overall atmosphere. The garden is brilliant and definitely the best place to go in the local area. We will definitely be returning !

Very delicious Sunday roast (pork roast 10/10) Nice tent outside. Service could a bit faster.

Lovely pub with an amazing outdoor area. Climbing frame for kids but only really suitable for 4 years plus. The food was lovely, no complaints from our group of 13 Dogs are also welcome and we will be returning.

did not est. had a drink. staff and atmosphere was inviting. definitely a pub to adventure to. y

I attended a friends wedding at The Old Boot and what a perfect location it was. The pubs teepee was a great setting for the reception and beautifully decorated. The food was lovely and the pub also catered for my wheat intolerance which made the day even better.

Beautiful garden, great pub food! A must if you are in the local area - a great pit stop if your walking especially as they are dog friendly!

Unplanned lunch visit Saturday, pub was busy but received great personable service from a lady Judith? Recommend the Duck Baum Rolls and accompanied an Asian Prawn baguette. Despite being obviously busy the food arrived quickly and was first class. Will be back soon I hope

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Found this pub by chance, lovely place, great food and friendly hosts! Amazing place for kids to run around!

Food was good. They could have had more coleslaw with the ribs but overall good standard. Service was poor, and the waitier said to sit they would bring menu's never turned up with them had to get our own. Service was slow at times, but they were friendly and helpful when needed.

Just had a family wedding event here. Excellent garden for such events with great selection of food and beers. Very helpful staff.

Lovely cosy pub with a fireplace. They have a big screen that they can pull down, we were able to watch the coronation here. They've got a decent selection of local beers. Food is good. Had the fish finger sandwich and chips. Cost £12 for big sandwich and decent portion of chips.

Really amazing pub - they did a great job of accommodating us as a bigger group and both the food and drink were absolutely fantastic - definitely going back!

Prima pub zoals hij moet zijn, leuke sfeer en direct contact met de locals

Great relaxed country pub which is family friendly and serves excellent food and drinks. The garden area is a delight with a huge teepee for indoor/outdoor dining. Excellent play area for the kids. Can't wait to eat there again soon.

Perfect for end of fabulous wooded and field country walks.

Arrived at 16.30 and enjoyed a couple of drinks before dinner at 18.00. Young man behind the bar very welcoming. Picked a table in the conservatory but as there was a karaoke evening due later Rebecca the owner asked if we would like to move to a more comfortable table. Laurence took our order and the food was fantastic. The entire experience was superb. Rebecca and her staff cannot be faulted. A very comfortable and welcoming pub/restaurant. Will definitely be back and will recommend to friends and family.

Stanford Dingley is a pretty village & the peacefulness & lack of traffic is a welcomed rarity but should you require parking then there are plenty of spaces directly opposite the pub in their large car park. The Old Boot Inn is a gem & you will always receive a warm welcome by the owners, the staff & even the locals. My favourite cider is on draught here which is a treat as it usually can only be found in tins & bottles. The lunch & evening menus are always exciting & mouthwatering to read with the added bonus of chef specials. The food is absolutely delicious & much is sourced from local suppliers. Great choice of starters & scrummy puddings are also on the menu. There is a log fire in the main bar area which is wonderful in winter, plenty of cozy tables for you to choose from, a conservatory area or a pretty garden to sit & relax & listen to the birds!!. Very nice indeed. The pub is very dog friendly & the village is perfect for a leisurely stroll & if you are a bit more hardcore & fancy a hike then this is a great place to start. There is so much local history to explore & Berkshire is packed with places of interest. All in all, if we want a delicious meal &/or a great place to sit & chat with friends/family then this is where we head for. It is easy to find & only a short distance from Reading & Newbury. Wonderful.

Roast was excellent, both pork and beef were great and amazing veggies. Service was a little below expectations, the kids running the show weren’t on the ball and did forget to bring the bill and more drinks. Apart from that the experience was great.

Dog friendly, good roast, rugby on.

With my daughter we had an excellent quick lunch at The Old Boot in Stanford Dingley. Excellent service and two delicious dishes - the skinny fries were outstanding, probably the best I have ever tasted - definitely order them whatever dish you have!

Unbelievably delicious food. Ive eaten at top pubs in London, Scarsdale, and Sonning, and this surpasses. They’re so humble they don’t even seem to remotely brag how amazing their food is. My mate kept repeating “this is the nicest chicken wings I had/ “this is the nicest mash ever/ venison” if he wouldn’t have said it I would have thought I was going mad. Interior is cute and standard not super stunning but the food makes this above anywhere. They should make the interior even cosier with booths etc because this place is top. It’s night apparently scenery is stunning around. Deserves 5 stars not 4.5

Excellent meal for all 4 of us. We ate in the bar area, which was very busy and a tad noisy, but that's what you would expect early in the evening. Good choice of beers from a local brewery that's always good to see.

Four of us ate there on 10th February and had a wonderful meal. Sat by a lovely log burner together with great service. Not beeb there for over 35 years - changed a bit since then.

Really lovely local pub with great food, excellent service, and family friendly.

A bit pricey for Sunday roast but it was lovely and cooked perfectly

I haven’t been to this pub for ages and I’d forgotten how fantastic it is. Friendly staff, friendly locals, delicious food and reasonably priced. We won’t leave it so long next time!

Real british old pub. Friendly staff Lawrence. Been there with the family i used to work for when i was in London 3 years ago. Good ciders and lovely peach beer.

Booked a table in the afternoon for two for early evening to celebrate our 35th wedding anniversary. It was minus one outside but lovely and warm inside with two log burners (one at either end of the pub) The pub was comfortably busy for a Monday evening. We were shown to our table next to one of the fires. We had a big starter to share, a main course, pudding and three drinks each (three wine and three local bottled Cider) and the whole bill came to £79 - great value. Fantastic friendly staff, very prompt service, beautiful food. Wonderful experience - highly recommended.

I don’t usually leave reviews but this time I have to - it was a very good lunch all round - but the perhaps the best chips I have had in my life. I will be back.

Nice place to visit. Food good friendly staff

Fact there's a pub in a village doesn't mean it's going to be open, especially on a midday. But to its credit this one was, and I enjoyed a welcome couple of pints here after walking over from Reading. Sox lager was interesting, tasting almost like a sour beer. Lovely stuff. Small dark bar rooms, attended by a charming young barman, who at one point contended skilfully with some hassle from a belligerent posh stranger. Impressive.

Best place to get a roast dinner outside of your own kitchen. Been various different times and to find out roast dinners have sold out, disappointing. Call and reserve in advance. New cheff and food is nice

Great local pub, fantastic beer garden and cosy tent for the winter. Good food and friendly service.

Had a Sunday lunch here and it was amazing. One of the best roast dinners we haven't had to cook ourselves.

Another fabulous family meal at the boot inn. The pork croquettes to start were great but the venison wellington was stunning, such a lovely treat. Staff were lovely as always, we will be back again soon

A meet up with a group (30) of South African ladies for lunch . The food and service was exceptional and the atmosphere on the huge Tee Pee was excellent.

Popped in without booking for family drinks on a wet Sunday. Had the teepee sofas (and Guess Who) to ourselves, great range of beers (and Devon Mist cider), staff really friendly. Rugby was on quietly and landlord brought over some unsolicited but incredibly welcome giant...

My first visit, with three friends, to this wonderful country pub. A friendly welcome and attentive service throughout made for great first impressions. We all opted for lunches from the ‘pub classics’ section of the menu. All well cooked and presented, just what we wanted. Excellent beers from local breweries. The pretty village of Stanford Dingley is blessed to have such a great pub.

Have a great menu superbly cooked with great service! Great log fire with comfortable seating and a conservatory or tented areas outside

Good experience with friendly staff, and good beer.

I had a lovely meal at the Old Boot. First time eating here for a little while and was pleasantly surprised. The burger and chips were really tasty, particularly liked the house relish it comes with. Staff were all really friendly. Would definitely return with...

We went back to this pub after having a great meal in July. Food was not as we remembered. Went there for a Sunday lunch, they had no roast so ordered a lot of food as we were all hungry. The dishes were just plain...

I have visited and reviewed many pubs and restaurants, but this one is very firmly at the top of the list. Fabulous Sunday Roast,great facilities for youngsters and a wonderful dining sail/tent outside. 10 out of 10. We will be back.

Was taken to outside seating that was beautiful but it was cold. Would have preferred to have been seated indoors, or at least offered the option, as it was not busy. Had my worst squid here. Weird batter, and the squid was so tough i couldn't even get pierce it with my fork. Couldn't eat it. The other 3 diners I was with, were under whelmed with their food too. Will not be returning.

Lovey pub! Great food. Very welcoming!

Great pub with an excellent garden and great service will be going again!

Lovely country pub in a beautiful village with stunning views over the countryside