Pubs Galore - the UK pub guide

I don’t know the history of this pub, but I reckon it’s an interwar years’ construction.
With an AFC Wimbledon affiliation, there’s a boarded floor with tiled bar apron, grey wainscoting with white walls to an egg yolk yellow Anaglypta ceiling; furniture is old school stuff. Of interest are leaded glass partitions with stained glass rose depictions, all looking a bit Art Nouveau, thereafter little in the way of décor apart from hanging multi-coloured frilly plastic things which looked like pairs of knickers. There’s silent multi-TV showing unwatched sport, then quite loudish music, enjoyed by a mixed local crowd, though few compared to neighbouring pubs on my Sunday evening visit.
There was just one solitary cask here, Twickenham’s The Light, £2.75 a half and just about ok – I’d have not said the same if presented with a whole pint – served by an attentive barman.
There’s a decent pub lurking somewhere in here; ditching the TVs, frilly knickers and getting in a wider and more imaginative cask lineup would raise the score a fair bit.

As described by Blackthorn, below, this rather splendid building currently houses the Bristol branch of the Dirty Martini chain, a brand aimed at the younger, more affluent clientele, although it tends equally to attract the excesses of hen nights and those with aspirations to a level of modern sophistication they simply cannot meet. Over-priced cocktails are offset by daily Happy Hours, which means the illiterati and inumerati who form their core customer base don't save anything, they just drink more. Apart from the herds of whoopers there were one or two uncomfortable-looking relatives on the fringes, but there was nothing convivial or inclusive about the atmosphere, while various 'influencers' (ie entitled spongers) tried to blag free drinks and raised the tension when refused. No real or craft ales, just Peroni, and no-one seemed to be drinking that. Any time, any place, anywhere, just not here.

Sadly Mr and Mrs No-Nonsense moved on a while ago. Whilst the pub continues to do 2-3 cask, I was pretty unimpressed by the quality dispensed the other week.

April 2017
This place is now one Reading suburb's better ale venues after the installation of two no-nonsense licensees a few years back. The interior and exterior have both had a big makeover. There are up to four ales of good quality with a fairly varied selection (within a list) plus a cider (Westons Scrumpy). The focus is on making the place a `proper community local'. It's busy (previously I'd never seen more than half a dozen people) with a good customer mix. Staff are polite and on-the-ball, a family-run concern. The pub runs pool teams and has a quiz night on Tuesdays. Hot food is available at weekends and sandwiches are available during the week. It can be reached easily by taking bus 33 from Reading station and is worth a trip out there if you’re local to the area.

January 2009
A bit of weird one - this is located away from Tilehurst town and is in the leafier suburbs, up a little hill. I was certainly expecting something good when I got off the bus but was pretty disappointed when I got there on my visit just before Christmas. It was unkempt outside and felt like a very low-grade local inside, split over two levels but with none of the attendant intrigue one might expect. The ambience and general feel of the place wasn't at all welcoming, especially the bright neon ‘Drugs will not be tolerated’ signs – a sure sign of a drugs problem! Two ales on offer, both Courage, condition poor. Could be a brilliant community pub in the right hands, I am surprised that no-one has made the effort.

Here still another 5 years after PSM’s review at least! Nice aspect to this place, light and airy a stone’s throw from first venue of evening and hence Sydenham station! Quite reasonably sized rectangular space around bar on back wall on entering from all sides, with some pleasant seating area out the front (busy road but less frenetic than further down Sydenham Rd). Inside there are a mixture of seating choices, but essentially they fill the area inside the pub in close proximity. Fine of a quiet evening like tonight but could imagine this place the outdoor be noisy on a busy evening.

Single hand pump offering Wimbledon Common bitter, well kept and my enjoyable tipple on my visit. Three others non-operational. Plenty of keg choices, a couple of Battersea options, Hepcat as well as more regular choices.

This is probably a 5.5 easily convertible to a 6 if it was proved there were more cask choices usually available. At least his confirmed to the standard model of me not being on the younger end of the age scale for a London pub on any day of the week. however it was a 5 based on my visit tonight.

Now called Aurora. An Indian restaurant.