The Reading Room

My husband chose this place to celebrate our anniversary this year, he saw they serve oysters (and I love oysters). They don’t serve oyster any day but Fridays and Saturdays, unfortunately. We tried to order some with not success so worth noting here. After few seconds of disappointment we decided to choose our dishes and we both made great choices. Sophisticated dishes e great taste. They did offer a complimentary starter with bread and herb butter which was great and another started which I don’t remember the name but not for our taste. For desert, his choice was the dark chocolate option and he loved it. To conclude we had a nice “Happy Anniversary” message. Service was good. It was great choice for our anniversary celebration, thanks.

Good restaurant in a very elegant venue in Reading. We got the 7 dishes taste menu for approx 90-100 £ with the drinks. The waiter presented every dish and offered us a nice dinner experience. Price-quality was ok, for a tasting menu which can be much more expensive in other places. The food was not perfect, for example the monkfish could have been better, but in general we enjoyed the dinner and had a great time there.

Overall a pleasant experience I 100% loved the music and the vibe Food was ok, nothing too special and a bit too dry for my tastes I wish there would have been more approaching to the table, service was minimal and we had to put out coats on the sofa as the waiter didn’t ask to hang them for us Been here for the afternoon tea, I had GF option and my friend pescatarian

A lovely afternoon tea had at the Reading Room this afternoon. A variety of fresh sandwiches, two varieties of scone (plain and cranberry) and a great selection of bite sized cakes too. Requesting an extra serving of clotted cream wasn’t a problem - and it was provided without any additional charge. Service here was very good from the entire team - from the moment we arrived to the moment we left. We were talked through all of the food options in front of us and our enjoyment of the tea was ensured as well. As afternoon tea goes, the price here is a little higher than usual, but for the quality of the food, the excellent service and the wonderful setting, it was worth every penny. And the nicest touch was the ‘happy birthday’ plate with a truffle for each of us.

I would go as far as to say this was the best meal I've had in Reading. Really really good. Had a meal there with my pregnant wife and parents. Food was really great, every dish and every course. Plated beautifully, portioned perfectly. I'm a chef, I would know. Staff were excellent, attentive without being overbearing, all clearly knew the menu inside out, explained each dish beautifully and ensured every aspect of my pregnant wife's meal was suitable and safe. Even went out of their way to make special mocktails for her. Really went the extra mile and I was hugely impressed. Really comprehensive and quality drinks menu. Look forward to my next visit. 5****** 🙏

The Reading Room really is a bit of a mixed bag. The room and decor are nice, although sometimes if you’re in the “back section” near the outdoor area you can feel unseen by waiters. Food is very good, but the menu hardly changes at all, they really could do with a seasonal or frequently changing menu. Afternoon tea is nice outdoors in the summer. Overall service is patchy, some staff are very good, some less attentive. There are a lack of quality dining options in Reading, this is probably one of the only ones in the town centre.