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“Jazz on Sundays”
Review of Hope And Bear

Hope And Bear
153 London Road, Reading RG1 5DE, England
+44 118 935 4095
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Ranked #103 of 680 Restaurants in Reading
308 Reviews
Price range: US$13 - US$19
Cuisines: British, Pub, Gastropub
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Restaurant details
Dining options: Breakfast, After-hours, Reservations
Description: The Hope & Bear stands proud on Cemetery Junction, just a short walk away from Reading town centre. Airy and spacious as well as intimate and welcoming, the Hope & Bear is the perfect setting for a laid-back yet distinctly memorable drinking and dining experience. Whether you’re looking for a lazy lunch, family dinner or social eats and treats with friends, the Hope & Bear offers tempting and flavoursome food, a diverse and explorative drinks menu and an authentic, homely atmosphere to suit all occasions. Dog-friendly and boasting an open fire for those winter months, the Hope & Bear prides itself on its well-kept beer gardens, offering ample comfy seating for up to 150 people as well as outdoor heating for when the weather is a little more Britain than Bahamas. Whilst the Hope & Bear’s interior blends the traditional with the contemporary, its outdoor space offers the perfect spot for al-fresco dining or just a glass of something special on a sunny afternoon.
Reviewed 24 October 2016
Jazz on Sundays

Visited on Sunday 23rd Oct. Again, a great performance by the Stuart Henderson trio. Stuart on flugelhorn and trumpet, Adrian Sharon, keyboard (Roland R700sx) and a very talented young lady on double bass. Standards included "The way you look tonight", "Tea for two", "Misty", "Scrapple from the apple ", "Song for my father" and "Take the A train". The trio will do requests. Friendly bar staff and the ale I was drinking, Purity UBU, was in excellent condition. For me, this the place to be for quality food and drink on a Sunday and the jazz comes free. No door charge.

Date of visit: October 2016
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abbotcook, General Manager at Hope And Bear, responded to this reviewResponded 31 October 2016

Hi Iain M

Thank you for taking the time to review one of your recent visits to us, and I know how pleased you are that we have the live jazz music back up an running on a Sunday. I'll be sure to pass your comments, and my thanks, on to Stu (if he hasn't seen them already) and look forward to seeing you again soon.

Kind Regards
Luke

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Reviews (307)
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179 - 183 of 308 reviews

Reviewed 23 October 2016 via mobile
So much choice

This place is excellent. It looks nothing from the outside but once in it is comfortable, friendly and provides a great menu. We have never had a bad meal in there. I thoroughly recommend this place.

Date of visit: October 2016
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abbotcook, General Manager at Hope And Bear, responded to this reviewResponded 31 October 2016

Hi dubzmike

Thank you for reviewing us on TripAdvisor recently, it's great when I can pass on our guests comments to the team and I'll be sure to mention this to the chefs over the coming days. Hopefully you've sampled parts of the new menu and they live up to our high standards so far.

I look forward to seeing you soon

Kind Regards
Luke

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Reviewed 1 October 2016 via mobile
Pub dinner

Great choices not your typical pub fare. Great beer, reasonable prices, load jukebox music on the downside nice pub refurb, great staff good service.

Date of visit: October 2016
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abbotcook, General Manager at Hope And Bear, responded to this reviewResponded 8 October 2016

Hi eejay18253

Thank you for taking the time to review us on TripAdvisor recently, it is much appreciated.

Thank you for your comments around the beers, staff and service and you'll be pleasantly surprised that we haven't had a refurb in 7 years...we just try to keep to pub a little different to most. We look forward to seeing you again soon!

Luke

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Reviewed 16 September 2016
Disappointing food

I love going to the Abbot Cook for casual drinks with friends because it has a good range of beers and ciders and a great atmosphere. Unfortunately I'm usually disappointed by the food — most recently I had ordered the game, venison and cider pie which came overcooked. Sadly it was also really quite bland and definitely lacked the richness you associate with game and venison.

Date of visit: September 2016
    • Value
    • Service
    • Food
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abbotcook, General Manager at Hope And Bear, responded to this reviewResponded 27 September 2016

Hi JDRose37,

Thank you for taking the time to review your recent visit with us. Following your feedback we have taken the decision to remove the venison pie from our menu, over the coming weeks, as food quality is of the highest importance to us. We have a new menu coming mid October and from feedback such as yours we are able to adapt and change our menu to best suit our guests needs, so thank you very much for raising this with us and can only apologise that the pie didn't exceed expectations, let alone pass them.

I would love to see you back in to try different parts of the menu in the future, and am extremely pleased that you enjoy the atmosphere as well as our beers and ciders range.

Kind Regards
Luke

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Reviewed 2 September 2016 via mobile
Amazing food.

We tryed 3 of the Starters at Abbot Cook. Squid, Arancini Balls and Skewers. All taste amazing. Thank You.

Date of visit: April 2016
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This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
Abbotcook, General Manager at Hope And Bear, responded to this reviewResponded 27 September 2016

Hi Stefanescu D

Thank you for taking the time to review us on TripAdvisor, we're very happy that you enjoyed the sharing plates on your recent visit and would love to see you down here again soon

Regards
Luke

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