So far I like this place but next time I will try main menu.

I visited here recently along with 7 of my work colleagues to celebrate the end of a project. We all ordered for the same table number within 7 minutes of each other. All meals came out separately over the course of an hour. Mine was due to arrive after 1 hour and 15 minutes so we asked the bar staff who replied with its being plated. After another 10 minutes I decided to ask another member of the bar staff who asked the kitchen staff. They had no awareness of my order other than what I ordered was sold out. By this time we was all ready to leave. Nice one hope and bear 🐻

Is a bit more of a gastro pub than the type of pub you'd go into for a few beers. Staff are super friendly though and the beer range is really good, far better than usual for this type of pub. Happy to spend a few hours here drinking excellent beers. The food, which is their main thing, is excellent as well. Just not a focus for me. Definitely recommend for food, or just beer. Also dog friendly.

The cosy vibe, bar & people are worth 5 stars for sure. The variety in the menu & the very nice staff make the staying very enjoyable. I’ve been to quite a lot bars in Reading but this is the best so far. Absolutely going to come again. (Quick tip - the “Posh Chicken” burger - absolutely fabulous!)

Good Christmas meal I had a while ago. Interesting flavors with their burgers but wasn't all too interested in anything else. The price matched that of London's and the burger was too dry for my liking. Maybe I'll go back again for round two to see if anything has changed but it won't be a while.

We had to wait an hour for our food. A note before we came in for our booking that this would be the case could be helpful as we would've come in and order earlier. The staff were friendly and i could tell they were doing their best to make us comfortable in the Sunday lunch chaos and the food was delicious in the end.

The Hope and Bear has been my local of choices for a few years now and for very good reason. The staff are incredibly attentive and offer amazing service. The food is incredible - fresh every time and there is an amazing selection. There is a lovely atmosphere every single time I come. Couldn’t not recommend further

Excellent place to have a lovely meal, especially a Sunday Roast. They offer a good range of food and drinks, all at a reasonable price. They were very good with covid regulations and made us feel welcomed. Highly recommended place to visit

Great service from the beginning and very professional. Very accommodating for having Coeliac. So why 4 stars? The food was a little disappointing, i emphasise little, the main concern was the mixup of my GF food. The food itself could have been better and would like to try again to be certain. Any overall experience very good.

Review update... I cannot praise the Manager, Dan, highly enough; he was kind enough to arrange a parking fine refund, which has been paid in full. If using the pub's car park, make sure you pay and display. I visited for the first time recently and was unaware that payment was required. £50.00 later, I am painfully aware. Best of luck folks.

Food is delicious, staff are very friendly and the place has a nice aesthetic. Go every Sunday for a quiz which is always good fun and friendly

We have been regular users of this pub over several years and have visited the H&B twice in the last month. First time their one and only cask ale offering had run out and wouldn't be replaced for 40 minutes. On that occasion we went to the Lyndhurst instead for a great meal and excellent beer. On the second occasion we drove to the H&B with my nephew for a meal and a pint. Their one cask ale was OK, as was the meal, but I omitted to register my car in the device concealed by the entrance and have received an £85 fine for our hour and a half stay. We won't be visiting again.

It was a nice place to have a drink, shame about the £85 parking charge for having a drink there though! Very professionally dealt with after speaking to the General Manager Dan. Will be returning for many more drinks and meals. Very friendly and helpful staff also.

Great place Greatchef , brilliant food and superbly cooked , Alfie assistant manager i belive , a credit to the whole team and Great bar staff , thank you 😊 one of Readings hidden gems 💎 food was beautifully cooked a tad expensive 😋 personally. Unless it was a five star 🌟 Gunness nicely poured and a few different beers, lots of outdoor seating and Parking

Great afternoon there, there's a pool table with the option of joining a team. They also have started Tuesday night poker with 2 table's. Lots hope this continues so 5 🌟 rating all the way.

A disappointing visit with items missing off the menu, and poor service for our vegan. After being offered dairy cheese and served the wrong cola, the vegan burger was served to the table with someone else's pigs in blankets on the plate. When a burger sauce was questioned, the staff acted very put out and asked my partner to calm down before the chef clarified. My pork roast sides were somehow cold and overcooked - probably under a hot lamp for too long. Nice pub, staff could do with some training or manners.

Really nice seating area outside on both London Road and King's Road, Really nice decor throughout inside with nice ladies loos too! Great menu and good choice of food and drinks even hot drinks too! They now have a pool table too which is great! The food is really nice, we had the cheese burger with fries, sausage and mash and chicken schnitzel with fries. All was very much enjoyed! Can't wait to go back again soon! It's also very cool inside during the hot weather!

A large group of us came for our work Xmas dinner. Needed to leave on time for a concert and the staff were extremely attentive to ensure the food, drinks and bill were received in a timely manner. The food was absolutely delicious, the group agreed it was the best pub food we have had in a long time. Atmosphere also great. Thrilled with the visit, thanks all.

Food was easy to order but took nearly an hour to arrive for basic roast dinners. When they arrived it was all like warm and the cauliflower cheese was cold . Didn’t help that the people sat by us had a dog which was climbing on the seating and they were feeding it food off their plates. Won’t return or recommend

pub with food. small car park but remember to register your car reg on the screens in the pub to avoid a fine. we ordered food and drink at the table and this worked well for us.

Food is okay. The Sunday roast sold out very quickly. We were lucky to be able to join the pub quiz last Sunday too. What a fun experience!

Always so accommodating for holding events- had our engagement party here (years ago though- happily they've kept the Abbott Cook friendly vibe!) And threw a gender reveal party here too. They did great food in decent portions and allowed us to bring our own cake and even to let off confetti cannons! They always have good gin menus and in the summer its delightful to sit outside in a nice pub garden without having to go into town. Always love it here.

Had a Christmas dinner here, the food was brilliant. The staff were friendly and the entertainment was well received by our party. Would come again!

Enjoyed our visit here. Really easy to order food & drinks on the app. It felt well spaced inside, but we were there after the big lunch rush. I had fish & chips - the fish was lovely. Not my favourite chips, but they were okay. The children's meals were good sizes & they enjoyed them. I love all the bear pictures inside! 🐻

The Hope and Bear is the local of my dreams. Great drinks with a massive range, especially their Gin. The food has always been incredible, their lunches are well priced and their evening meals and roasts are good value for money as the standards they are serving at go above and beyond. There is parking too if that's an issue and it has great bus links. I would highly recommend coming here.

Drinking collection are good,nice ambience, music is good. Frequent visitor during most of the weekends. Food variety need to enhance and kitchen supposed to be open till midnight.

Do not use this pub if you come in a car. Used the car park for 30 minutes grabbed a coffee and drink with a friend. The tablet to register the car was unresponsive. After reassurances from the staff at the time an subsequent conversations over the phone I now have a £150 fine to pay. Unacceptable and will now look at legal options to recoup my money from the company.

The staff were friendly and the pub is nice. Free parking at the pub is really useful. The service wasn't slow, but wasn't fast either. I'd happily recommend it.

You have to book ahead before visiting. I booked for a Sunday carvery lunch. There are no paper menus but a QR code that takes you to a menu online. I had a chicken Sunday lunch. The wait time wasn't too long. I received a large portion, definitely worth the money. The stuffing was definitely devine, although I wish I received more on the plate. The plate was overwhelmed by the Yorkshire Pudding and chicken. The chicken was about dry but the gravy made up for it.

Love this place. Super cool staff!! Nice food and great decor. Garden front and back. Easy access for all and paid parking out front. Thanks for being awesome 👌

As a frequent visitor over the last few years, I've seen the Hope & Bear go through a decline in recent months. The varying levels of service is like guessing what Putin is going to do next (just don't know), the quality of food is like knowing whether Gareth Bale is going to start for Real Madrid (highly unlikely to start), & the recent charge of £1.80 for a splash of Robinsons cordial with Thames' Water finest tap water was the final straw (pardon the pun). Shall not be returning anytime soon unless there's a scenario of 'Shaun of the Dead' & it's the only last pub standing.

Nice, airy dog friendly pub with friendly staff. Food is ordered through a QR code on the table which has worked with no issues every time I've used it. Menu is varied so there's something for everyone and food is good quality with good portions. There's some vegan options on the menu- one on the sandwich menu and at least two on the main menu and they're not half-hearted. Would definitely recommend trying the falafel, as they are super tasty, crispy on the outside and light on the inside. They go well as an extra to the nourish bowl.

They had less than half of the mains on the menu. When we ordered our main, we received instead a salad with mostly lettuce on it and a couple of other bits bearly noticeable (lettuce wasn't even one of the ingredients on the food we ordered!) After complaining they said they had run out of the main ingredient so decided to replace with lettuce without even asking. The manager didn't even apologise. Definitely not coming back here for overpriced salads that are not supposed to be a salad!

Excellent food and choice of drinks, nice atmosphere and very friendly staff. Good outdoor space with heaters and covered area. Amazing roasts on sunday, would recommend.

Another fantastic meal here and friendly staff. Nice to have somewhere dog friendly too. Seems difficult to achieve in Reading to get them all in one place! Well done Hope and Bear.

A very surprising place. Hadn't been there before so wasn't sure about the place, but I went with my girlfriend and we had a very lovely meal. The food was reasonably priced, it was quick and the staff were lovely! Plus the place is very nicely decorated. Highly recommend visiting!

This used to be great place I really liked. Super friendly and polite staff and good food. Things have changed thou. They seem to have more supply issues now as menu availability is very patchy. My last visit was a nail to the coffin. The staff (new faces) could do with some basic courtesy training - I felt I was disturbing them with my presence. The ordered burger was a ghost of the old days burger I used to order. Super salty slab of meat, invisible slice of cheese in squashed bun. Something I would expect to find in super saver menu of a certain chain. If the days of glory are gone so am I.