The Pot Kiln

Absolutely stunning meal, totally unexpected! Quality was top-notch, flavours carefully curated. We had the tapas and felt we could have been in Spain, totally authentic. The service was also excellent - lots of vegetarian options but despite this the kitchen were happy to make tweaks to other dishes to open them up to use as options. An absolute gem of a place. Thoroughly recommended.

We only ate at the restaurant, and did not stay in a room. But our meal was fantastic and so was the service. I have a food intolerance and that was dealt with really well. I wasn’t made to feel like I was being a pain, which unfortunately you can experience at some eateries. The service was friendly and attentive and I felt like if I had any issues or concerns I could approach a staff member if I had needed to. Thankfully, I didn’t. The cost isn’t something you can avoid, it is on the more expensive side. That said, we both felt the cost versus what we received was fair. We ordered a range of tapas and mains to share, and loved everything. It’s very clear the quality of ingredients used aligns with the prices. We will definitely be returning for another visit. A lovely hidden gem, with amazing views of the Berkshire countryside to enjoy.

Great rooms - newly refurbished with large showers and comfy beds. Only downside was that there were no windows - only doors to the patio so no ventilation. Unusual tapas food with Spanish style mains. Food was good although my cod was a bit overcooked and my husband's coleslaw was bitter. Slow service - we had to get our drinks from the bar as we couldn't attract a waiter's attention and at breakfast we ended up getting our yoghurt 'starter' from the pass as we could see it sitting there! Lovely fresh honeycomb at breakfast and hit good cooked to order. We will definitely go again.

What a shame. Came here for lunch on a lovely day. First, some things were actually very good. The vegetable side dishes, the scotch egg starter. The octopus and prawn starters were pretty good as well. Unfortunately though, there were a number of things that weren’t good at all - and this ruined the experience as a whole. Our 12 hour lamb shank main was dry and overcooked which was such a shame as it was a lovely cut of meat. The drinks were all a bit ‘off’ (not sure the bartenders were getting their proportions right.) Worst of all, the service was quite unbelievably bad. Particularly so given it was not busy at all in the restaurant. Drinks were made and left to sit on the bar while wait staff stood around ignoring them doing nothing. No one asked us how our mains were (which was a particular problem because there was a problem with the lamb) One particularly clueless waiter had probably the most annoying manner of any waiter I’ve ever been served by. He did very little ‘waiting’ and a lot of swanning around thinking he was Gordon Ramsey or something. Very odd. Most disappointing of all was the manager’s attitude though. He actually walked past our table when we were discussing how the lamb was dry (it was quiet in the restaurant as I say and he definitely heard us) and he completely ignored this. I always prefer to speak to the manager if there are problems with a meal rather than just go online and complain after. I know mistakes happen and bad reviews can really damage a restaurant’s reputation. But given he clearly wasn’t interested in doing his job and rectifying a glaring issue I didn’t even bother on this occasion. We left disappointed and won’t be back.

I stopped here once for a very late-night and short stay. The hosts were very welcoming and kind, joking with me about the lateness of the hour. After a phenomenal night's sleep in a beautifully furbished room, I had the most delicious breakfast I have ever enjoyed at a hotel. I travel all across the UK for work and have stayed in well-over 100 places. This Inn is in my top three favorite places to stay and I endeavor to stay here any time I'm able to. Food? Phenomenal. Service? Generously kind. Location? Exceedingly peaceful and restful. Aesthetic? Homely and calming. This is a must-stop on your travels around Reading or anywhere off the M4!

Brilliant experience at The Pot Kiln. Service was top-notch – really friendly and helpful staff. The food was outstanding, some of the best I’ve ever had. Gorgeous views and such a relaxed, holiday-like atmosphere. The manager was especially welcoming. We’ll definitely be back – can’t recommend it enough.

Absolute gem of a place tucked away well off the beaten track. Stunning food one of the best meals I’ve had in a long time. Will certainly be heading back.

Great pub with some excellent staff- couldn't do enough for us. Dog friendly. Food was very good and a high standard of quality and presentation. Close to purdey shooting school. Ideal retreat. Would definitely stay again. Keep up the hard work guys

Ok, so maybe it was the weather (gorgeous July sunshine) or the lovely barmen, or perhaps even the surrounding fields and meadows, full of cows and flowers. This was rural Berkshire at it's bloody best. The bar is small. The food all local with a distinct leaning towards game. We ate off the bar menu and sat on one of the benches in the garden to the side. This pub is small and the gardens just big enough, but with rolling hills and fields surrounding you, you really feel like you're in the middle of the countryside. Noice. I had a divine warm goats cheese salad, with walnuts and caramelised pears. It was fit. Nuff said. Fellow dining companions had baguettes which looked delicious, especially the game sausage, and handmade wholemeal baguettes. There weren't many people there for a Saturday afternoon, could've been the World Cup or Wimbledon, whatever kept the hordes away it made our experience all the better for it. I would highly recommend for a Saturday drive in the country. A real winner. And don't look at the map here, it's completely wrong. Check out their website instead for detailed instructions. www.potkiln.org

The Pot Kiln is a lovely gastro pub with separate restaurant in a very rural location. The bar area is small, but the restaurant area is large and there is plenty of outdoor seating on a nice day. The menu proclaims a healthy set of values: everything made from scratch, locally sourced produce and locally shot game and much of it seasonal. They even run a Game and Wild Food Cookery School nearby if you want to learn how it is done Bar £6-10: Spanish omelette; 10oz local beef & Roe deer burger; medium rare venison steak on a Ciabatta roll; Ploughman's selected from mature cheddar, local ham, salt beef, pate; a rather nice sounding ham, cheese and bacon salad; and sandwiches. Set menu; weekday lunchtimes 2 courses for £12, £15 with desert. Restaurant starters £6-8: Warm salad of wood pigeon; wild Kennet crayfish bisque; dry aged Serrano ham; watercress & potato soup; Presse rabbit; pork & Foie Gras terrine; home cured Orkney Gravadlax; honey roasted beetroot salad with walnuts and English goat's cheese dressing. Restaurant mains £12-19: pavé of Kirby Roe deer with pommé puree and pepper corn sauce; roasted local wood pigeon with petit pois, sage & mustard; cassoulet with Gressingham duck, Guinea fowl & leek sausages, Barlotti beans & rosemary; Whole roast Poussin marinzated with oregano, garlic, thyme, rosemary and served with sauté potatoes; Slow braised wild rabbit with lemon, rosemary, olive oil. & garlic served with sautéed potatoes & roast courgette; Whole roaste Bilbury trout with sautéed potatoes, marsh samphire & home made aioli; for the veggies: Broad bean, fresh pea & garden herb risotto with aged parmnesan Uncharacteristically I went for the burger after the friendly barman's description of the best burger he'd ever had, it was the best one I've ever had too! Served on a plate with a small dressed oak-leaf lettuce and potato salad, the moist delicious burger was sat on a Ciabatta roll with some salad and mature Cheddar. Everything was home made, including the roll, and tasted great. If I was going to be picky the mustard based dressing on the salad in the roll was too acidic, but still Highly recommended, next time I'll try the restaurant. UPDATE: Well I made it back to the restaurant and took my boss as a thank you. We started with seafood bisque and Roe deer liver on potato, excellent. Next we shared a Roe deer haunch with garden vegetables, red cabbage, new potatoes beautiful. To finish we shared cheese and biscuits, some Taylor's port. This was all washed down with a couple of beers and a bottle of excellent Portuguese wine. Altogether the bill was £120 which is a little expensive, but it was very, very nice and more importantly my boss had a great meal and was impressed: so well worth it. The restaurant is highly recommended for a special occasion.

A gastro pub in the sticks with an emphasis on game, The Pot Kiln sounded like it had potential. Admittedly I was suffering the wrath of a new year hangover at the time so perhaps not at my most objective but the food didn't really live up to my expectation. There was nothing wrong with it per se, it was just that in my mind I imagined they may have been about to blow my socks off, yet having eaten my socks were still firmly in situ. The real bugbear of my visit was the difficulty we had in obtaining drinks. On several occasions it seems as though the waitress was purposefully averting her gaze when we tried to get her attention and this theme continued throughout our visit. In the end we resorted to walking around to the bar area ourselves and doubling up so we had a stock pile. Perhaps our waitress was having an off day, or sharing my new year hangover. Who knows, but it didn't inspire me to add The Pot Kiln to my list of "must return soon" venues.

We are so lucky to live near to the Pot Kiln. What was once a very small and traditional pub was taken on by Mike Robinson (a sort of celebrity TV chef - but please don't let that put you off). He has managed to transform it into a great small restaurant while simultaneously maintaining the feel and traditions that had made the Pot Kiln a great pub. The key to this is the locally sourced produce - often picked or caught that morning. Vegetarians may shudder at the descriptions of just how fresh some of the produce is! As one can imagine local game is a specialty and there is also a cookery school attached which focuses on this. However other tastes are also well catered for. Wines are also well-sourced and the service and atmosphere is always warm and friendly. You will need to book well in advance - particularly for the great Sunday lunches. And as Pot Kiln is situated in the middle of beautiful open countryside, you can justify over indulgence with a good walk!

The first time we visited this pub a few years ago it was written up in our guide as a simple country pub. When we arrived we found out that it had been recently bought by TV celebrity chef Mike Robinson and turned into a brilliant gastropub. The pub's down a lane all on its own, with nothing but fields and cows nearby. Very quiet. It has its own parking. Exterior is typical country pub. There are some nice walks around, through fields and woods. There's a small pub room, lots of outside picnic benches, and a nice dining room. I don't remember what we ate the first time, but it was brilliant, really tasty. The second time I made notes: my friend (who was celebrating a birthday) and I both had the wood pigeon salad with bacon and black pudding for a starter, and the slow-roasted Berkshire pork belly with roast garden veg. The others' food was all excellent as well. We had a couple of bottles of the Domaine de la Janasse Côtes-du-Rhônes that I discovered at this same pub last year (and that I've since bought two cases of). Desserts were phenomenal, too; they made a special one for the birthday-boy comprised of bits of all the best desserts on offer. Afterwards, Mike Robinson came over to chat with us. The lunch service was done, and he felt chatty, I guess. He wished our friend a happy birthday, then broke the remainder of his '85 port and then the Taylor's 20-year port, and he sat and drank it with us. As the driver, I could only sit in envy. We had a good laugh with him, though. He described the new cookery school show he's did (raising his own game deer), talked about how he raises and slaughters his deer and pigs, and he gave us a detailed tour of the pub garden. I can't promise that sort of individual attention for every group, but it really made us fond of the place.

This place is out in the country and in the winter, you may want a four wheel drive vehicle to get there as the roads can get a bit slippery. I've been here twice in the last decade. The bar is a small little room with lively locals enjoying a pint. The dining area is through a door and is much quieter. I believe the house dog (Sally I think?) is responsible for tracking some of the food since the Chef hunts the venison in the forest just a ways away from the building. The first time I went there, as we left, the dog was very happy sitting in the sun chewing on an entire half of a deer's ribcage. Gotta love a working dog getting paid off with the meat they worked for. The food was amazing the first time. It's been too long to remember what I had other than hare but I remember the second time being slightly disappointed. Sometimes you build things up too much in your head though. I thought the hare the second time was a little dry but that maybe the nature of the meat and I also was suffering from altitude sickness from flying from the US so my appetite was all over the place. I give this a solid go go go. No matter what the reviews, it's the loveliest place to go eat and walk around. You feel like you found something few people know about and it just feels special. I took a picture of a woman I used to date with the snowy hills behind and it's one of my favorite pictures. It's a special place.

Pot Kiln gets the pizza oven going on a Sunday evening, which seems a perfect way to end Fathers Day. The weather was great and the pizza excellent, if a little mean on portion control. For a tenner I'd expect more than four bites of venison, but that's really splitting hairs. The service can be a bit slower than you'd be accustomed to in a town pub, but it's all part of the charm. Anything to improve on? The owner's a bit in everyone's face. All in all 3/5

Very nice indeed, went here for a small work dinner with a few people. The food, wine & service was excellent. Would highly recommend.

If you like your food fresh, caught that morning and enjoy updated food in a traditional setting then this is a place for you. Well-designed dishes, well-presented and very tasty. The chef is hands on and takes great pride in his establishment. The atmosphere is friendly, staff are happy to advise on what to eat and know their food as well. Greta for lunch or evening occasion, but do book in advance.

This is a great place, specialising in game, and the menu varies day to day depending on what's been shot that morning. It's friendly and cosy and the food is good (and certainly fresh!). Something a little different - definitely worth a visit.

The wife and I have taken to doing longish walks with good pubs midway, Faversham-Sportsman-Whitstable being probably the best (improbably perfect) instance. This time we did Theale-Pot Kiln-Thatcham. I wanted to like the Pot Kiln, really I did. But it just didn't click. Probably our big mistake was eating in the dining room, which is much like the dining room of a retirement home designed by William Faulkner during an especially depressed and sepulchral mood. The raucous bar would have been a far better choice. I had the grouse and it was spectacular. Just gamey enough, served with a good bread sauce and house-cured ham. But the wild hare pasta was a disaster - overcooked pasta, tough meat, and little flavour. Partridge was fine but not memorable. Terrine (venison I think) tasted of fat, which I always like, but little else. I would certainly go back, but only for the bar menu and probably only on a weekday, when it wouldn't be so mobbed. Note that the location showed on the Yelp website is totally wrong - it's closer to Frilsham.

We went to The Pot Kiln to celebrate my husband's 70th birthday. It was fantastic. All four of us enjoyed our food, the service was great and we had a wonderful time.

The Pot Kiln is great place to experience game food at its best. Simple, full of flavour and a great atmosphere. I always take my family here when then come from Australia because this type of cooking really is quentisentially british. Its rare to find a place where the food is excellent, and its perfectly acceptable to have a pint (from West Berks Brewery) with your meal. Try the pave of deer, pork belly, rabbit... actually its all good.