Best restaurant in Reading area

Hello my lovelies! I hope you are well and having a nice, relaxing weekend. I don’t know about you, but I feel that this weekend I am sleeping like there’s no tomorrow. After my boss mentioned that I looked tired during the week – which I don’t think it’s the case, but anyways – I think I overdid it today, as I slept for almost three hours during my siesta! My boyfriend kept making fun of me and I think that I took relax to a whole new level, haha! Don’t get me wrong, I am sad to see my weekend go and go back to work on Monday though! C’est la vie, no?

Today I want to talk to you about a fantastic restaurant I had the opportunity to visit last week, called “The Herd”. Located in Pangbourne, a large village just 6 miles away from Reading, The Herd is a restaurant with a comfortable atmosphere and delicious cuisine. It is actually one of the best steakhouses I’ve been in the UK! The first thing you are going to notice as soon as you arrive is the metal elephant gracing the entrance of the restaurant. This is because The Herd is on the ground floor of the Elephant Hotel, making it a convenient solution if you’ve eaten too much (and trust me, you will!)

The Herd is literally two minutes away from Pangbourne train station and you can reach it from Reading within 10 minutes, while the ticket costs £4.00. So, as you can see, if you do live in Reading, it is a nice alternative to a Saturday dinner night out. For my fellow Londoners, you can easily make it a day out and visit Pangbourne and book a table for an early dinner at The Herd and catch a late train for London Paddington. I am telling you, you will not come to regret this decision!

What amazed me as soon as I entered was the comfortable atmosphere and surroundings. Dominated by wood, it gave out warmth and this homey feeling, without being boring. Even though we arrived quite early, and were frozen because of the rain outside (okay, I am slightly exaggerating, as it was drizzling), we were seated immediately. Our table was excellently set with a jug of ice water and quite at the back, close to the open fire. Did I forget to mention that your steaks are cooked exactly the way you want them in front of you on an open fire? You can see all the prep and cooking the chef is doing right in front of you, which earns them huge points in their favour, in my opinion at least!

So, even if we were sitting quite close to the fire, we weren’t bothered even a second from the heat or the smell of the meat. The air was clear, no hint of smoke, so that made it perfect! We started with a nice, refreshing salad with tomato, mozzarella and basil, which was tasty and with just the right amount of dressing without it being overwhelming or overpowering. The main event was of course the steaks, my sirloin and my boyfriend’s T-bone. Along with your steak, you can select your potatoes, chips or roasted, and rubs and sauces. We thought we could try both types of potatoes, so I chose roast potatoes, while my boyfriend had hand-cut chips. Both were cooked to perfection, however the big surprise was my roast potatoes, as they weren’t dry at all; rather succulent and fluffy inside. My rosemary and garlic rub was very subtle, however not everyone agreed with that!

I cannot find any words to describe how tasty our dinner was and how much we enjoyed it! Everything was cooked just right and we had no complaints whatsoever! This may be partly because of the competence of the kitchen staff and may well be because of the products used. The wood is locally sourced, and the same goes for the steaks, as the animals are fed using farms own crops, according to their website. This is important for the quality of food provided, which I am telling you is excellent in any case!

After we finished our mains, it was time to end this dinner on a high note, so we chose desserts as well. The problem with that was instead of choosing one to share, we selected two, so we left quite full! Both of them were refreshing and delectable (actually both were fruit-based), ideal after all the meat we had. In general, we had a lovely dinner and everything we’ve tasted was delicious. We are definitely going to be back (the countdown to Easter Sunday dinner is on!), because this restaurant is one of the best I’ve tried. It’s good to book a table beforehand, as I’d say that spontaneous dinner is not on the cards.

From the friendly staff to the amazing dinner service, The Herd is a perfect choice for dinner in the Reading area. The warm atmosphere, the way the meat is cooked and the high quality of produce, makes the whole experience an unforgettable one, not only for couples, but also for a whole family.

Till next time,

Sofia-Maria