The Cunning Man. in West Berkshire

Nice pub, busy. Great in the summer.

Lovely pub but the management is struggling to deliver qood service at busy times. If you forget the long wait for a table followed by wait 30min to get served, and stressed staff running like headless chickens, it’s a great. Genuine portions and tasty food, but overall, we didn’t find the visit very relaxing having to try hard to chat staff attention.

A very large pub with real fires, really nice inside and would have given 5 stars for atmosphere but it was a bit cold kept jacket on all evening. Food and service poor to ridiculous. Sat down at around 7pm, pub very busy most tables already taken, received main meal at 8.55pm. They had a deal, 50% off main meals, the deal was actually 50% main meals off! Of our party of 6, 5 had 3rd choice main meals, at least 6 main meals were not available. Apparently they had not considered that the special offer would have made them busy. Bad enough but you only found out what was unavailable when the waiter enters you request into his tablet. The computer says No. So the waiter is taking our first order, no sorry choose again OK I will have, tapping away at the tablet, No sorry next. I pointed out that it would have been better for everybody if we were told what if off in advance. His response was I have found out the same time as you,i.e when I tap in to tablet.Computer software designed by a genius. Apparently it is the chefs job to tell the waiting staff. Food was OK to poor, fish caked worse than Tesco’s, all of the starters served on ice cold plates with brown salad, obviously stored in a cooler for long periods and then the starter, pate and chicken skewers added. Have used the Vintage Inn chains regularly, first time here and worst experience. Would try again but not on a special deal period. For additional information as requested I contacted the pub directly, was brushed off, no explanation as to why any of these problems occurred. I think they add it when they get a poor review to give the impression that this so rare they want to look at in more detail, which they don’t. Wasted my time.

Great food at a great price! Staff were friendly and attentive. Cozy atmosphere too. Shoutout to Millie our server!! (P.s. please make sure she gets her drink!)

Beautiful pub with wonderful food and friendly staff. Prices are as expected for an establishment of this quality, but with that said, the food still outdid expectations. Millie was also wonderful, and made sure we were taken care of, thanks!

Such a lovely, friendly atmosphere in the Cunning Man! The food was out of this world and reasonably priced, made even better by our amazing server Alex, who went out of his way to make sure we felt welcomed 🤩 If you want a pub that can do lovely chilled out dining, a massive range of drinks, and fires all around…this is the place to be

Debz served us and made our little girls birthday meal extra special! Thank you!

The atmosphere of the place is very warm and nice, the food is above average, although not very impressive. The Pinot served here is a truly balanced wine and sometimes you might consider going there just for that.

Our family had a great lunch in Cunning Man. Debs is really attentive. She provided excellent service. We will definitely come back again.

I have had a very enjoyable meal, everything and all food are just fantastic and flawless. The staff - Debs is wonderful, provide us a 5*service, being so polite and helpful for all the questions we had. She is so welcoming which makes us very pleasant and we will be definitely visiting again.

Debs is very friendly and politely. very good service 👏👏 we enjoy to have lunch here and will back soon.

Visit down memory lane from the area. How very nice it's been kept. Lovley food and great staff.

Nice and cosy. Delicious food. Kind people. Quiet musing in a background. Worm as I love to seat next to amazing fireplace. Fully recommended.

Excellent service & food at this popular location plus took advantage of the offers.

We had Millie as our server, she was lovely. The food is out of this world delicious and a very loverly setting x definitely be making this a regular treat x

visited the cunning man for the first time in a few years with the extended family for a birthday dinner. extreme weather meant the carpark was partially flooded but the pub rang us to let us know beforehand. the food was excellent and the server (taylor) was able to deal with our challenging dietary requirements with ease. we felt very well looked after and will certainly visit again in the future

Had a lovely meal to celebrate my husbands birthday, service excellent, Franklin was our friendly server and he was excellent to our needs.

This was a spontaneous visit at lunchtime as we had to abort our canal walk due to flooding. We expected the place to be very quiet but even for a dull day in January there were quite a few customers and a cosy atmosphere. Our waiter, Franklin, was friendly and helpful and the service was quick. We had fish & chips, pie of the day (steak and venison) and aubergine gratin. Large portions, served hot. It was quite chilly when we arrived (it was icy outside) but we soon warmed up next to the open fire. A very enjoyable experience all round.

The food was great, very tasty! The pub has a nice atmosphere, and we enjoyed the vibe. However, as a large group, we requested separate tabs but were told we could divide the bill at the end, which turned into quite a mess. Some bundled courses were mixed up, and splitting the bill as planned wasn’t possible. A better payment system for larger groups would be appreciated. On a positive note, the pub is pet-friendly and has a huge garden, making it a spot we’d definitely return to in better weather.

We came for a Sunday dinner and everything was soo lovely! We were welcomed warmly and there was a warm and friendly atmosphere. The roast beef was very tasty and tender! Everything was so delicious! The service was great! I will definitely be back, thank you!

We had very good food with amazing service. Thank you to Deb3, she deserves 5*** She was attentive, helpful and friendly.

Had a lovely farewell dinner here for my son before he returned home after his visit. Everyone enjoyed their meals, and the ambiance of the restaurant was lovely! It was a cold evening and they had cosy fires going to warm up the place which was much appreciated. The staff were friendly and our server Dan was both friendly and efficient. Overall, a lovely experience and we shall be returning!

We booked christmas day for dinner. 15 of us. Amazing. Staff were amazing as we're the food. Great atmosphere. Very helpful in the lead up to the day as well.

We had such a lovely meal when we came down we had pork belly it was amazing Alex looked after us and Sajan cooked the food.

Fabulous food and drink. Helpful and friendly staff. Very highly recommended. Margot is a wonderful waitress.

Such a lovely place, nicely situated, with a free parking! We have been there for a New Year's Day lunch and it was really nice, still Chrismassy, warm, with fireplaces on. My burger and chips wer very tasty. Ordered Pavlova for dessert and it was nice but a bit too big! I have also ordered the passion fruit martini, which was tasty but no passion fruit on it and was served without a straw, that is a small minus. I really recommending this place for a tasty English meal.🙂

The meal was really good, first time out in a long time, and the service, by our waitress Zoe, was top notch, highly recommended.

Very underwhelming food experience. I had the 3 course festive menu. Veg was undercooked. Brussels were like bullets. Very poor. The wait time between starter and main course was 1hr 45 minutes. That's a long wait between courses. I complained about this and the server said they would get our dessert out asap. Yes they did but the crumble was cold in the middle. On checking the bill we noticed 2 other things were put on our bill which wasn't ordered by ourselves. They were taken off but luckily we checked. Used to love it here but seems to have gone down hill recently. I won't be returning

Great service from Debs as usual very friendly and very welcoming

The service and food were excellent. Very organised and efficient despite the pub being very busy. Very good value for money.

Went for Christmas Dinner. Nice dinner but was very rushed. Not enough time between courses and was told by staff that they were on a very tight schedule when we told them everything was to rushed.

It’s such a beautiful pub it always has pretty lights so the perfect place to go out for Christmas dinner Food was so disappointing It was essentially a Luke warm bad roast dinner no Christmas sparkle to the food all Veg was bland, potatoes rubbery pigs in blankets were cooked but looked raw , no sauces such as cranberry/ bread sauce offered Soup starter was ok but no butter with the bread Beef wellington pastry was soggy Crumble was ok but topping undercooked and the smallest boat of custard served with it I felt let down, with the price paid I expected more. Christmas dinner is supposed to be indulgent but this was far from it I wouldn’t return for Christmas dinner there again

Did not have food, beer great, service very friendly, will definatly visit again.

I've been here a good few times. On this occasion, it was for Sunday lunch, just before Christmas. The food is always good. A little late and not as hot as usual today. The place was packed and noisy (kids and larger parties). That's not the restaurant's fault, of course. Our server was Lucy though and she was exceptional. Attentive, engaging and obviously doing her very best in clearly trying circumstances.

Great atmosphere and Taylor was very attentive. Highly recommended.

Very nice meal and brilliant service from Emma tonight.

We live locally and have visited twice recently after not eating here for a number of years. We enjoyed both visits. The food and service were very good, the pub looks lovely for Christmas. I'd like to mention the great service from Taylor at lunch time today.

Emma did a great job and the foods is fantastic ! We do enjoy it ☺️

Emma was brilliant. Made our experience super special

Lush food, and brilliant service this evening by Emma!

Had a great Time here . Brilliant atmosphere and really good food . And my server franklin was top notch . Well mannered and polite .

Very good service our first Xmas do as students and would recommend as it was a group of 17 of us . But yes 10/10 food was amazing

Great food and service as usual

Everyone was really nice, helpful and kind. Had a great night and would happily go back

The menu is good, and the food is cooked really well, but in my opinion, the staff make it. Twice we have been here to celebrate birthdays, and the staff have been amazing Very accommodating and friendly. They couldn't do enough for us.

If you check my profile, you'll see that I tend to give 5 stars reviews quite easily, while I usually don't bother writing a review when things doesn't go as expected. This time I feel it calls for an exception. The pub wasn't crowded and we were 7 adults and 2 kids. Three of us ordered the fillet, blue. The other went for burgers and one for a King Prawns skewer. They were out of ribeye, roasts and lamb rump. The wait for really long, I'd say around 40 minutes. All 3 fillets came between medium and well done, most likely because the meat itself was about to rot, as despite been overcooked there was still a hint of a smell that fresh meat is not supposed to have. The burgers, while they looked good, they were average at best. The King Prawns were rather small (more shrimps that king prawns) and, like the meat, they also smelled a bit funky. When the meat arrived we told the server it was not cooked like we ordered, yet we said we were going to have it anyway, because we are nice and agreeable people and because we were rather hungry and the wait was already long enough. Anyway, we showed the server that the fillets was overcooked and she agreed and acknowledged. When the bill arrived there was no discount of sort.

Fantastic service from Dan our waiter during the busy Christmas period. Good food with lovely surroundings.

We had a large group booking for the festive menu. We had a separate area and the food was lovely. Our waitress Emma was great with making sure everything was as it should be!

Unfortunately, the experience was far from satisfactory. Despite the restaurant being half-empty, the wait time was inexplicably long. Once seated, we were disappointed by the food quality. The dishes not only lacked freshness—some even had an off-putting smell that suggested poor refrigeration—but all three of the fillets we ordered were overcooked. We brought this to the attention of our server, who acknowledged the issue but made no effort to rectify it, such as offering to remake the dish or providing a discount. For the high prices charged, I expected a much better standard of both food and service.

Lovely and cosy festive atmosphere. The food was good. Kerry gave great customer service and was very attentive. Even though she was rushed off her feet she still had a smile on her face and enjoying the moment.

Yet another great visit, food delicious and staff friendly and polite. Lovely atmosphere in the place and always very pretty decorations.

Quite expensive and terrible service, with servers bringing the wrong things multiple times and extremely slow service. Food was OK and correctly customised to order.

Excellant food, staff and atmosphere

Good beer and decent pub grub at reasonable price

Very pleasant starter and mail course. Very good service from Deepika

Only popped in briefly (drink and a bite to eat), however a good vibe and delicious food.

Visited today lunchtime,for a festive lunch prebookedfor a family of 20 people. I can not praise you enough ,the food and service was wonderful well done to the chef ,servers,barstaff everything was brilliant. Thankyou so much for helping to make a special family memory. From happy grandparents.xx

Another great evening at the Cunningman. The food was delicious and the service was very quick and pleasant

First visit. Great place to go for a Christmas meal gathering Friendly service. Good menu choice.

Everything was great - staff were wonderful and food was excellent. We'll definitely be back.

Wonderful atmosphere and the service first rate

Lovely pub, nice and cosy & Christmassy. Great service & food, cater well for gluten & dairy free.

Best place for a British Pub Meal. Best time to visit is the summer and you can walk along the canal from the town centre, all the way to the pub. Great for families with children As for the meal, they are all brilliant.

The food was delicious, good portion sizes for the price, left feeling full!! Holly was lovely, nothing was a bother and she always had a smile!

Really nicely decorated, food was filling and tasty, our sever Margot (and a guy with a Berserk tattoo, didn't catch his name!) were great :)

A lovely experience at The Cunning Man. Our waitress, Margot was great. She made my daughter feel at ease with her milk allergy. The food we had was fantastic- especially the beef rib bourguignon - really exceptional. We will be back!

Came for cosy Sunday lunch with friends with dietary requirements and the team went above and beyond to help us find delicious meals we could all have. So friendly, welcoming and helpful. Thanks!

The food was amazing! Such a beautiful pub and Margot was helpful and lovely:)

Very nice meal, everything piping hot and all served at the same time! Excellent food! Would highly recommend! Fantastic service by Taylor!

Franklin was amazing today, very polite and helpful :)

Booked and shown to table ordered food and waited and waited 50 mins later partner asked a waiter as our waitress had disappeared when our food would be coming he appeared with 2 plates almost immediately and I said this is not what I ordered he went to get correct order came back said it wasn’t there the food we did have had been sitting around as it was almost cold so disappointed won’t be back

Lovely place and delicious food. Awesome service from Margot, thank you very much!

We stopped for lunch at the Cunning Man while walking the Kennet & Avon Canal. Pub is lovely and right next to the canal walk. Beer was good, food was excellent, and staff were very friendly and helpful.

Really friendly server, was served quickly with a smile, came back to check on how our food was and how pudding was. Would certainly recommend to others and would visit again. Excellent pudding- serverd by Millie

Stopped for a quick drink whilst out for a walk along the canal. Lovely garden. Meals are amazing too, been a couple of times recently with different family members and they can always cater for everyone whatever the group size.

Excellent service from Holly today.

Debs who served us was very friendly and helpful

Popped in on my walk from Theale and had the Sunday roast belly pork which was delicious. I sat in the bar area and ordered my food and drink from the bar. There was a table service area available too. Dogs were allowed.

Debs is an incredibly attentive server, super friendly and approachable! Couldn't sing her praises more. Food is delicious and the cosiest atmosphere with a gorgeous fire. 10/10

Hmmm, mixed feelings, but mainly very disappointed. Our table was booked for 12.15, we arrived early and had a drink in the bar. I checked that the highchair requested was at the table - it wasn't. The notes I had put when I made the booking, had not been read. We seated at 12-12.15, there were two less to the original booking, and I placed an order for a bottle of champagne. The afternoon progressed with delays to taking orders, receiving those drinks and food orders - we had to chase a few times. At one point, I went to the bar/host station, where I waited a few minutes before someone attended to me, to ask for our mains to be sent as we'd been waiting a very long time since even our starter plates had been cleared. Whilst we watched a full restaurant get their food before we did, despite arriving quite a bit later than us. When our mains arrived they were warm and the steak was overcooked. We had waited so long for our food, that we just continued, except for the steak, which was returned. I don't know what to say, it was extremely poor. I won't be returning, unfortunately.

Great food and staff, we went in for dinner a bit last minute and they were able to offer us a table right away. We didn't have to wait long before we were served drinks and food.

Deepika looked after us fabulously

Great pub and great food, so close to the canal too which was a bonus. Millie our waitress was lovely too 😊

Nice location & atmosphere. Mille looked after us well, good food with prompt service. Would have been a 5 star review, but the colleague I was with is disabled and the footpath to the pub was difficult to negotiate as the wheels of his walker kept getting stuck in the gaps on the pathway. A smooth surface is better for wheelchair users & those with walkers. Also if disabled parking was nearer the entrance it would mitigate this as well. Please pass onto the owners of this chain. Thank you.

Amazing pub Friendly & very helpful staff Fantastic food 😋 Warm & homely 100% recommend Well done cunning man 👏👏💕

Lovely setting by the canal. Perfect stop when walking or cycling. Good selection of food beers wines and cider.

Lovely tasty food. Server Millie was friendly & attentive.

Good food, nice atmosphere, and good location for a canal walk. Gotta register inside for your parking though.

Food is really hit and miss. Had a roast and it was cold and tasted like it had been sat under heaters all day. Soggy and not crispy. Came back for another meal and thought I would give the steak a try. Ordered rare, got over-cooked meat which didn't have an bit of pink in it. Sent it back and got a barely seared slab of fat. Which was a bit outrageous for a £30+ 7oz sirloin. Sent that back and gave up.

Don’t go here avoid at all cost food terrible staff terrible service terrible

We came here for the pub quiz as a group and we really impressed with The Cunning Man! The location is really green, peaceful and really close to Reading without the busyness. Everyone was impressed with the food, service and the quizmaster! We love puz quizzes and this pub is now our favourite. Well done team!

Lovely food and environment. Molly offered a great service and was very helpful. Definitely going to be returning again.

We had a fantastic lunch and Debz was super attentive. It is really a bit more upmarket.

Sadly I was very disappointed by my experience at the Cunning Man a week ago. We met relatives for a Sunday evening meal and chat. Fortunately we enjoyed the chat as the food was very poor. The Sunday roast was poor quality, served tepid, vegetables very badly cooked. The broccoli was hard: not raw, hard! We would have asked for replacements, but had waited quite a while for the food to arrive so decided to cut our losses. I can only assume there were staffing issues in the kitchen on the day, as the personable serving staff seemed surprised when we said the meal hadn't been great! We had to repeat requests for drinks: the final issue was an incorrect bill which I checked carefully. Needless to say, we won't be returning for food, which is sad as the pub is attractive with a good vibe.

Everything wonderful! Very tasty food and very well served dishes. Amazing desserts! Very good beer and at the correct temperature. Excellent service from Holly! The place is cozy and very comfortable.

Perfect for going out with girls. Cosy pub. Lovely staff.

Delicious food and great service by Radhika, thanks a lot!

Wow! I am completely speechless. The atmosphere was incredibly warm and inviting, as were the servers. We were so impressed by the quality and taste of the food, we had to come back the next night to try more of the menu. Helen was very attentive, remembering us from the night previously, and returning my scarf which I had left behind we felt very looked after. We cannot recommend this place enough. It has become one of our favourites and we look forward to visiting frequently in the future.

Had a Sunday roast here a few weeks back, amazing food for the price, generous portions and a nice outdoor seating area. Very pleased with the service too, shout out too our server Amelia!

Thank you for serving us Holly!