February 5th, 2009
Having finished work on Wednesday with two colleagues I set off for a spot of dinner at a restaurant in Reading. On our way we stopped for a pint at the Allied Arms on St Marys Butts in Reading. A strange name I thought for a location, but as I learnt more about Reading from the locals inside discovered it has quite a history when it comes to monks, nuns and religion in general. The outside of the pub would normally have resulted in me walking on by, but my colleagues seemed confident that what lay inside would be good. Stepping through the door and having ordered up our drinks we took a table near the window. One colleague then wandered back outside to make a phone call, the t’other went off to the loo and I was left at the mercy of a very small man with a limp, a scar and a broken arm who seemed to think we were long lost buddies and that we needed to get reacquainted. He proceeded to ask lots of questions but those who know me, will realise the futility of that particular tactic. Nonetheless he chatted away for the next twenty minutes without stop. My colleagues had returned by this point but it made little difference and one colleague who professed to be good at empathy kept acknowledging the conversation and egging this bloke on. However after a while, my miserable non responsive, emotionless face must have eventually worn him down as he finished off his drink and left the pub completely.
The pub itself serves up real ale which for people who understand these things is apparently very good and I could see and hear from the other punters that this place has a real following. Cosy traditional and probably a great place to spend a few hours on a cold winters evening. However it isn’t quite my cup of tea as there were no flashy lights, no house music and no eye candy to speak of.
Pryordurkin 3 stars. (it might not have been my thing, but this is clearly a well liked traditional pub serving real ale, hence the three stars)
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