8 Places to eat in Reading Berkshire England

One one of the reasons I love being a blogger is because I am occasionally given an opportunity to check out local places to eat!

Reading, like most towns, are constantly changing and growing and 2017 saw some great new places to eat open up! Also a few staples/classics had a bit of a revamp on their menu's and I was there to check them out. Saying that I thought I would round up all the places I visited in one post to hopefully help those who are looking for somewhere new to try!

I have listed them 1-8 one being my favorite - now everyone's tastes and experiences are different so I can only go on my tastes and experiences, but I hope it helps if you are from the area or are visiting!

1. Pho Restaurant - 1 - 1a King's Rd, Reading RG1 2HG

The place I crave:
This is listed as my number one place because I have been back several times and it's the place I suggest to friends and family when we are looking for somewhere to go! I crave the rice bowl and the Vietnamese coffee they serve here. So, if you're like me and love noodles, rice, and soup give this place a visit!

2. The Real Greek - The Oracle, Bridge St, Reading RG1 2AT

The 'something' different place:
Like Pho, I have visited The Real Greek a few times since I have reviewed it. The food and atmosphere are great and if are looking for something different then the typical restaurant, you know the places that rely on burgers and fries, I couldn't recommend this place more!

3. Pavlov's Dog - 21-23 St Mary's Butts, Reading RG1 2LN

The place for fun:

This was a bit of a surprise really, having walked past it a million times in the years I have lived here, but have never go in my friend and I had a great night here. The food was typical pub food, but we couldn't fault it. My favorites were the appetisers and cocktails which is exactly what you want from a pub! Also we agreed, after playing Mario Kart on a Nintendo Game Cube, that this was a fun place to go! 

4. The Botanist - 1-5 King St, Reading RG1 2HB

The cool place: 

It is so cool in here. It's like the big sibling of restaurants - you want to hang out here and just be a part of all the things that go on here! They have musical bingo and live music and hanging kebabs! Like the last three places I have been here more then once and have to say it's worth a visit! 

5. Cau - The Oracle, Bridge Street, Reading RG1 2AQ

The place for meat lovers: 

Not to say there isn't anything for vegetarians, but really this place is all about the meat... beef more specifically. I had the best steak sandwich I have ever had. Cau's menu is a mix of food inspired by Italy, Spain and Argentina and is overall a big win for me!

6. Wrap it Up! - Unit 1, 10-14 Duke St, Reading RG1 4RU

The place for lunch: 

I say that it is the place for lunch, but these wraps are full meal in themselves so could satisfy one for dinner as well! I have only been twice, but both times the flavor combinations blew me away! If you work in town they deliver to offices and if I worked in town I would have one too many of these! 

7. Franco Manco - The Oracle, Bridge St, Reading RG1 2AT

The pizza place:
Sometimes I feel very overwhelmed at restaurants when I have too much to choose from and I found it really refreshing that they have a small menu and a special menu that changes occasionally. The quality of the pizza's is on point and they really pay attention to the details. If you go in the summer try the pesto, it's the best thing I have ever tried.

8. Walkabout - Wiston Terrace, Reading RG1 1DG

The place for a night out: 

The food here was good, I tried a kangaroo burger it was a bit gamey, but it's not the first place I would think of for food. However, it's been revamped and looks great inside and I believe would be a great place for a good night out. The cocktails and atmosphere were spot on! 

A few other places I visited the past year and worth mentioning are:
7Bone Burger - 60 St Mary's Butts, Reading RG1 2LG
Bluegrass BBQ - 15 Gun St, Reading RG1 2JR
Revolución De Cuba - 138-141 Friar St, Reading RG1 1EX

I can't wait to see what 2018 will bring to Reading! Do you have a favorite local place? I would love to hear about it in the comments below!

* Each restaurant is linked to my review for more pictures and information!! -- I had been invited to review all of these places - I was not asked to give a positive review and all opinions are my own please see my contact/policy page above for more information. If you have a local place you'd like me to review email me at unitedcakedom@gmail.com and I will get back to you!

The Pastry Challenge Round-Up

This is going to be the last Pastry Challenge round-up for a while. It's something Jen and I started last year as an attempt to explore pastry a bit more. I speak for myself when I say I've not done the best in doing so, with pastry usually taking a back seat to cakes, cookies, and brownies most months.

Jen made some big changes last year one of them was moving down to Dorset to help run her parents green grocers and from what I gather she's loving it! Follow her on twitter and instagram as she shares some of the stuff she's getting up to down there!

It's hopefully not the end, we had a good run and enjoyed seeing everyone's amazing entries! There are many other blogging challenges to enter and partake in!

To keep up with weekly and monthly food challenges a few lovely bloggers started The Food Blog Diary where all these challenges are listed and updated often.

Hopefully we will be back on that list! But until then thank you to all those who have taken part in our blogger challenge and if you are ever baking with pastry please tag me in your tweets or instagram posts I will happily like and share when I can!

We had two great entries last month the first from - Pastry Workshop: Creating Sweets with Character Olguta shows us how to make the perfect Choux Pastry!

and The Lawyer's Cookbook share with us her Ham and Arugula Shortcrust Rolls! They would make lunch an event or a great picnic treat! 

The Pastry Challenge November Round-Up {Pies and Tarts}

When I was at work the other day we were discussing holidays and this conversation came to be:

Co-worker: Are you already for Christmas? 

Me: Getting there, have a few things to pick up. We don't really go to crazy with presents and stuff. 

CW: That's because you get most of your presents for Thanksgiving. 

Note it was stated as fact not a question.

Me: Ah? What? 

Another co-worker stocking shelves staring at the first co-worker like she's grown horns right in front of him. 

CW: Isn't that what Thanksgiving is all about? 

Me: No. No, Thanksgiving is all about food and feeling thankful for what you have. 

The other co-worker looks at me and shakes his head. 

CW: Oh, I thought Thanksgiving was like Christmas? 

Perception is everything. Thanksgiving isn't celebrated here, so most people can only assume and guess what it's like or what it is! It's all determined by media - either movies or TV or the internet. Although I'm not sure where she got the idea we exchange presents on Thanksgiving? It did give me a good laugh, bless her! 

I bring this up because Thanksgiving is why I made this month's theme pies and tarts, tis the season and all that. I was not disappointed as yet again we had some great entries!! 

creamy chicken, leek, pernod, and pea pie

from

Belleau Kitchen 

If you haven't visited this blog I suggest you do! Dominic has entered our linky most months and always with something great! His blog has much more then pastry and is a wonderful mix of sweet and savoury dishes. If he ever wrote a cookbook I would be the first to pre-order it! 

Lemon Tart 

from

Chardonnay and Samphire

This tart is gluten free and dairy free! Which doesn't matter much to me as I can eat both, but that wouldn't stop me from making it! It's my first experience with this blog and it looks so clean and refreshing I'm sure I'll visit it again pastry or no! 

Beetroot and caramelised onion galette with vegan mozzarella

from 

Green Gourmet Giraffe

Green is my favorite color and giraffe's are cool so it's no surprise that Johanna's blog is pretty cool too! She's entered the pastry challenge a few times always giving us something new and tasty! Check out her post as there is another version of this galette. 

Mini Mouthful Jam Tarts with Pate Sucree - gluten free

from 

Gluten Free Alchemist

There is something about the simplicity of a jam tart that makes it so elegant. The light pastry filled with the ruby colored jam is very appealing! It'd be hard to stop at just one! And these are gluten free! 

Salted Caramel Apple Hand Pies

from

The more than occasional baker

Salted Caramel is amazing and paired with apples these hand pies must have been amazing! I'd love to be able to crimp like Ros! I once tried to make hand pies and they leaked everywhere! I will definitely be referring to this post next time I attempt hand pies! 

Mini Apple Crumble Pies 

from 

Cakey Goodness

I love apples and crumbles! Then they are mini pies! Gotta love it! These would go great with some of the ice cream I had with my pumpkin pie below! I wasn't hungry until just now! 

pumpkin pie al a mode

from 

United Cakedom

Me! Follow the link to see how I got on this Thanksgiving! Once again I made pumpkin pie and it was so good! Especially topped with cinnamon biscuit ice cream! Also check out my new pie dish! It's green and cream and I love it!! 

Thank you to everyone who entered!! I love seeing what everyone enters! I hope you all have a great holiday season and are enjoying your festivities! Hopefully with lots of delicious food! 

note: all images were taken from the linked blog post and owned by those sites

The Pastry Challenge September Round-Up

Wow! Going from like one entry to 14 is amazing! Thank you everyone for entering. It would be my guess that pastry making and baking will be rising with autumn in full swing and the winter months closing in! I can't wait! I hope to see all of your warming pastry bakes over on Jen's Food!

Here is the round up of all the entries!

1. Puff Pastry Empanada's with Black Beans from We Don't Eat Anything with a Face
2. Cheese, Onion and Potato Pasties (Tiddly Oggies) from Green Gourmet Giraffe
3. Vanilla & Ginger Infused Pear Frangipane from Wishful Wonderings
4. Veggie Sausage, Pea, and Egg Pie from Belleau Kitchen
5. Gougeres - little cheesy choux buns from Gluten Free Alchemist
6. Double Blackberry Chocolate Galette from Tin and Thyme
7. Plum & Limoncello Tart from The Baking Explorer 
8. Chocolate Crunchie Frangipane Tart from It's Not Easy Being Greedy

9. Chicken and Leek Pie from It's Not Easy Being Greedy
10. Gluten Free Plum & Pistachio Tart from How to Cook Good Food
11. Two Tone (Red and Yellow) Balsamic Beetroot Galette from Allotment 2 Kitchen
12. Vegetarian 'Game' Pie from Only Crumbs Remain
13. Pear, Ginger, and Chocolate from Cakeyboi
14. Vegan Black Pudding and Sweet Potato Spelt Flour Galette from Allotment 2 Kitchen 

Thank you to all those who entered! 

I look forward to seeing your pastry creations again next month! 

The Pastry Challenge September Link-Up (plus August round-up)

There is a little guilt putting the link up and round up together. However, last month was a bit of a bust with neither myself or Jen really getting a pastry entry in! Jen having a much better excuse then myself.

I did make mini gypsy tarts which were suppose to be my entry but as they didn't turn out exactly how I wanted I was a bit weary about sharing them. It seems that a lot of my pastry attempts haven't been working out all that well!

This month my intentions are to try making from scratch puff pastry. It's notorious for being tricky! Any tips out there please let me know!

If it wasn't clear yet I will be hosting again this month as Jen is very busy taking up a new adventure and move! I am happy and excited for her, but a little sad as she's moving away from me! As for the pastry I will be keeping it open again this month with any thing goes!

Before I go over the ground rules again here is last month's entries:

Churros with Sugar (vegan)

mini gypsy tarts

Here are some of our ground rules and below is the button to add your link!

First bake a pastry that fits the theme (anything goes)!
Second blog about it! Be sure to link back to both myself Lisa and Jen.

If you tweet use the hashtag #thepastryhcallenge and be sure to include us @unitedcakedom & @jensfood we like and retweet any we see!

Please feel free to use the image above in your post as a way to help spread the word. I will be adding the entries to the official Pastry Challenge Pinterest board that you can follow here!

Lastly link it up below, following the instructions on the widget/gadget below.

A few reminders we are looking for new or re-posted posts following the instructions above. Feel free to enter more then one entry. Also if you have a few minutes check out the entry before yours and leave a comment!

Any questions please feel free to contact either Jen or myself! We look forward to seeing all your amazing pastry creations!

There are lots of other blogging challenges so overlapping is encouraged and if you have one we haven't heard of please let us know by email or leaving a comment below!

An InLinkz Link-up

The Pastry Challenge June Round-Up! {Breakfast}

Last month I asked for you to share your breakfast pastries with Jen and I for our Pastry Challenge. We started the challenge because we both felt out pastry skills could use some work or improving. Mine definitely did and do! I struggled with my pastry this month it just didn’t turn out how I wanted. I, of course, am my own worst critic and perhaps they were okay. So, even if you’ve tried out a pastry and it didn’t turn out how you expected please still enter it, we’re all in this together! 

Breakfast pastries are the best way to start out the morning! Here are a handful of great recipes to try out at home! 

I don’t know what goes on in Angela’s kitchen, but if she’s making Gin & Tonic Cronuts I want in! These look amazing and must taste amazing too! If you like these she has some more great recipes over on her blog Patisserie Makes Perfect! 

These All-Day Breakfast Bites from Cakeyboi literally could be eaten All-Day! I know I would! If you found yourself having to serve a lot of people breakfast, I think these would be the way to go! So, simple and it has everything you’d want in one bite! 

Quiche for breakfast makes perfect sense, it’s eggs (which we all associate with breakfast) and whatever takes your fancy. Why not start your day right with Bellau Kitchen’s Oven roasted Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Quiche with gluten-free pastry! 

Joanna over at The Keen Cook gave us a pastry recipe and a couple of different ways to use it! I hope one day I find that recipe that just works right every time and it seems like she may have!? Check out her Danish Pastries and find out how she used up her leftover pastry! 

When I think of Croissants, I think of many breakfasts while traveling through Europe. They are great with butter, deli meats, and jam! A simple yet delicious breakfast pastry that should be savoured at every opportunity! 

Bear Claws were my pastry of choice. As I mentioned above they didn’t quite turn out how I expected or wanted, but I posted them anyway. They probably needed to rise more or maybe I over rolled or kneaded. Or perhaps I left it in the fridge too long. Know matter what I did I do need to try making them again. It’s the whole point of this challenge! 

For July Jen’s asking for any Quick Pastry recipes. Ones that you can just throw together and ta-da dinner or breakfast or snack! It’s basically really hot and no one wants to be in the kitchen for long so get your pastry out and quickly make something to share with us! 

April's Pastry Challenge Round-Up! {chocolate}

As April comes to an end so does my first month of hosting The Pastry Challenge! It was fun seeing the entries that came in. I was impressed by the skill and creativity of the entries for this month's theme chocolate.

Chocolate is one of the most common ingredients used in baking. As it pairs so well with other flavors it makes it a great addition to any bake! Enough of me rambling let's have a look at the delicious creations that this month's Pastry Challenge has brought us!  

As Easter was at the beginning of the month our first entry really celebrated the holiday with these amazing Chocolate Egg Basket Tartelettes. I am so impressed with the skill involved. Go check out Margot Dolewska Dyer’s site Coffee and Vanilla for more of her amazing creations!

Then we had a very colorful and fun entry with Nazima Pathan’s Homemade Berry and Chocolate Pop Tarts! She blogs over on FranglaisKitchen where there are plenty more recipes like these to inspire you! I know they have inspired me!

My co-host Jen at Jen’s Food had a go with choux pastry and made these impressive Chocolate Religieuses! She says she’s frozen some so planning to head over one day soon to have a taste!

Then entering just at the end was Xi from Where Baking andScience Come Together with her Choux a la crème or as we more commonly know them, profiteroles. They look delicious with that dark chocolate glaze!

And last but not least check out my Double ChocolateStrawberry Mini Tarts!

Be sure to visit Jen’s site in May for the new theme and linky post!! 

I hope you can all join us as we continue our pastry journey’s! 

March Round-Up: Beware the Ide's of March

March has been one crazy month. I went home to America for nearly all of it. It was my mom’s diagnosis of a rare form of lung cancer that made me take such an impromptu trip. I wasn’t even sure I was going to mention it here on my site, as it’s a very personal thing.  I am not 100% sure I’m ready to talk about it in too much depth on such a public forum. However, I didn’t want to not say anything. If that makes any sense…

Anyway, while I was away I managed to read 4 of the books listed on my Spring Reading List … recently I won a stack of new books from a twitter giveaway so my list just got a lot longer! I can highly recommend the Lunar Series by Marissa Meyer’s. Also Life after Life by Kate Atkinson is definitely interesting…

Before I went away I managed to get several posts up. I reviewed two books: thehummingbird bakery: Life is Sweet & Love, Tanya!

I made a Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake from the first and themost expensive brownies I have ever made from the latter.

There was a giveaway in association with OXO Good Grips, now closed, a winner was chosen! They won three silicone spatulas in different colors.

With a new Five on Friday every Friday except last Friday, it looks like it might last longer then it did the last time I tried to get it going. The first one I wrote Tips on Traveling Abroad with Children, it was fitting as I would have just flown with my two to America. Then it was Five Things My Mother Taught Me, also fitting for mother's day and all the stuff going on with my mom. And lastly my Five Favorite Baking Ingredients; we all have tastes that are superior to others.

Before the month closed I managed to get these Nectarine & Almond Tarts made to enter into the new blogger challenge called The Pastry Challenge. Hosted by my good friend Jen over on Jen’s Food and myself! To see all the other lovely entries we had in March visit Jen's Food!

Happenings and Going-ons in April:

Continuing from above I will be hosting this month’s Pasty Challenge! I will be your host this month and the theme is chocolate! 

There will be a new #storybookbakes this month and a few posts associated with one of my favorite cake mix brands.

Talking of books April 23^rd is World Book Night and this will be my fourth year as a giver! Watch this space for more information! In the meantime check out my past World Book Night experiences: I Capture the Castle by Dodie Smith - Judge Dredd (first ever graphic novel to be included) - The Recruit by Robert Muchamore 

Besides that it will be more of the same with some new Five on Fridays, pastries, and other tasty bakes!

February Round Up: The Going On's and Happenings on United Cakedom

This month started out with flapjacks! I added some chocolate covered cranberries I had picked up at Home Sense. I love that store. It’s dangerous every time I go in there because I always come out with something. They have you backed into a corner because if you find something you like, the chances of them being there when you go back can be slim to none!

Then Sainsbury’s set me their panna cotta mix to try out. I decided to infuse the milk and double cream with black pepper and topped it with caramelized peaches and a drizzle of caramel sauce. It was delicious and inspired by an ice cream I had at an innocent (smoothie) event I attended a couple years ago.

For Valentine’s Day I made a no-bake Chocolate Cherry Tart! It was rich and delicious… one thin slice is all anyone could manage in one sitting. So no one had to worry about pits I used a Cherry Pitter from OXO Good Grips that they sent me to use.

I also received a copy of Deliciously Decorated by Charlotte White to review. The book is full of great decorating tips and tricks! The Giacomo Casanova: Venetian Romance design was my inspiration for these cupcakes:

Other things that inspire me are books!! This month I made Silky’s Pop Cakes inspired by The Enchanted Wood by Enid Blyton. My girls really enjoyed eating something they read about from the book we've been reading before bed.

Speaking of my girls my littlest one turned 5 in the middle of the month and she requested a turquoise butterfly cake. I did my best and she was happy with the result!

February is full of birthdays including my friend Cathy who turned 30! She has a love of Lucky Charms and so as a special birthday treat I made her Lucky Charm Bark! I think she was pretty happy with it! I tried some too and it was pretty tasty, but mostly I loved the colors!

And last but not least I wrote my first Five on Friday in months! I hope to be better at keeping it up and it becomes a regular thing. I brought it back with five pans and tools that I bought, but have yet to use! I get all these great ideas and I buy things I NEED to make said great idea. However, things don’t always go to plan! Does this happen to you too?

That’s all for February!! March is going to be a bit book heavy as I've been doing a lot of reading! There are reviews and cake and brownies and much more!