Restaurant review: M’s Smokehouse I’ve talked about this before, but it helps when you’re writing a restaurant review to have some kind of hook, some reason why you decided, this week of all weeks, to check that particular venue ou…

Finally reviewed it this week! ediblereading.com/2026/04/17/r...

Restaurant review: M’s Smokehouse I’ve talked about this before, but it helps when you’re writing a restaurant review to have some kind of hook, some reason why you decided, this week of all weeks, to check that particular venue ou…

“I got that feeling I get in restaurants… the intangible inkling that it would all be okay.”

NEW REVIEW! This week I visit M’s Smokehouse on the Basingstoke Road, Reading’s first halal smokehouse, and find a lot to like #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/04/17/r...

NEW REVIEW! This week, I travel to Oxford in search of good fish and seafood. Do I find it? Can you get away with drinking red wine with fish? And what has an ex-racing greyhound got to do with anything?

All is explained, well mostly: ediblereading.com/2026/04/10/r... #oxford

Restaurant review: Just Momo For all the people in Reading and beyond on Ozempic or Mounjaro, despite all the weeks in the last few years when I’ve joined my ever-optimistic wife on the Fast 800 diet, there remain some t…

This week's restaurant review features carbs and condolences, in roughly equal measure. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/04/03/r...

Restaurant review: Chez Dominique, Bath This week’s review comes from Bath, and from a restaurant I visited with my old friend Dave, and those of you with good memories might recall that I was last in Bath on duty roughly a year ag…

NEW REVIEW! This week, off to Bath, the city our national restaurant reviewers go to when they fancy a genteel jolly, for - yes, you’ve guessed it - a genteel jolly. How shit has your 2026 been so far, by the way?

ediblereading.com/2026/03/20/r...

Restaurant review: Smoke & Pepper Could you eat exactly the same thing day in, day out, for weeks on end? Fifteen years ago I worked in an office, back in the good old days when people actually liked going into the office every day…

NEW REVIEW! I got a tip-off that hiding in the menu at new smash burger spot Smoke & Pepper was a dish so fantastic that one visit simply wasn’t enough. Naturally I had to check it out: so, was it true? #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/03/13/r...

Very much worth knowing, it is firmly on my list to visit!

Restaurant review: Namak Mirch Graeme and I are a fine pair when I meet him on Cemetery Junction for our trip to Namak Mirch. He had an operation on his foot in January and is standing there, crutch in hand, wearing trainers for…

NEW REVIEW! Today, an excellent dinner in perhaps a surprising place, and some fantastic food at sweetshop prices. Hope you like it - link in bio if you’re interested. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/03/06/r...

Restaurant review: Pompette, Oxford This review begins, as a couple of mine have before, outside the Missing Bean on Turl Street in Oxford, a little before noon. I have grabbed a couple of seats outside on the cramped little benches,…

NEW REVIEW! This week, a lunch for the ages that reminds me what eating out and hospitality is all about, and how magical it can be when it’s done well. I hope you enjoy this one.

ediblereading.com/2026/02/27/r...

Restaurant review: The Devonshire, Soho Does the world need another review of the Devonshire, described by Esquire as “the buzziest pub in the world”? Quite possibly not, because since opening at the start of November 2023 everybody has …

NEW REVIEW! This week, I head to the Devonshire, possibly the most hyped restaurant of the last couple of years and currently named as the U.K.’s best gastropub. What is left to say about it that hasn’t already been said?

ediblereading.com/2026/02/20/r...

Restaurant review: The Reading Room One of the constant criticisms of Reading, throughout most of my time writing this blog, has been its lack of what people consider to be a special occasion restaurant. The town centre and its surro…

NEW REVIEW! Everybody always says Reading doesn't have a special occasion restaurant. Is that because they've forgotten about The Reading Room, or because it isn't good enough? I went in search of the truth. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/02/13/r...

Bar review: Bigfoot, Oxford This might be the first time I’ve been able to say this in over 30 years of working for a living, but my boss – he doesn’t read this blog, so I can get away with admitting this &#…

NEW REVIEW! This week tacos, margaritas and feeling old at an almost perfect neighbourhood bar, Oxford’s Bigfoot.

ediblereading.com/2026/02/06/b...

Restaurant review: Blip If you plan it right, one of the great joys of this restaurant reviewing lark is that no two weeks need be the same. One week you’ll be in the town centre trying out pizza and pasta, the next…

NEW REVIEW! This week, it’s Blip in Tilehurst. How does a viral food trend from London’s West End translate to the western end of Reading? And can I keep my New Year’s resolution to stop hacking lumps out of influencers in print? Both questions are answered. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/01/30/r...

Restaurant review: Me Kong When I ran through the trends in Reading’s food scene last year, two stood out: the proliferation of new, casual pizza restaurants and a similar blossoming of restaurants to cater to Reading’s Hong…

NEW REVIEW! This week, I investigate one of Reading's newest restaurants, Me Kong. It styles itself as a cha chaan teng, so how do these classic Hong Kong tea restaurants of the 50s translate to multicultural Reading seventy years later? #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/01/23/r...

Yes, I have - wrote about it in the 2025 roundup as well.

Restaurant review: Zi Tore Unlike any restaurant reviewer I know of, I publish the list of restaurants I intend to visit. It’s regularly added to as places open and people tip me off about their favourite venues, in Re…

NEW REVIEW! We kick off 2026 with a visit to Zi Tore, the Italian restaurant slash café on Smelly Alley which has, for a number of reasons, made it to the top of my in-tray. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/01/16/r...

Feature: The 2025 Edible Reading Awards You’ll have to forgive me, because in the normal run of events I announce my award winners at the end of the year, wrapping everything up in a bow so we can all get on with a fresh twelve mon…

NEW POST! Today, finally, I give out my 2025 awards for the best food, drink, coffee and service I experienced last year, both in Reading and further afield. Hope you enjoy this one. #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2026/01/09/f...

No, the whole thing reeks - but people who know the owner say he has always been like this, and they did put a lot of noses out of joint back when they first arrived. Happy nearly New Year to you too!

Thank you Dr Kate! Keeping up the exercises and doing my best.

2025: The Year In Review I imagine that you are reading this in the strange hinterland that is the time between Christmas and New Year. Whether you’re working, “working from home but not really” or have t…

NEW POST! Let's look back together on 2025. What were the big trends of the year? What's the only acceptable rating to give an Italian restaurant? What the fuck has been going on at Phantom Brewing? Literally *all* of those questions are answered: enjoy! #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2025/12/30/2...

Thank you so much Derek!

Thank you for passing this on, Ian, and for being so kind about it.

That means a lot - thank you, Stephen!

This is so lovely to read Dave. Thank you for sharing my writing, too.

Thank you so much Jeanette.

Restaurant review: The Royal Berkshire Hospital On the Wednesday afternoon, my second full day in hospital after the accident, I put some pictures up on Facebook. Nothing special, just a picture from my bed of Dorrell Ward, my left foot poking o…

NEW REVIEW! This week, I spend four days at arguably Reading’s biggest restaurant, a place of peace, care, healing and Marmite. I hope you like it, and thanks for reading and keeping me virtual company all year.

ediblereading.com/2025/12/19/r...

You get a brand new review on Friday, just in time for Christmas, of arguably Reading‘s biggest restaurant. #rdguk

Restaurant review: Oishi As followers on social media may already know, this will be my last conventional restaurant review for a short while. Last month I broke my arm in a nasty accident, and after a short stay in the Ro…

NEW REVIEW! Yes, at last! This week, it’s Oishi - no Reading restaurant has ever come back from the dead quite like it, but is there still a place for it in a town with more Japanese restaurants than before? #rdguk

ediblereading.com/2025/12/12/r...

Thank you so much – I’m really glad you’re finding the guide useful! Remind me, when are you there from and to? I find it hard to imagine that you wouldn’t love the Little Bear, but unlike the wankers I’d also put a vote for De Kelk for its great selection outside Belgium.

Hello! You finally made the jump from Twitter!