The Berkshire Arms, Midgham

...just outside of town, called The Berkshire Arms.

The Berkshire Arms is located on the A4 just outside of Newbury and Thatcham in Berkshire, in a small town called Midgham. It's quite easy to find, located right next to a Premier Inn and just set back from the main road with a nice sweeping drive leading up to it. The car park is large enough to accomodate a good amount of visitors to the pub, and we have never struggled to find a car ...
...through which you can see the warm and cosy interior, and also the large outside decked eating area to the side and front left of the pub. The outdoor area is used in the summer and features lot of big wooden tables covered by large umbrellas to protect from the sun, its a lovely place to sit when the weather's right!

As you enter the pub, you are greeted with a warm, well lit and lovely classical looking establishment. The main bar ... more

I've been quite lucky lately - a couple of months ago I passed my driving test on my first attempt, and then a week later I was offered a weekend job after my first interview. As you can imagine, I was pretty excited about both successes and my lovely fiancé told me he was going to take me out to dinner to celebrate. There are lots of restaurants around where we live, but we always find ourselves flocking back to our favourite pub, just outside of town, called The Berkshire Arms.

The Berkshire Arms is located on the A4 just outside of Newbury and Thatcham in Berkshire, in a small town called Midgham. It's quite easy to find, located right next to a Premier Inn and just set back from the main road with a nice sweeping drive leading up to it. The car park is large enough to accomodate a good amount of visitors to the pub, and we have never struggled to find a car parking space when visiting the pub. The front of the building is very classic looking, with big windows, inviting wooden double doors through which you can see the warm and cosy interior, and also the large outside decked eating area to the side and front left of the pub. The outdoor area is used in the summer and features lot of big wooden tables covered by large umbrellas to protect from the sun, its a lovely place to sit when the weather's right!

As you enter the pub, you are greeted with a warm, well lit and lovely classical looking establishment. The main bar is directly to your right, with all the seating areas to the left and then towards the back of the pub. Most of the eating areas are almost like side rooms off the main corridor, often with 4 or 5 tables in each. We usually sit in the same area, and you just go and sit at any table you like. Once we were seated, my other half went to the bar to get our drinks, but was sent back, saying a waitress would come and take our drinks, which we both thought was very good service! Just a few minutes later, a heavily pregnant waitress came over and asked for our drinks order, and they were promptly delivered just 3 or 4 minutes later. The choice of drinks was good, offering squashes, juices, alco-pops, fizzy drinks, a range of red and white wines and also beers (we noticed Fosters, Kronenburg, and Stella Artois, as well as bitters).

After our drinks we were brought to us, we had a look at the menu to see what we both wanted to eat. There was a large selection available, and a good range of prices as well. We don't eat starters ourselves, but there was a good range of soups and other foods available. The choice of mains was very good, and there was something to suit everybody. There were several steak dishes on the menu, fish dishes, chicken dishes and more classic 'pub dinners' such as Sausages with special Mash, scampi and chips and a lovely big steak burger. We both opted for the burger which we'd had before and loved. I always ask them not to put cheese and bacon in mine which they are always happy to do, and they also offered us a chance to double up with the burger, which my other half took them up on!

After the waitress had taken our order, we then had a chance to sit and have a drink and a talk while we waited for our main meals. The atmosphere in the pub was cosy, it was pretty full, but it was a Friday night so was to be expected. There was a nice level of chatter around, with some children nearby who were having a good time by the sounds of it, the broad range of people there is testimony to how good this pub is, and how it caters to all sorts of people. We've taken Harry here lots of times, and they've always provided a highchair almost as soon as we walk in, and a children's menu too. It's somewhere I'm always happy to take him for dinner as they don't seem to mind noisy toddlers too much, as it is a family pub.

It was around 15 minutes until we got our food, which was definitely a good waiting time, enough for me and my other half to have a nice chat and just enjoy some time alone. The burgers were delivered on a very unusual platter, a long wooden strip with the burger on one end, and a good sized portion of chips on the other. There was also a small salad with a barbecue dip too, although I didn't eat this bit. The burger was huge, a really meaty lump of steak in a toasted bun. There was a bit of salad in the burger too, and my other half's double burger looked just ridiculously huge but just as good as mine. The food itself was delicious, the burger done to perfection - moist and tasty, but not chewy or overdone. The chips were crispy outside and fluffy inside, perfectly done in my opinion, and just the right amount as well. As the waitress delivered the food, she asked us if we wanted any sauces, which she brought over straight after our asking which again was great service.

We were both very impressed with our main courses, and quite full but I was pretty keen to have a dessert, as it's something I don't get to eat at home, and not something I usually want after cooking a big meal! We had a look at the dessert menu, which again had some really good choices. There were ice-creams, cheese plates, apple pies and crumbles, and chocolate cakes too. I opted for the Chocolate fudge cake with ice-cream on the side, and my fiance had bread and butter pudding, also with ice-cream. The desserts came pretty quickly, and looked so delicious. The portion of bread and butter pudding was considerably smaller than my chocolate cake, but he enjoyed it very much! It was lovely and warm, and he said it contrasted really well with the cool, smooth ice-cream. My chocolate cake was divine - really rich in taste, with smooth icing, warm fudge sauce and the ice-cream on the side was the perfect complement. The portion was a bit big in my opinion, and I had to get my other half to finish it off with me, it was too sickly to eat the whole thing! But for the money, which was £4 for each pudding, they were delicious and we were glad we spoiled ourselves!

Overall, we were really pleased with our meal out, and I was so pleased we chose to go back to The Berkshire Arms. As usual, the food was absolutely lovely, brought to us piping hot with a good amount of food on each plate. The drinks were nicely chilled and brought to the table quickly. Between our main meal and dessert, we ordered another coke between us and that arrived in minutes which was very good. Our bill was brought to us immediately, and my other half just paid the waitress by cash, and she brought the change over promptly. For the amount of food and drink we had, a total bill of just £35 was amazing value, and we had a wonderful time together in a comfortable and cosy pub. And I know this is an odd thing to mention, but the toilets of the pub are always so clean, they always smell nice due to pot pourri alongside the sinks, and give a really good impression of the pub. Compared to other pubs, this is definitely a good thing and shows how much the landlords look after their pub. For both families and couples, I would highly recommend the Berkshire Arms for a good meal at good prices and most importantly, really great service.

Address: Bath Road, Midgham, Newbury, Berkshire. RG7 5UX.

Thank you for reading! 

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