THE winner of the Reading Chronicle's Best Pub 2022 competition is The Victoria pub in Tilehurst.

A shortlist of 10 pubs across Reading was drawn up and readers were asked to nominate their favourite using a coupon in the paper.

The friendly community pub just outside of town - is run by Dave Kesterton and his partner Jason Walters.

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Mr Kesterton said: “We’re over the moon really. Myself and Jason are absolutley delighted that The Victoria has been voted best pub in Reading! Our team works tirelessly to ensure our customers always get the best possible service and Tilehurst has obviously recognised that fact."

Mr Kesterton and his partner have been running The Victoria, a small independent family run businesss, for the past six years.

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Since then, the pair have raised vital funds for the Duchess of Kent hospice and Tilehurst youth club and more.

During the Covid lockdowns, thousands of pounds worth of food was collected on behalf of local food banks and David said they have just sponsored a local children's football team, paying for all their new kit for the comming season.

David said: "We will continue to do whatever we can to help our local community. Our home cooked proper Sunday roasts are always a sell out - booking is advisable, we also do takeaway roasts which are popular.

"Over the years we have used the hashtag #bestpubintilehurst in our online marketing . We are thrilled to now be able to use #bestpubinreading." 

The pub has been listed in CAMRA's national pub guide and food is served everyday except Mondays until 8pm.

Live sports are also shown on four large screens with regular live music events on to support local artists.

The pub is proud to say they're dog friendly too with a large jar of treats at the bar.

In second place was The Volunteer, in Church Street, Theale and in third place was The Greyfriars in Greyfriars Road, Reading.

The competition is a way of highlighting the county’s excellent pubs at a time when the hospitality industry is under pressure following the pandemic, and as a result of increasing cost of living pressures.

The total number of pubs in the country dropped below 40,000 during the first half of 2022, a fall of more than 7,000 compared with a decade ago, according to the latest research.

Researchers have suggested that while pubs managed to battle through Covid-19, they now face a fresh challenge because of record-high inflation and an energy crisis.