Sweeney & Todd

Always epic pies, homemade and fresh by a local family, I love this place. Forget the menu, they come round and tell you what’s fresh. Chips are done in house and are excellent. Macaroni cheese is the best in reading.
Be aware that the pastry is made with lard so even the veggie pies are not vegetarian but it’s a meat eaters heaven.

Eat here on a cold and rainy night and go home happy. Really, About as classic English food as you can get… but –VERY– tasty. Steak & Stilton, Venison & Boar, insane Treacle Tart or Sticky Toffee for dessert… sit in a booth near the (micro) bar and enjoy. (PS — service is super-​polite and helpful but overworked, you will have to gently get their attention :)

Deliciously British! Great food, and the wait staff was super nice. We had the chicken, honey & mustard and the steak and mushroom. Both were very good, but the steak and mushroom was a favorite for our family.

Huge selection of pies and beers on tap. Seating at street level as well as basement with the loos in the basement. Can get very busy but this is testament to the quality of the produce. Handy location in the town centre and a small selection of good quality sides to go with your pie.

Nom nom to eat there… Nom Nom to take home. Just Nom nom
Great pies great service…‘and sweeny Todd doesn’t come and get you. That’s a win right!

Best pie ever! Thanks to Unilocal I got takeaway dinner here rather than Nandos (I hasten to add that there is nothing wrong with Nandos, just wasn’t in the mood it for that time!)
Since I got to the place around 9pm, they had a limited selection of pies left and I decide to get the Vicars pie. Must admit that it took a while to flag down someone to help me get counter service which is why I first contemplated giving them 4stars but food wise it was so good, I bumped it up to 5-​stars!
The staff wrote down both microwave and oven heating instructions which I appreciated and once back at the rental, I decided on quicker microwave option and happy to state that this pie still tasted marvelous after bring nuked. The pastry was flakey and crumbly and so so so good. I got full on lamb pieces, lots of potatoes and carrots and a rich medley of gorgeous English countryside flavours in each pie. Glad got x2 more of these pies to freeze for another time.

One of the most friendly and unique places in the UK. Try the venison and wild boar pie! The sides are great, the staff (owners) are amazing, all around great place. Can you tell I like it?

Winner of best pie shop in Berkshire I don’t know how many times! This place is a palace for pie. A huge variety with seasonal specials. All meat is sourced from local butchers and they’re cooked to perfection. Small-​ish but I’ve been there with a group of 10 and had a table. You can book ahead to guarantee a seat if you have a large group. Good staff and good drinks served aswell. They also do a takeaway section where you can buy cold pies to take home for yourself. Definitely give it a go.

Who knew that meat pies could be so good!!! I think us Americans are missing out on something by limiting ourselves to just chicken potpie. In the UK, they eat all kinds of meat pies and Sweeny & Todd has a ton of options. This place is pretty unassuming and I probably wouldn’t have ventured in here by myself, but my co-​worker said it’s his favorite place, so I tried it out. It’s a pretty small place.
When you walk in there is the deli counter with things you can buy and a few tables. Then you get to the small bar with a table or two and then further back there are more tables. We stopped at the bar and grabbed an English beer on the way back to a table in the back of the restaurant. Our server came over and asked if we needed anything and we said we were just going to enjoy our beers for a while and then would order. She gave us plenty of time to do that and then answered our questions about some of the pies.
I ended up going with the rump steak and stilton pie and was very happy with my choice. The steak was tender and the cheese was a nice compliment to it. The pie crust was so flaky and buttery and just amazing. And it was enough to fill me up. This is a small, local, place, but the food is amazing and the beer was great. I definitely will be coming back here next time I’m in town.

Definitely a «locals» hangout, this place isn’t flashy, but has a great selection of tasty pies. The night we visited they offered a dozen different pies, and my Five Nations pie was delicious. If you’re looking for simple, good food for a fair price, stop in for a bite.

I was passing through Reading, famished, and decided to try this place because I believe eating locally and supporting local businesses is important. The reviews on here claimed their pies were fantastic, so I made the trek down to check it out.
Unfortunately, I was never able to actually try the food. I walked in at 7:45pm on Monday, walked up the the bar and asked if they were still serving food. The man behind the bar gave me a stern look and said: ‘You order drinks here and food at the table. Go find yourself a table.’ There were two other tables occupied at the time and both parties seemed to be packing up to leave. The place was not at all busy. I walked to the back restaurant and then back the pub area and chose a table. I waited and waited and waited. I pulled out my watch and ten minutes had passed. No one had come to take my order, no one even cared if I was there or not (the man knew I was waiting). After ten minutes had passed I walked out of the restaurant and down to the Oracle to find food.
I will not be returning here.

I’m not sure what is going on with this place: the front is a lunch counter, the middle is a pub, and the back is a restaurant. The ambiance is strange, indeed.
My pie was okay. I had the venison and wild boar pie and was pleased with how it tasted. The prices were a bit expensive considering the size of the pie, but the flavour made up for it.
Lastly, the waitress was incredibly rude. «What’dya want?» was the question posed to our table. Really? REALLY? I know this isn’t a five-​star establishment, but please treat us a bit more hospitably. This was not a one-​off occasion, either; my roommate also ate here and commented her waitress was rude as well.
The pies are good, but I recommend eating them take-​away so you can avoid the impolite waitstaff.

Probably the best known pie shop in Reading.
For good reason — yummy pies!
Worth finding this little gem.

As an American the thought of meat pies kind of scared me but I was happy to find cajun chicken on the menu. It was great! It didn’t look that big but it was filling. Very cool place.

Delicious pies and other classic staples – Scotch egg, anyone? A few other deli products available, but, really, you stop by Sweeney & Todd for their pies.
My brother got a kick out of a pheasant pie that was sold with the caveat, «watch out for the buckshot!». Keep your eyes peeled for the tiny store behind the Oracle.

If you blink, you might miss this shop.
Its behind the Oracle shopping mall in Reading. Walkable from there, but the Broad Street Mall is much closer to it.
Wanted something «British» to tell my American friends at home where I ate. Other than the barber shop located next to the shop and the sign itself, that is about all the picture opportunities as a tourist I would say are worthy to take.
The pies here are great. That’s pretty much how I would sum it up. They look small, but the flaky puff pastry and hearty beef filling will do it’s job filling you up.
Skip the wine selection and get yourself some draft beers or ‘bitters’.
You will be rolling out of there in no time (that is, if you can squeeze your way through… the place is a bit tight).

The pies here are very good. I’ve eaten in the restaurant as well as taken the pies to-​go. In both cases, I have been very satisfied by the price, quality, and quantity of the food.
I’ve set a goal that I will try every one of the the pies there. There are a lot of choices and it’s all pretty seasonal so you’ll be sure to have fresh meat. A couple of us actually visited a butcher that supplies this pie shop. The meat there was very fresh and there were many varied types of meat.
If you’re going to visit Reading, you’ve got to come here at least once.

Deeee-​lish! Yummy pies! I took two as takeaway and warmed them up in the oven for lunch over the next two days. One was the next-​to-​last of their Christmas pies (I’m not sure what makes a pie a ‘Christmas’ pie though it did have an image of a Christmas tree in pastry on it). Both were absolutely heavenly and at £2.60 each, you just can’t go wrong!
Pastry crust formed into a bowl shape, filled with yumminess, then topped with more pastry and then baked until golden. Pie flavors change on a relatively random basis. When I popped in, some of the choices included Cajun Chicken, Ham & Stilton, Chicken & Ham, Chicken & Leek, Rump Steak & Stilton, Cheese & Vegetable and Pork & Apple. Awesomeness!

Unfortunately I don’t live in Reading or UK for that matter. I love Sweeny & Todd’s
Kevin L. — where under the shop is the restaurant? From what I know about 1 month ago, the restaurant is a few steps up and behind the pies case.
PIES: YUM!!! The three times I’ve been there, there are more choices of pies for takeaway than in the restaurant, but never fear, there are enough to select from. We tried the following: 5 Nations (not sure how they come to 5 nations, I counted 4 — England, Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland — any Brits willing to help with the 5^th nation?), Chicken, Wild Boar, Beef Stew, etc.
Beer: Good bitters and cold drafts.
Desserts: Spotted Dick … need I say more?

Sweeny & Todd’s Pie shop /​Restaurant. Don’t let the name sweeny todds pies put you of, this is not the barber who slice’s his clients throat’s and drops the body into the pie shop bellow to fill the pies! lol
But it is a great pie shop serving fresh home made pies fish, chicken, meat, game, etc, etc And there is a Restaurant under the shop!
I have eaten here a couple of times! and on both occasions the food was fantastic!
i had a great BIG meat pie with all the trimming’s followed by a traditional English pudding! they also serve wine, beer, and cider!