A "fancy" Chinese restaurant with tablecloths and full service, China Palace is a bit on the…read moreelegant side, but the prices don't show it unless you go with the whole lobster appetizer for £22. There are a few other items on the menu that could easily kick you into the stratosphere of spending. As long as you avoid those, all is well. Attentive service from waiters and waitresses dressed in black, the food was good. Hot & Sour soup was good, but a bit salty. I was a little surprised to find both peas and small prawns in there. The Singapore Fried Noodles was a large portion of curried noodles with prawns, red and green peppers and a dusting of sesame seeds on top. I had plenty to take home and it was just as good the next day. Interesting music playing on the hidden speakers. Chinese singers and lyrics, intemixed with... is that Pink singing "So What"? Slightly out of place. Would I return? Maybe. The Dim Sum menu is appealing!

By chance I visited this restaurant for dinner as I was staying in the nearby Penta Hotel, a short…read more2 minute walk away. I was not disappointed. Every dish the waiters brought out was fresh and tasted excellent. Everything from crispy duck to quick fried king prawns, spring rolls and fried rice, BBQ spare ribs and much much more was very very tasty; some of the best Chinese cooking I've enjoyed for a long time. Next time I come to Reading, I'll stay at the same hotel just to be close to this Chinese gem!

I love going here when I'm craving indian food (they also serve Thai food but it's not as nice and…read moreisn't their specialty). When I do go I prefer sitting in since the atmosphere is nice with the music and the presentation of the food but if you take out as a student you get 15% off. Some of the dishes are served with heating candles underneath so it stays nice and hot throughout your meal. It's a bit unassuming on the outside and usually not very busy but it is 5 star rated and very clean. The dishes are around 8-9 pound for mains. If you go on Tuesday (Curry night) for 9.95 you can get a starter (I love the chicken or lamb) main, vegetable dish and either rice or naan (I believe they make the best naan out of all the indian restaurants I've tried in my area) The garlic naan is so delicious! Sometimes I just get some naan from there on my way home because it's so great. I wish they made them bigger since they're roughly the size of a personal pizza from pizza hut, so it's expensive on its own (about 2 pounds). They do loads of special offers so check out their website for them and some photos of the place. It's really close to the university, only a short walk from the Shinfield Road entrance.

Sizzling Spice is good value. I enjoyed the Sunday buffet for 8.95BP. The buffet offered vegetarian…read moreas well meat dishes. The chicken korma was excellent. Naan, hot mango chutney and raiti were among the extras. A cold Kingfisher on tap topped off the experience. Service was excellent. One server became irritated with me when I used the dessert dishes for my sauces - they were strictly for dessert! He did not hold a grudge and I had to chuckle at the situation. I'll be heading back to try the butter chicken.

A lovely place to eat with great food along the Thames…read more There are a lot of places to eat near the Caversham Bridge in Reading, UK on both sides of the river. I decided to try this particular restaurant located on the southeast side of the bridge. If you are driving, you may have to find an alternate place to park since their lot seems a little small. It is a stand-alone building that looks like a converted house. I had noticed it on my walk along the Thames walking path that it is next to. They have seating inside and out. Both offer great views of the Thames across the walking path. The entrance is on the street side, the south side of the building. The inside is very nicely appointed with hardwood-type floors, linen tablecloths, formal chairs, a very pretty ceiling, and large windows looking out on the river. The menu has a wide variety of Indian-style dishes. I tried the Tika Massala, naan, and the pappadom. The staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful. The food took a little longer than I expected to come out but it was delicious. I would highly recommend this place if you want a beautiful place to take friends to have a great meal in a nice atmosphere. Enjoy!

The food is absolutely delicious and spices are on point!…read more Service was a little slow BUT they are very receptive when you ask them for refills or menus and whatnot -- so not something to get bothered over. Food consumed during this visit: Pilau Rice, Aloo Palak, Duck Shashlik, Chicken Tikka Masala (Great flavour! with an added spice factor -- lovely), Sag Nan, Bombay Potatoes. Have to try this place! its a MUST!

I just love this place- for lunch time it's going to be very hard to find better quality/price…read moreratio! And on weekdays lunchtime it's 50% off - how cool is that? Great selection of sushi, noodles and other foods to choose from. The food was yummy and presented in a nice way. It can get very busy during the lunchtime, so better arrive early!!

Buried behind the Broad Street Mall, but right in front of the Hexagon Theatre, Thai9 fuses Thai…read moreand Japanese, with the first all-you-can-eat buffet I've seen since arriving in Berkshire. If you stick to the buffet, it's only £5.80, but they also have an ayce made-to-order sushi for £13.60. The buffet has a few hits and a few misses. I'd recommend avoiding anything in the bright red and sickly-sweet sauce. Other options include a stir-fry noodles, pad thai with chicken, chicken in black bean sauce, sesame toasts, spring rolls and several different vegetable plates. All of those were quite good. Two small plates of sushi were rather bland. As is the usual case with UK restaurants, drinks are not refillable. It's a shame to pay £1.20 for a can of Diet Coke, even if they do serve it in a glass with ice and a slice of lemon. A decent meal, well worth the cost. I would return.

Recommended to me by a good trusted friend who then texted back later apologising to say he'd heard…read morethe place had changed hands and wasn't as good as it was too late, we'd bought a takeaway. All I can say is it's okay but far too greasy. I'm sure there are better Indians in Reading but I think it's going to be a job to find one! Go get yourself a Thai if you're visiting as they're all very good here in Reading.

Best indian meal we have had in a long time. Food was very fresh and tasted as though it had been…read morecooked to order. I had traditional chicken tikka which was fantastic and this wasn't served as you would normally expect it was more like how a michelin star restaurant would present something. The restaurant was very clean, staff were attentive. We will definitely be going back.

There are many Chinese restaurants in Reading, but I think I fell on my feet with this one…read more The restaurant is large with Chinese and Thai dishes off one menu. There is a Buffet Menu option, which is the option I went for: this allows you to pick from a sub-set of the menu and eat as many courses as you like for a fixed price. As long as you keep clearing your plate, they keep sending more food. The price varies depending on the day of the week, it was £12.90 on Wednesday when I visited, a little dearer at the weekend. I stuck with primarily Chinese dishes: a mixed starter (including two types of rib, chop suey rolls, chicken satay); crispy duck with pancakes; crispy chilli beef and chicken with noodles. A couple of glasses of a reasonably cheap (£4) Merlot washed it down nicely. I'm sure there are probably better Chinese restaurants in the area, but the food was tasty, generally well prepared and the staff friendly and helpfull. My only complaint is that the mixed starter was a little too cool. Great value for money and recommended.

I can't say I hated this restaurant, but it didn't really have anything decent that encourages me…read moreto visit again. We went last winter, yet they stuck the air con on high that we kept our coats on all the way through the meal. Service was slow and some of our food was warm at best. It's a shame, as it looks like a lovely upmarket chinese on the outside. Perhaps if my expectations hadn't been so high, I wouldn't have been quite so disappointed.

Cafe style food and I stopped in this morning for breakfast. With a few choices, i opted for the…read more"Munchees Breakfast" and was pleased with the quantity. It certainly had all of the usual suspects as far as what I've heard of British breakfasts. A fried egg, sausage, bacon (very salty), baked beans, grilled mushrooms, and two pieces of fried bread. I'm hoping the staff is trained at CPR as I'm feeling dizzy just looking at it. I managed to leave the sausage and the bread behind. Coffee was good and strong. Seating is tables for two or four. A party of five came in while I was dining and they had to split themselves over two tables. If you sit by the window, or at one of the outside tables, there's plenty of people watching to be had. There's also an upstairs "eat as much as you like" Nepalese style dining but I didn't try that. Maybe another time.

It's a great place ran by a Nepalese family. They used to run a buffet upstairs but it has be…read moreclosed indefinitely for over a year now. The cafe downstairs is still running and serves cheap breakfast all day. Full English breakfast at a little less than 6 quid. You walk up to the counter where the kitchen is to order or sit down in a diner's booth. Someone will come take your order. A lot of sandwiches and sausages. Great prices and decent food.

Excellent service, top notch interior design and atmosphere!…read more Money is well spent here with this buffet restaurant, a vast selection of unlimited main courses, starters and desserts are on offer. Well worth the travel, however found chicken in Tika Missala not best quality wise.

Four stars because I've only visited once on 29/01/2011. The…read moreSpice Oven is over twice the size of the average restaurant it's big! When you walk towards the main part of the seating area, you pass a sweets counter on your right then over a bridge with Koi carp in the pool below. Straight ahead is the buffet counter. You have the choice of the main menu or sampling samosas etc from the buffet. My girlfriend, a friend & I choose to go with the main menu. The first thing I noticed was some unfamiliar names such as Labab, Rari, Kozhambu & Xacuti a well as the more familiar ones such as Haandi, Achari & Jalfrezi. My friend had Vegetable Paneer Labab, we had Chicken Rara & Chicken Tikka Achaari. An Aubergine Spinach, one Pulao Rice & a Peshawari nan completed the food to share. My first sample was the Chicken Rara that had a thick diced onion sauce & tasted quite spectacular & not too hot. The sag dish wasn't overcocked & had the texture of lightly cooked spinach & was very tasty. The rest was also good, although I liked the Chicken Tikka Achaari the last probably because it tasted too much like lime pickle which it is supposed to taste of! Both vegetarians & Vegans are well catered for. Edited June 2013 Went Dec 2012 now buffet only & rather poor. This once great Indian curry house has gone down market where quantity has priority over quality. The choice of curries is good but they are all rather overcooked & not exactly fresh! Not only curries but Chinese, Thai so a good selection if you are starving. Service is good the containers get refilled regularly enough. They also do puddings lots & lots of puddings! Drops from 4 to 2 stars. Not in any hurry to return.

Very very pleased, went with my two kids (13 and 16) and they also loved it. Will definitely go…read moreagain. It's a bit on the expensive side though.

I have only been here once, for a friends birthday. I found…read moreit to be quite pleasant, there were a couple of vegetarians on our table and the waiter took some extra time to help them out with the menu. The food was very nice and the service was good but I thought it was a bit too expensive.