Giraffe

Brilliant breakfasts! Never really busy on the weekends in the morning. Right by the river.

Nice staff, rally average food. Good drinks offers but the extensive menu could do with condensing and focus on quality

The quirky setting of the restaurant is definitely a draw. Their food is good, the ribs especially. Drinks were a tad bit expensive and service was horrid, we were kept waiting for a menu, and then for our orders to be taken. But after that initial hurdle, food was speedy.

Good food! I feel like there is not a set food theme to this place but somehow it all works out. It is reasonably prices and they have everything on the menu. I ordered the chicken burger and it was pretty good and so were the fries that came along with it. For dessert we had the waffles with the bannana on top and it was delicious. I knocked one star away just because of the service, we were in a hurry and told the waitress to give us our check and it took ages to get ourselves out of there. Other than that it is a good place for a nice inexpensive dinner!

Great deals! If your in town during the day especially during the week they always have meal deals on, very tasty food.

I’ve only eaten breakfast here, but I’ve seen they are usually quite busy with lunch specials and dinner patrons as well.
Breakfast is a challenge in the Reading area, so their sandwich board out front caught my eye when I was cycling past one day. I stopped in and the place is quite empty in the morning hour. However the menu has good selection of AM offerings that had the expected UK centric options like a «Brekkie Bap» (choose two from egg, bacon, sausage, grilled tomato and mushroom) and a «Good Morning Brekkie» (bacon, eggs, baked beans and toast). There are fruit smoothies on offer, porridge and muesli. My eye was instead captured by the completely unhealthy Huevos Rancheros (eggs, chorizo, black beans, cheddar cheese, avocado and salsa on a warm tortilla). It was excellent and there’s a picture posted. Everything is available in a veggie-​option, whether it’s just more jalapeño peppers or a veggie sausage.
Coffee is espresso-​based, so expect lattes, cappuccinos and americanos. The Noisette is an excellent choice — a double espresso with hazelnut syrup and hot milk. Yum.
American-​style ordering at the table and the staff brings your food. They’ve been very pleasant each time I’ve visited, very friendly and appropriately attentive without being annoying.
They have a row of tables just outside the restaurant and another cluster across the walkway that overlook the riverside.
I spotted a single power outlet in the far back corner, shared between a booth and a table. My iPhone latched onto a BT Openzone wifi signal though my laptop couldn’t find it.

good food in a family friendly atmosphere. reasonable value, nice place to go for lunch when out and about. everything we have had has been pretty tasty.

There was alot of hype for the opening of this place, i’ve only been in once, but everything seemed nice. The menu although not very large provided a variety of food. And both myself and my company were happy with our meals. The cocktails were nice, although I did notice that the frozen daquri I had was not advertised as such, which seemed odd. All in all a nice place, but staff could have been more friendly

Even on a busy sunny Saturday service was prompt and tables were cleared.
The menu tells of limited locations for draught Red Stripe but not to worry as this is one of those locations.
The seating is inside and outside and with all Giraffes has a very lively and warm atmosphere.
Perfect locale for shopping and parking at the Oracle.

The food is tasty, burgers & grilled sandwiches in particular.
The prices aren’t too bad either, about average for a decent burger.
Unless you love ice more than a polar bear you should definately ask for your drinks without it — I got so much ice at the weekend that I literally drank a coke in two mouthfuls!
The staff are very friendly, but they did seem to forget about us on two occasions — it was very busy though so I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt this time.

Great food, great service, and it’s suitable for family meals thanks to the kids entertainment and meals

visited sunday afternoon. Poor service — could be due to shortage of waiting staff. When main course arrived the steak was just warm and the chips were cold. Sent the food back and I got a half portion of chips but at least they were hot. Food very poor quality for price. First visit will give it one more try.

Haven’t been out in Reading recently, but spotted a couple of new places in Riverside. Giraffe was one of them, so I met up with an old mate there last night.
Atmosphere was buzzy — very busy, even mid-​week.
Food was terrific. I had a cheesy garlic bread starter (nicely presented as little squares of foccacia-​style bread on a wooden skewer with a balsamic/​olive oil dipping sauce). The chili beef lasagne was an inspired cross between chili con carne and lasagne. Finally, we shared a rocky road ice cream sundae (just enough for two).
Very good value — at £50 inc. automatically added 10% tip for two and a half courses each and coffees. Admittedly, very little alcohol; only one beer and three soft drinks.
Two minor criticisms — tables are too close together, so it doesn’t feel very private. And the staff are slightly hyperactive — very keen to help, but seem to want to engage in conversation when you want them to bugger off so you can enjoy your meal and have a chat with the person you haven’t seen for months.
That said, I’d definitely go back.

Really impressive, great service, particularly after only being opened a few days. A great selection of food and one of the best condiments collections I’ve ever seen. Great choice of food for vegetarians, not the same old same old boring stuff.