The Basque country has surprisingly long tentacles of influence, as seen in the reach of the Jesuits, the make-up of the Spanish football team and a pub in Frilsham — a rural corner of Berkshire near where the Princess of Wales grew up that’s as middle-of-nowhere as you can get, while still being within earshot of the M4’s white-noise hum. This is where you’ll find the Pot Kiln, a cute red-brick pub with rooms and a Spanish menu. The pub has been transformed after a six-month, £750,000 renovation and reopened in June 2024. Two previously snug public rooms have been expanded into a bigger bar and a dining area with a huge open kitchen. Diners order salt cod croquetas, crispy pig’s ears and txuletón beef rib. Beyond the veg patch is converted-outhouse accommodation and wrap-around gardens and terrace, ready and waiting for good weather to kick in.
Overall score 7/10
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Rooms and suites
Score 7/10
The Pot Kiln has seven guest rooms — three above the pub and four out the back. The garden rooms cost £20 more a night — for that you get a lot of space, a sofa bed and a little outdoor area planted with herbs and lavender, looking over an apple tree, lawn and the car park, and partially screened from neighbouring rooms. Antique furniture is paired with bold prints of corals and palms and colourful outsize headboards; some have a bath, some have floorboards rather than carpet. There are chests of drawers but no wardrobes or TVs so the space can feel a little bare; biscuits would have been nice with the Birchall tea and Nespresso coffee. Bonus points for all of the hooks in the Bramley-stocked bathroom. The rooms above the pub are more private, with greater character and better views — of cow-grazed fields and woods.
Food and drink
Score 8/10
You have plenty of Spanish dishes to choose from but this is more Basque-influenced than purist. There are some fabulous flavours going on, though — in the corn ribs with smoked paprika, the charred leeks with romesco and the roe deer pavé with PX vinegar currants and a herby crumb. Prices are punchy — small plates are £5-12 and bigger portions start at £21 — but you’re paying for a bit of theatre too, from the flash new kitchen with its flickering open oven. On Sunday evenings the kitchen closes and the big pizza oven in the garden is fired up — reviving a popular tradition that sees queues down the lane. At the bar — which is properly pub-like, although strung with jamons and garlic — there’s (Sevillan) Cruzcampo beer as well as brews from the nearby Renegade brewery. The streamlined breakfast menu is similarly Spanish-ish — chorizo eggs as well as “the full Pot Kiln”. Toast, slightly oddly, is focaccia.
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What else is there?
Score n/a
A large garden with mature sycamore and pine trees is dotted with picnic benches for when the south-facing terrace, planted with grasses and herbs in the gravel, is full.
Where is it?
Score 7/10
Between Reading and Newbury, the Pot Kiln is deep in the countryside on a lane that’s popular with cyclists, and on various hiking trails — walker-friendly lunch deals are on the cards. Shooting parties are big business round here and there’s racing at Newbury. Beale Wildlife Park and the Georgian mansion Basildon Park are among nearby attractions; staff are largely from the area and can supply tips.
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Price B&B doubles from £100
Restaurant mains from £21
Family-friendly Y
Accessible N
Dog-friendly Y
Liz Edwards was a guest of the Pot Kiln
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