Thirsty Bear

Second time I’ve tried pizza from here and both times, genuinely not good. I didn’t leave a review on the first one because I just thought, Pizza is easy to mess up but, gave it a second chance tonight and I’ll safely say, I’ll stick to Dominos

I rarely write reviews, but after this experience, I felt other customers and the owner deserved to know what happened. I used to go to Thirsty Bear for lunch regularly, but I will never return after the appalling service I received on 1 July. I was with a colleague, and we ordered two slices of pizza at lunchtime. We waited over 30 minutes without any update. With only 20 minutes of our lunch break left, I quietly and discreetly approached the waitress so I wouldn't disturb other customers and simply asked for an ETA. With a smug, condescending smile, she replied, "Well, we only opened at 12." It was around 12:40 PM. How is that my issue as a customer? Once you open your doors for service, customers should reasonably expect the restaurant to be prepared for the lunch rush. I simply wanted an honest update so we could decide whether to wait or take the food away. My food finally came out about 10 minutes later, but my colleague's food never arrived at all. Instead of apologising for completely messing up our order, the waiter loudly made a scene at our table. He accused me of being rude, even though I had spoken quietly and politely. He told me I had "put stress on them" and pointed to a large table that was already eating to excuse the delay. When I asked for a takeaway box, he threw the box on the table in a dismissive way and again called me rude. At that point, I stood up and went to speak directly to the chefs. The kitchen staff were honest, calm, and respectful. They explained they had been short-staffed and apologised, taking full responsibility. I made it clear I had no issue with the kitchen because delays happen, and I completely understood that. While I was speaking with the chefs, the waitress came over and told me to basically go away, claiming I was being loud. By this point I was in tears from the frustration, hunger, and the way I had been treated. Instead of showing any empathy, she chose to dismiss and embarrass me further. As a Black woman, and the only Black customer in the restaurant at the time, the way the waiter singled me out, tone-policed my quiet question, and publicly confronted me left me feeling profiled. I cannot say for certain what motivated their behaviour, but it felt as though I was spoken to with a level of hostility and condescension that would not have been directed at other customers. Although they eventually told me I didn't need to pay, I left without taking the food on principle. My colleague never received their meal, we both missed our entire lunch break, and returned to work hungry. I genuinely feel sorry for the owner because the kitchen team took accountability while the front-of-house staff chose to blame and insult a loyal regular customer. Management seriously needs to retrain or replace the front-of-house staff because they are a liability to what is otherwise a good kitchen team

Very pleased and had a wonderful experience. Also, we got served by a very kind guy named Ozun, the best customer service I ever had indeed.

Pizzas are amazing and the service was excellent

Best food in Reading 👌👌👌👌