Blue Collar Corner: We visited Berkshire’s ‘best beer garden’ and we can see why

Last week a BerkshireLive poll to find the county’s best beer garden came to a conclusion. The winner was ‘ Reading ’s Newest independent venue’, Blue Collar Corner and this week we made the trip to experience what the place has to offer.

Blue Collar Corner started back in March 2022, when the owners decided to transform a desolate area of Hosier Street, into a place for people to come and sample different food and enjoy various beverages. The venue features four food stalls and one bar, with two floors of beer garden seating.

It is located on Hosier Street, directly opposite Broad Street Mall and across from St Mary’s Church. Coming from the station, the walk is only around 10 minutes going down Broad Street before cutting through behind the Church. Likewise if travelling by car, Blue Collar Corner is in close proximity to various car parks dotted across the town centre.

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Our first impression of the venue was that it stands out in an area which is perhaps in need of greater refurbishment. You may think that this would put some people off attending or stumbling across the venue, but Blue Collar seems to have established strong connections to the local community – getting people through the door does not seem to be a problem.

First walking into the venue you are struck by the vibrancy and atmospheric nature that Blue Collar has been able to create. The venue has a resident DJ, but one could argue that this is almost not necessary considering the atmosphere that is generated by the number of people there.

The four food stalls that were present when we visited were, Dirty Boys – dirty burgers and loaded fries, The Fat Tabby-large meat wraps, Korean Street Food and Gourmet Warriors – another burger and fries stall. We chose the Fat Tabby and enjoyed a crispy duck and halloumi wrap, filled with vegetables.