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My first ever Saturday job was at The Oracle’s Pizza Hut. On the day it opened its doors to the public for the very first time, I was waitressing with pigtails in its smoking section. I have fond memories of that job. There was the time I put helium balloons in my hair when waiting upon a children’s party and got my head stuck in a toilet cubicle, and another when I accidentally tipped a pint of Orange Tango over a celebrity customer… But it was a really sociable job and didn’t feel much like work at all.
Nowadays the restaurant looks very different. Now spread over two floors and having had booth-shuffling and re-fits aplenty, it’s virtually unrecognisable from my time there. And it’s latest transformation is its biggest yet!
The restaurant has had a £500,000 re-furb and is now themed like a American comic-book with pop-art posters and leather booths. It has a brand new menu that combines tried & tested favourites alongside cool new additions such as sticky BBQ ribs and buckets of fries. But by far the biggest (and best) change of all… it has a BAR.
Yep, it’s now a light and casual place to gossip with the girls after hitting the January sales… it’s an after-work venue that will have you ripping your tie off and drinking away the day’s stresses… it’s no longer simply a place to meet up before a night out; a buzzy atmosphere, cocktail master and down-lighting make this a party location in its own right.
The bar area is sectioned off from the rest of the restaurant by way of clever lighting and partitioning which means your family meal won’t be interrupted. There’s still plenty of room around the salad bar and ice cream factory to kids to work off their pizza too. Okay the bar area is a little tight if you’re having a meal there, but as somewhere to unwind, it works just fine. It reminds me a little of TGIs without the dingy lighting - and is still the family-friendly restaurant it has always been.
The cocktail menu is impressive with plenty of fruity and milk-based naughtiness to cater for every taste. Cocktails are served in jars with paper “Where’s Wally” straws. Each are available as non-alcoholic drinks too so drivers won’t feel too disgruntled.
As one of Pizza Hut’s flagship restaurants, The Oracle is one of the first to get the upgrade, and only a handful of restaurants will boast a bar area, but it’s a great start to what is set to be an expensive roll-out of re-furbs. Have they got it right? Yes. It’s still the most family-friendly restaurant on the riverside complex, but with a cool new addition to keep parents sane amid the chaos of helium balloons, Smarties and ice-cream - be prepared to stay a little longer on your next visit!
To find out more about the re-furbs and check out the menu in your local restaurants, head to Pizza Hut’s website, or reach out to them on Facebook or Twitter.
*** GIVEAWAY ***
To celebrate the re-furb, Pizza Hut are giving two readers the chance to win a £40 voucher (redeemable at any Pizza Hut Restaurant in the UK so you won’t have to trek to Reading). It’s the perfect after-Christmas treat for you and your family. Good luck everyone!
Terms and Conditions
- Only 1 option is mandatory (leave me a comment) – the rest only improve your chances of winning so just complete as many as you feel like
- UK entrants only – you must be over 18 too (sorry)
- The winners will be contacted by email and must respond within 1 week of having been emailed (I’ll try all known avenues to contact them) or (a) new winner/s will be drawn
- When the giveaway is closed, Rafflecopter will select the winners completely at random
- The winners names will be published on this site
- There is no cash alternative
Win competitions at ThePrizeFinder.com
