PAUL Reading

Walk into PAUL on Broad Street and you're immediately hit with that unmistakable smell of buttery laminated dough and fresh bread. It's the sort of place that makes you feel like you've nipped across the Channel for five minutes, except you're still in the middle of Reading town centre. The display cases are genuinely stacked—croissants that are actually flaky, pain au chocolat with real chocolate bars inside, and decent sourdough that doesn't taste like someone's given up halfway through. You can grab a coffee and a pastry at the counter if you're rushing, or settle in at one of the small tables if you've got time to linger. Fair warning: it gets proper busy during the morning rush, especially weekends.