The Madagascan Gin Palace Blog

The Madagascan Gin Palace has always been a mouth watering mouthful of a restaurant, commonly and affectionately referred to merely as 'The Gin Palace' it has long been the king of original eateries in West Berkshire among pretentious and often fleeting Johnny come and go latelies.

The originality of the concept of The Gin Palace, from its design to its constantly evolving world menu, has kept it at the forefront of people's choices for more than a decade and that is no mean feat when the majority of restaurants fail more quickly than Gordon Ramsey can verbally abuse a pastry chef into oblivion.

Keeping the appeal fresh and exciting is down to the founder Richard Hayman and I'm delighted to see that he has joined us trailblazers on in the dizzying realms of the Blogosphere. The Gin Palace Blog is sure to be as appetising as anything the restaurant serves.


I first met Richard when he was instrumental behind the bar in what was then Bruno's in Saddler's Court, Newbury. As a cub reporter he was deft at making me look incredibly influential when I would take press officers or visiting journalists there - and would be instinctively discrete if I arrived with someone I needed to interview.

I still recall the conversation in The Dolphin, just behind where The Gin Palace stands in Inch’s Yard, Newbury, when he first told me about this idea he had for a new restaurant…

So, do visit his blog and be sure to visit the restaurant too. The first 10 visitors to mention the ‘Blog Gift Voucher Offer’ when paying the bill will be given a £25 Madagascan Gift Voucher – the perfect gift for anyone who has yet to discover the delights of this venue – or anyone who already has!