The Fat Cat, Colchester

Official site of The Fat Cat - www.fatcatcolchester.co.uk

Official site of The Fat Cat - www.fatcatcolchester.co.uk

Bright lightwood front bar above which a blackboard showed available ales - five of six handpumps Sat pm, and seven of the originally listed eleven from the tap room; I don't have all details but when the choice is reduced and still stretches to 12 beers, it's gotta be good. I know they had Brewers Gold & Hophead and, I agree with GDS, the couple of FatCat beers I tried were really tasty too. A plain looking pub, too plain according to my fellow crawlers, but I didn't mind the simplicity of the whiteboarded walls & ceilings in the front, contrasting with the green wall housing the windows to the tap room stills, and there was a small plasma showing the rugby above a decorative fireplace. Around the bar to the right is a more shadowy section with some serious beer tasting going on, beyond this a small tiled area leading to impressively spotless loos, and a tiny outside corridor for smokers. Come on FatCat, we need you to open an outlet in SE London.

Previously The Royal, The Fat Cat (the sign hanging outside is annotated 'Free Mouse') has matured into an excellent local pub with 8 ales on gravity feed. It has the feel of a cross between a micro and a traditional town local. There is a good bar menu and they run regular curry nights as well as a take-away curry service. The staff are dedicated and hardworking, but maybe not as welcoming as they could be. The locals were very much more welcoming, friendly and chatty. The décor is basic: bare brick, bare floorboards, minimal clutter on the walls and plain paint on what wood panneling remains. The building has been extended to the rear and now occupies almost the whole plot, leaving a tiny shred of garden as an outside terrace. The extension isn't terribly sympathetic to the original Victorian building – anachronistic beams, for example – but that doesn't detract from the pub's operation. The from bar is mainly for vertical drinkers though there are a few bar stools for the less steady, while the back bar in the extension has tables and pew seating. An outstanding pub which makes an essential addition to a crawl and one I shall certainly visit next time I'm in the area.