Compleat Angler, Norwich

Official site of Compleat Angler - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

Official site of Compleat Angler - www.greeneking-pubs.co.uk

This is a large riverside pub and also one of the first pubs you'll encounter if arriving into Norwich by train. You enter into a bare boarded space with an upright piano to your right where the pub extends some way towards the rear. A nice dark wood servery and bar back makes a good impression on arrival, although I got the impression that these were comparatively recent additions. There is a lot of vertical drinking space to the right with the odd high table and stool combination, although this gives way to a conservatory style space which has been carpeted and furnished with comfy button backed banquettes. There were a lot of flags from all over the world on the ceiling here and a few slot machines quietly flashed away around the margins. To the left of the bar is a more conventional pubby space with a mix of bench, high stool and standard chair seating in an area decorated with bookcase and stamp motif wallpaper. More flags were on show here, including in bunting format and there were several large screens throughout the whole pub showing live sports coverage whilst pop music blared out of the speakers. Arriving in the hours of darkness, I was only able to get a vague sense of the outdoor seating options, but the riverside seating certainly looked like a good bet for a pleasant day and the pub seems to have done a decent job of making the most of this feature. Stairs lead down to a restaurant/function room that I didn't get to explore and the pub is one of the recommended venues for away fans attending matches at nearby Carrow Road. I wasn't expecting too much on the ale front from, what I assumed would be, a standard station/football pub, but there were four interesting options on handpull - Tyne Bank Pacifica, Greene King USA, Roosters Yankee and Sadler's One Stop Hop. My pint of Pacifica was in fine condition and having arrived at a time when most of the football crowd had dispersed, I found the place a relaxing spot for a quick pint. This was a bit of a wildcard, having found myself with time to spare before my train home and I'm glad I gave the pub a chance. It is probably best avoided on match days but I can imagine having a good pint or two on a summer's day by the river and would suggest this works well as a good first or last pub of the day for anyone visiting by rail.

We were early for our train so decided to have a meal and drink here but we were disappointed. The Adnams Explorer was hazy. Menu was attractive and reasonable too, but I'm afraid I had to leave the unchewable beef on my dinner, although the rest of the meals were fine. Lovely sitting on the balcony outside by the river.

The Compleat Angler is situated next to the river and is the first pub you see if arriving by train when walking towards the city centre. I first went in this pub on 23 June 1983 and the pub was a Watney Norwich house with that lovely Norwich keg bitter coming out of a green box on the bar. Things have improved since then the pub has been opened out and is fairly smart inside and there were real ales on the bar. Pub firts visited 23/6/1983 Photo taken 3/6/2006