Fat Cat & Canary, Norwich

A long way out of the city, maybe further than the sister pub - the Fat Cat in the other direction, maybe not the must do of the canary-less version but a good pub nonetheless. A thirties deco building with one large drinking space within. There are separate areas denoted by stub walls. Seating is mainly benches with cushions, otherwise it’s tables and chairs. Being a long way out the clientele is probably more local than pub ticker. It retains a lot of thirties charm if you like deco, it also has traditional pub decor and suchlike, a dart board which entails furniture moving, a large collection of whisky jugs and more than a few bottles. Five pulls of Fat Cat beers plus guests from Oakham, Titanic and Crouch Vale, along with three T-bars of interesting beers. It does have a few arseholes as customers but don’t worry they’re not ubiquitous. Yes I’d say walk out or get a bus, you’re not going to regret a visit.

The Fat Cat and Canary has a black and white checkered floor and a bar counter on the right wall that faces a shelf with stools in the centre of the pub, some large tables and then benches up the left wall that run around to the right. In the large curved front window is a long bench with seating and at the rear is a sunken seating area. On the left-hand wall is a dartboard. This is a Fat Cat Brewery pub so it wasn’t surprising to see Bitter, Tom Cat, Marmalade, Honey Ale, TABBY, Milk Stout and Wild Cat all available on cask. Also available were Crouch Vale’s Yakima Gold, Oakham’s Inferno, Ossett’s Look What The Rat Dragged In and Adnam’s Mosaic. I liked it in here, but there are too many excellent pubs on the other side of town to warrant the schlep to visit here again.

Over 8 years on since my last visit here, we headed here for a session after watching a match at the nearby Carrow Road football ground. It's a 10-15 minute walk uphill from the ground or the centre and is located in an area with few other decent options for a drink. However, the selection here is excellent and you don't need to go anywhere else. Real ales are served either by handpull or direct from the cellar. Fat Cat Norwich Bitter & Honey seem to be regular beers. In addition, they also had their own Tabby, Tom Cat, Marmalade & Lockdown. Guests were Crouch Vale Yakima, Titanic Plum Porter & Oakham Inferno. Beers are all listed on blackboards above the bar. A selection of 27 real ciders were also listed. Although not all of them were available and I noticed quite a few mistakes amongst the listing. But once I'd worked out what was what, I concluded that the 26 available ciders were Fat Cat Scrumpy Cat Cider, Perry, Mango Cider, Farmers Fruits, Raspberry Cider and Strawberry & Kiwi Cider, Broadoak Moonshine, Perry & Kingston Black, Weston's Vintage & Organic, Ampleforth Abbey Cider, Thistly Cross Original & Whisky Cask, Lilley's Tropical Cider & Pickled Parrot, Norfolk Raider Winkle Perry, Dolly Pink, Gator 24, Elder 24, Honey Belle, Cinnamon Lil & Wingman & Gwynt y Ddraig Two Trees Perry & Black Dragon. The interior is fairly olde worlde with a decent size front bar and narrower rear room. TVs were showing live football and it was fairly busy and noisy, as you'd expect being reasonable close to the football ground. However, as the crowds began to thin out, it became much more civilised. Service was very quick and efficient, even when we first walked in. There were plenty of staff, whilst the landlord was also wandering around with cups of tea in his hand. Although I'm not sure the first barman who served me was too impressed with having to fetch 4 halves of different ciders from the cellar, especially when one of the selection was not in fact available. I have to say that my visit here was much improved on my last one in 2013, where I rated the pub a 5/10. Perhaps I somehow missed the full range of ales and ciders last time, or maybe it has improved dramatically. Either way, whilst getting to the Fat Cat itself should be a priority when in Norwich, the Fat Cat & Canary or the Fat Cat Brewery Tap are excellent substitutes if you can't.