Louis Marchesi, Norwich

The L-shaped bar counter in the Louis Marchesi is found in the left rear corner where it supports standard, premium and craft keg alongside four hand pumps. Three of these were in operation drawing Titanic’s Plum Porter, Woodforde’s Jester and an ale rebadged as Louis Marchesi Golden Ale. Food is available, the Classic Burger is priced at £12. Well-trodden bare boards run throughout and faced by the bar, to the left of the entrance, are sofas around a coffee table in front of a fireplace with an impressive log effect gas fire. On the left wall in between the fireplace and bar counter is a piano that was covered by a sheet of purple velvet. On the rear wall to the right is a large red brick chimney breast that is full of logs that are piled on top of a burner. In this area are more sofas, as well as a retro arcade table that was switched off. In the front right is a raised area with pew and standard seating, much of which was draped in shiny aquamarine sheets. Whilst looking for the advertised garden terrace I stumbled across the upstairs function room where the furniture had been arranged to create large dining table. I was unsuccessful in my search for the terrace, although I didn’t look very hard. Regular live music is held here in the form of folk and open mic nights. Some classic rock was playing in the background during my recent Thursday afternoon visit. The Porter was good and the service polite, but this pub was a bit too bohemian for my taste.

This lovely Grade II listed Tudor style building, set in the pleasant Tombland area of the city, dates back to 1771, although it was build on the site of a much older 14th Century building, the crypts of which still survive to this day and are available for private hire. The pub was originally known as the Waggon and Horses, but was renamed The Louis Marchesi in 1976, in honour of the founder of the Round Table Movement who lived in the city. In 2004, the pub closed, opening soon after as the Take 5 Café and Bar. The pub presents a clean, tidy interior with a cosy, traditional feel to it. The main bar is split level, with a bare boarded seating area to the front and the servery on a raised section along the rear wall. The front left hand side of the pub has pew and standard chair seating around an old fireplace with a large modern hood above it. A very long, dark wood beam runs the entire width of the room, supported by a couple of small pillars opposite the bar. The front right side meanwhile, mixes standard and banquette seating to fill an otherwise fairly featureless space, although some artworks, much of which appeared to be for sale, added a bit of colour and visual distraction. More art is apparently displayed in a gallery area on the first floor. The servery has a nice panelled counter and a row of tankards displayed along the canopy and to the right of the bar another seating area emerges, focussed around an excellent fireplace on the back wall. Music played quietly throughout my stay and I don't recall seeing any TV screens. On the bar the handpulls were dispensing Woodfordes Wherry, Humpty Dumpty Reedham Gold and Norfolk Brewhouse Moon Gazer, with two more offering real cider options. The keg range was a little left-field and unusually, the pub seems to offer a wide variety of teas, with the full selection detailed on a large board behind the bar. My pint of Reedham Gold, served up by a super-friendly barmaid, was outstanding and as good as anything I found during a long crawl around the city. This pub ticked a lot of boxes for me and I really enjoyed relaxing in here over a well kept and tasty pint of ale. You're never going to have too much difficulty trying to find a decent pub in the heart of this city, but this place had a slight edge over the others that I visited and would be exactly the sort of place I'd happily return to.