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The Fat Cat, Norwich

49 West End Street
Norwich
NR2 4NA
Phone: 01603624364

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Reviews (Current Rating Average: 9 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Fat Cat

Long overdue revisit, my first for 15 years, and this is what I wrote last time: "What a great place - tucked away in an outer Norwich side street, but a 'must' for any real ale drinker visiting the area. Fantastic choice of beer on handpump and direct from the barrels in the back room. Nice friendly atmosphere too." No reason to change any of that, and I'll just note my Norwich Bitter from the eponymous brewery was as excellent as I expected.

On 13th May 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Steve of N21 left this review about The Fat Cat

First time to visit this institution and it did not disappoint. Excellent traditional multi roomed internal layout with every surface festooned with pub and brewing memorabilia. I especially liked the historical pub signs being used as space dividers.
Real ales available were as described by Steve below and the Fat Cat Milk Stout was a nice drop. But as well as the ales there were 16 keg beers on offer, but the majority of these were fairly standard and the only interesting craft options came from Beavertown and Magic Rock.
One wall is dedicated to the numerous awards CAMRA has granted this pub over the years and the superior beer line up does attract the stereotype CAMRA member which, despite the organisation’s best efforts over recent years, does mean it attracts a predominantly hirsute portly male crowd, but largely being one of these I fitted in nicely.
It’s hard to find fault with this one, especially with regards to the pub ambiance and the beer range, and the only gripe I could find was also the same as Steve below, that the pork pies on offer were fairly mediocre mass produced ones. If they provided home made pies akin to those we enjoyed in the Duke of Wellington later on the crawl, there really would be no reason to leave this pub.

On 27th April 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 2094 recommendations about 1985 pubs]


Steve C left this review about The Fat Cat

The Fat Cat is a bit of an institution in Norwich, so I wasn’t surprised to find it reasonably busy during a recent early Friday afternoon visit. This is a thin L-shaped pub with traditional décor and a central L-shaped bar counter that faces two adjacent seating areas to the right of the entrance and beer shelves that run under the windows up the left-hand wall. There is a more seating in the wooden floored rear where partitions with leaded stain glass windows break up this long and thin strip of seating. A conservatory with more seating is found to the right. Breweriana is found throughout, mainly old advertising posters and lots of beer jugs that hang down from the ceiling.
I counted ten hand pumps on the bar, so there must be a hell of a lot on stillage because the chalk boards above the bar listed the cask options as Fat Cat’s Norwich Bitter, Brew Cat, Tom Cat, Incredible Pale Ale, Marmalade and Wild Cat alongside Crouch Vale’s Yakima Gold, TT Landlord, Oakham’s Citra, Green Devil IPA and Bishops Farewell, Lacons Norfolk Gem, Adnams Mosaic, Brentwood Brewing’s IPA, GK Abbot Ale, Salopian Hop Twister, Green Jack Brewery’s Mahseer, Settle Brewery’s Jericho Blonde and Bath Ales’ Gem. There were also three porters, Fat Cat’s Milk Stout, Brentwood Brewing’s Marvellous Maple Mild and Titanic Plum Porter. The Fat Cat products are also available in two pint jugs , I’m not sure if this is to take-away or for those too lazy to keep walking to the bar counter for only a pint top up at a time.
I thought the service was very friendly, as were the locals. My only gripe was that the pork pie I had wasn’t the best, in fact the pastry was rock hard and there was no jelly. However, I didn’t visit here to eat pies, so I will gladly return when next in Norwich for some more marvellous cask ale.

On 24th April 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 5179 recommendations about 5148 pubs]


Tris C left this review about The Fat Cat

Renamed in 1991, this was originally the New Inn, the exterior bedecked with old, enamelled signs advertising household wares, including ‘Churchman’s Counter Shag’.
Much has been written of this pub and it’s all true, except that I wasn’t approached by the churchman.
There are 18 cask and three porter/stout options advertised, me going for the Fat Cat Milk Stout at £2.10 a half, which went down very well indeed.
An absolute must-visit pub.

On 21st April 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 1956 recommendations about 1923 pubs]


Bucking Fastard left this review about The Fat Cat

What more can be said about this pub ? I loved it,traditional street corner exterior,many great interior features in the multi room layout,breweriana,water jugs hanging from the ceiling and stained glass in the windows,real fireplaces ,wood panelling and space dividers and a long array of handpumps stretching most of the distance of the bar.I noted TT Landlord,Crouch Vale Yakima Gold,Settle Jericho Blonde,Salopian Hop Twister (NBSS 4),Lacons Norfolk Gem,Brentwood IPA,Adnams Mosaic,Bath Gem besides their Fat Cat Norwich Bitter,Milk Stout,Tom Cat,Marmalade Cat and Brew Cat.I'm sure I missed something !.There were more real ales on stillage and even craft kegs if thats your thing.
My only regret was passing through swiftly on a crawl and the friendly locals ticked us off for the same on our departure.Next time I'm wallowing in here for a massive session.It's unmissable,a drinking institution and rightly gets full marks.

On 16th April 2023 - rating: 10
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Graham Coombs left this review about The Fat Cat

A definite institution which, if anything, seems to get even better. There seemed to be a good dozen or more ales available and I would happily have drunk any of them.

On 16th April 2023 - rating: 9
[User has posted 3322 recommendations about 3259 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


paulof horsham left this review about The Fat Cat

Really not what you'd expect to encounter - an absolute destination real ale pub in the quiet suburban backstreets, unless you're explicitly searching it out. And you are; of course you are. Too many handpumps to count and a fair few rooms as well, so seats can be hard to track down. Having said that, seat turnover was surprisingly rapid on my recent visit, so you may get lucky.

With the walls covered in breweriana, and the huge range of beers on offer, there is a certain "theme park" feel to the place and I do wonder if it's all got a bit out of hand. Nonetheless, if you're in Norwich for the ale, you're obviously going to drop in, and I'll surely do the same again some day.

On 14th March 2023 - rating: 8
[User has posted 449 recommendations about 421 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Quinno _ left this review about The Fat Cat

Yes! Still a pub man's pub full of pub men, busy when everywhere else was quiet. Wonderfully characterful, full of breweriana, a real multi-room gem just as I remember it from June 2009. The toilets are now very swish too. To the multitude of beers, served over pump and stillage - Fat Cat Tropical (NBSS 3), Mr Winters Peach tea pale (3.5), Fat Cat Marmalade (3.5) Green Jack Lurcher Stout (3.5), Oakham Bishop’s Farewell (3.5). Still Norwich’s best pub and a national must-do. Over a long weekend filled with Good Beer Guide under-performance, this was a genuine stand-out. “You aren’t a proper drinker if you haven't been to The Fat Cat” remains my sign-off, 12 years later.
Visited early August.

May 2009
Looked forward to my meeting with the legendary Fat Cat as the first pub of our mini-crawl of Norwich before Maximo Park at the UEA. Situated in a fairly quiet residential area it lies on a street corner and has twice been CAMRA national pub of the year, the last time being in 2004. In all senses an ale house, there are getting on for 20 ales including five of their home brewed Fat Cat beers dispensed from handpull or stillage; essentially a daily beer festival. I only had time to try three but they were all delicious and competitively-priced. The pub is actually quite large inside with a number of different areas to sit in. Papers are provided which is a nice touch. Plenty of breweriana adorns the walls which helps enhance the drinking atmosphere. Basic grub is available and the really cheap (60p) filled rolls are a winner, as are the pork and pickle pies. The vibe inside was friendly and unpretentious, filling up rapidly during the early weekday afternoon (how many pubs can say that?). The pub also sells fruit beers on draught, fruit wines and a large selection of Belgian beers. Impressively, there is a ‘Round the World’ collection of more than 80 bottled beers from places as far flung as Laos. Beer menus are on hand to help guide those who want to explore beyond the obvious. I had a great visit and it was a shame that I wasn’t able to stay beyond an hour.

You aren’t a proper drinker if you haven't been to The Fat Cat. Rated 10

On 12th September 2021 - rating: 10
[User has posted 5043 recommendations about 5026 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about The Fat Cat

I had been looking forward to coming here and it didn't let me down, a truly iconic and classic beer pub. I was actually amazed and pleased to find the availability of 17 ales covering all the bases, I went for two of their own with pints of Fat Cat Tom Cat and Fat Cat Milk Stout. The pub of course is more than well described in the reviews below, it's unchanged so I won't repeat, just to say this pub easily sits on the very top table of pubs.

On 11th July 2021 - rating: 10
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Fat Cat

The Fat Cat has always been one of my favourite pubs in the country and indeed one of very few that I would award a 10/10. Having not visited for 7 years, I was looking forward to stepping through the doors again.

The interior has not changed. But the ale range does not appear to be quite as good as it used to be. 4 of their own Fat Cat ales were on - Norwich Bitter, Tom Cat, Milk Stout & Cougar. Other regulars are Crouch Vale Yakima Gold, Greene King Abbot & Oakham Bishop's Farewell & Green Devil. Guests were Mr Winter's Twin Parallel, Orkney Island Life, Lockdown IPA, Red MacGregor & Northern Light, Timothy Taylor Landlord & Green Jack Mahseer IPA & Lurcher Stout. Most ciders are also now from Fat Cat - Scrumpy Cat Cider, Perry, Mango, Raspberry, Rhubarb, Mixed Fruits, Strawberry and Kiwi & Mango & Passion Fruit. Guests were Orchard Pig Maverick, Broadoak Pear and Chilli & Garden Cider Company Vintage Dry.

Whilst this was undoubtedly a fantastic range and the largest in Norwich, there seems to be too many of their own products for my liking. Still a great pub though. I'm sure I'll be back next time I'm in the city, despite it being a bit of a jaunt from the centre and the station.

On 18th September 2020 - rating: 9
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]

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