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Chat about:
Disappointment of the week with Real Ale Ray
on the Pub Forum
Detail Pages
The Whalebone, Norwich
Norwich
NR3 4BA
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 8 of 10) see review guidelines
Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The Whalebone
Two-bar corner pub, with the more traditional front part having a further raised seating area at one end, and the rear section looking more modern. Four real ales on handpump: Encore (£2.15, half) and Legacy from Lacons, Adnams Mosaic and a Caribbean Pineapple IPA from Wild Craft.
On 13th May 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 8086 recommendations about 8086 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Graham Coombs left this review about The Whalebone
A pub of two halves, with one side being a traditionally-furnished locals' bar, still with the splendid Bullard's barback, while the other is a bit more modern/upmarket/characterless, extended into a covered yard area. There is also a patio outside. The four ales on were Adnams Mosaic, Wild Craft Wild Caribbean IPA, and Lacons Blonde and Encore, the latter being very pleasant. Respectable enough but not as good as some in the area.
On 16th April 2023
- rating: 7
[User has posted 3339 recommendations about 3276 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Quinno _ left this review about The Whalebone
Not in the latest GBG but popped in for the previous good reviews and the historic bar back. Enter to the main bar (and back – which is very pretty), the rear part is an old alley to the toilets converted via a conservatory roof. Four ales on, my Barsham’s Norfolk Topper was an NBSS 3. Solid old skool guv’nor behind the bar. It’s a decent place but I didn’t warm to it as much as some others.
Visited early August.
On 12th September 2021
- rating: 7
[User has posted 5072 recommendations about 5055 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Moby Duck left this review about The Whalebone
A traditional two room pub to the north of the city,still much as Pub SignMan described it six years ago with the obvious exception of covid restrictions.The four beers on were Adnams Southwold and Ghost Ship , Woodefords Wherry and Lacons Blonde. A great example of a traditional locals backstreet boozer.
On 18th July 2021
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1871 recommendations about 1844 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about Whalebone
Located to the North of the city centre, this is a decent sized roadside pub offering an excellent range of well kept ale. You enter into a small front bar with a scuffed wood floor and traditional servery. Seating here is limited to bar stools and a single table with a couple of chairs. A nice fireplace can be seen top the right with a pile of CAMRA magazines on the mantelpiece. Following a passage to the left of the bar, you emerge into a traditional rear bar with similar flooring but plenty more seating including lots of tub chairs. The walls are half panelled and various bits of breweriana can be seen around the room. From here, you move on again into a modern extension with a checked tile floor, bare brick walls and a skylit ceiling. High tables and stools predominate here, with modern art prints on the walls fitting nicely into the surrounds and there was a collection of board games near the door. To the left was another room which was set up as a dining room with laminate flooring, plush seating and simple, clean décor. An attractive beer garden can be found to the rear, offering plenty of good cover and lots of sturdy garden furniture. Several TV screens throughout the pub were showing football, with the commentary audible in some rooms despite pop music playing simultaneously.
The hand pumps are split between front and back bars, so make sure you check both sides to see the full range. Options on this visit comprised Sharps Doom Bar and Atlantic, Adnams Broadside and Southwold Bitter, Woodfordes Wherry, Oakham JHB, Wolf Golden Jackal and Rudgate Cherry Pale. I sampled the JHB at £3.40 a pint and thought it was in outstanding condition. The barman was welcoming enough and a bunch of cheery local's all acknowledged me when I left.
This is a great pub that seems very versatile, with a number of very different areas making it possible to cater for a range of tastes. I thought this was a great pub to start a crawl around Norwich in and would like to try the place again a little later in the day, as I imagine you get a good atmosphere in here at busier times. One of a number of fine pubs in this part of the city.
On 22nd October 2015
- rating: 8
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Real Ale Ray left this review about Whalebone
I really enjoyed our visit here, staff are very welcoming. This large pub is also very well kept. I especially liked the bar side with it's original bar and original gas lamp fittings on the back bar. The ceilings were papered and painted in burnt sienna and walls painted in crimson. Seven handpumps, I went for the Broadland Best ale.
On 15th November 2012
- rating: 9
[User has posted 3382 recommendations about 3381 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Gill Smith left this review about Whalebone
Called in here on our way round Norwich pubs and found it to be a friendly local and spent our time chatting to the landlord while enjoying a couple of beers from Wolf brewery - Golden Jackal and Straw Dog. He has plans for the pub with extensions, and holds beer festivals. There is an outside seating area.
On 14th September 2012
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1339 recommendations about 1222 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Philip Gaskin left this review about Whalebone
While we were on holiday we visited this pub on a Monday evening to meet a friend of ours. We chose this one as he lives locally and said it was a good real ale pub. Inside there are two main bar areas finished in traditional dark wood. The left hand bar leads through to a covered garden area. There were ten real ales available from £2.70. I had London Pride which was well kept but at £3.40 was a bit more than I was expecting. I doubt we will visit again as our friend is moving, but I can recommend it as a good unspoilt real ale pub with a good atmosphere.
On 3rd July 2012
- rating: 8
[User has posted 202 recommendations about 169 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
shaun taylor left this review about Whalebone
good real ale pub
On 27th October 2007
- rating: 10
[User has posted 23 recommendations about 23 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Alan Winfield left this review about Whalebone
The Whalebone is a decent looking pub that is in a resedential area.
Once inside there was one room that i noticed and this was a very nice room and the sort of place i could settle in for a session.
There is also a nice enclosed beer garden to the rear of the pub.
There was a vast array of Pumps on the bar with over 20 real ales being on,i had a drink of Felstar Chick-Chat which was a very nice well kept pint,there was also Darwen Ghost Ale and Titanic mild,all the other beers on the bar were from smaller micro brewerys.
If in Norwich this pub is well worth a visit.
Pub visited 3/6/2006
On 3rd June 2006
- rating: 10
[User has posted 6113 recommendations about 6113 pubs]