please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
A very good range of beers and the ones I had all well kept. Friendly locals and good atmosphere. Enjoyed the Ale House across the road too! 8/10.
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Nice. Wednesday night just before their West Country beer festival over the BH weekend, so stock low. Woodfordes Wherry excellent condition, Crouch vale Brewers gold and Green jack Orange Wheat. 20 beers and 3 ciders coming on. Despite previous reviews, staff friendly, apologised for reduced selection and provided perfectly sound explanation. Well worth a visit, basic proper back street pub and one for the notebook. The name gave a clue that this family know about pubs and beer - uncle runs the Norwich Fat cat chain.
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Normally fair selection of real ales available. The place itself is a little uncomfortable and bare. I remember this pub in the 1980s when locals referred to it as "The Dole Hole". Look around you and you can see why.
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Pub was okay, beer dinkable, staff reasonable but the ignorant talk across you for a short cut regulars mean it is NOT a pub for the casual visitor, If you aren't part of the local clique give it a wide berth (what a contrast to the pub directly over the road) - A definite NIL points.
anonymous - 4 Jan 2014 20:47 |
This public house is truly unique, it is the only hostelry in the UK with an invisible landlord.
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Been in here a couple of times over the years - it's OK - the beer quality does leave a bit to be desired and it is not a patch on it's sister pub Fat Cat Norwich for atmosphere. If you want decent ale in Colchester head to the Odd One Out on Mersea Road and the Hospital Arms on Lexden Road is also good.
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I visited this pub yesterday for the first time after hearing much praise. I was extremely dissapointed and never actually got to taste the beer. The kid on the bar completely ignored us - didn't even say hello - and there was one ale (Ducks Folley) on tap and no list of any others. 3 apparent regulars at the bar who grunted at us and a complete lack of atmosphere - we just walked out. VERY dissapointed and quite simply will never go back again. The owner needs to teach their staff the very basic rule to at least acknowledge people when it's so quiet; it's just rude to ignore people!
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I'm not sure what happened to the beer during the afternoon, Huey, but it was great on the lunchtime of the same day!
Excellent little pub, good snacks, friendly atmosphere.
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Paid my annual visit after the cricket and sad to say this pub has not improved. It lacks atmosphere and more surprisingly the beer I had was not very good.
I love the other Fat Cat pubs but this one does not come up to scratch compared with the others.
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A revisit on Monday 28 Dec after the occasion reviewed below two years ago. Not convinced about the beer quality on this occasion as it lacked condition.
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Quite a trendy place really though there was a good selection of beers when I made a midweek visit.
cobbo - 15 Dec 2009 13:07 |
Excellent pub with great selection of (usually) well kept ales. Staff friendly and service pretty good. Although friends have reported that it can be difficult getting served unless you are a regular, I've never experienced this myself. Although the pub is nicely done out and clean, it is small so getting a seat can be problem. Good atmosphere on match days.
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Good for a meal or two. I also like the name.
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Not much atmosphere and the pint I had was so so. Uhmmmm.......
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Great selection of drinks, but a bit expensive. Friendly atmosphere.
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Fat Cat, Flat Cat, Cat Flap is what you'll be saying after a night in here, not a real aler myself but usually find myself in the company of at least one and they seem to love this place, nice and clean and friendly, good toilets, not that much of an atmosphere but you can't have everything
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Excellent beers and some good food at a really good price
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Fat Cat - Good Job! great selection of beers, friendly atmosphere, good live music and late license, a pub to be cherished and well used me thinks. A v impressed customer, will be back.
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Having learned of it's existence I was excited by the prospect of a visit to The Fat Cat. Initial impressions were favourable with an excellent selection of beers on offer and friendly staff. However the place feels extremely new and lacks a community feel in my view. Strangely there were very few male patrons when I visited.
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Bright lightwood front bar above which a blackboard showed available ales - five of six handpumps Sat pm, and seven of the originally listed eleven from the tap room; I don�t have all details but when the choice is reduced and still stretches to 12 beers, it�s gotta be good. I know they had Brewers Gold & Hophead and, I agree with GDS, the couple of FatCat beers I tried were really tasty too. A plain looking pub, too plain according to my fellow crawlers, but I didn�t mind the simplicity of the whiteboarded walls & ceilings in the front, contrasting with the green wall housing the windows to the tap room stills, and there was a small plasma showing the rugby above a decorative fireplace. Around the bar to the right is a more shadowy section with some serious beer tasting going on, beyond this a small tiled area leading to impressively spotless loos, and a tiny outside corridor for smokers. Come on FatCat, we need you to open an outlet in SE London.
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Visited on Boxing Day before Saints played Colchester. Unfortunately I was driving which was a real shame considring the beer on offer, 4 on handpump and 12 in the tap room according to the board.
I had the Fat Cat Best which was lovely and a half of the Fat Cat Honey which was very nice too. Small but worthwhile list of foreign beer, shame that with Colchester moving ground I am unlikely to come here again.
Top marks.
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I was rather annoyed to see no dark beer on Saturday for an hour or so. I was however pleasantly surprised to see lovely Pitfields '1850 London Porter' there when I returned from Layer Road.
I understand some of the previous comments about the beer on the board not always being available. Thinking about it though usually this is on a home match day and all the bar staff are busy serving.
There is a small outside not covered area to the left rear of the pub if you need a fag.
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Excellent addition to the Colchester ale scene.
Good selection of ales, the ones I tried were well kept, good atmosphere.
Yes, it's long and narrow, but that's not really a disadvantage (in fact in Ireland it's almost compulsory). It helps produce a natural seating/eating area away from the standing/drinking area, I found it fine.
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I must say that the last review is very harsh as the F/C offers usually at weekends up to 20 Ales. Knowing the other Ale pubs in the town you may get 6 maximum. Usually you can get a beer that you cannot find anywhere else in the town. The amount on offer does reduce during the week like many other pubs. I like the way that the blackboard does now specify next to the list of available beer if its (T) Traditional/Amber (D) Dark and (L)for Light and Golden ales.
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There is little doubt as to their ability to keep ales, but I found it very disappointing that the two times I have been there, 50% of the advertised drinks were unavailable! Of the 50% that were available, most were standard ordinary ales which are available anywhere. Rather pointless them promoting themselves on their ale selection when providing the advertised ales is obviously a problem.
Yevad - 26 Jul 2007 10:29 |
An absolute gem. Large range of very well kept ales. Good food although slightly pricey. Not as popular as its sister pubs in Norwich and Ipswich yet so not so busy. Gets very busy on football days though.
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Not as good as the Norwich one, better than the Ipswich one in some ways, though some of the beers on the board weren't on, so I was ready for Summer Lightning only to be told it wasn't available :-(
Does need some character and is a funny shape but I think all that's really needed is time.
anonymous - 22 May 2007 12:24 |
The Norwich Fat Cat is my favourite pub in the whole universe and I'm also a great fan of the Fat Cat in Ipswich, where I live. Unfortunately this one isn't in the same league at present. The beers are of course excellent with the usual Fat Cat range of hand pump and gravity ales. The problem is with the interior- it's basically a fairly small, thin space with walls painted cream, one left with pale exposed brickwork,huge brand-new beams on the ceiling, little cuby lights mounted on the walls, a smell of fresh paint still lingering in the air; in a nutshell you don't feel like you're in a pub at all, it's more like the waiting room of some modern upmarket solicitors' office. Before paying this visit I honestly hadn't realised how crucial the right atmosphere is to a good pub experience. This is a pub which desperately needs some 'character'
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Very pleasant - more like the Ipswich than the Norwich one, and not as busy as the latter yet. Very friendly staff and customers. DON'T try the scotch eggs - they're OK but too large. Beer range and quality is very good, with emphasis on locals. Nice interior.
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Fat Cat. A real beer house! Excellent number of cask beers and others on handpump. This is the way pubs should be.
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Opposite another fine Real Ale Pub, namely The Dragoon, this recently opened establishment is a welcome addition to Colchester's real ale scene. Newly renovated, the owners have tried to go for thetraditional look with lots of wood and stone floors. The stillage room can be viewed from the bar, and a large blackboard shows a selction of fifteen plus real ales available. mine was a flying visit, but i will be making further liver-punishing investigations soon. It is also worth mentioning that this Fat Cat is the younger sister of the legendary two-times CAMRA National Pub of The Year in Norwich
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A third Fat Cat, others in Norwich & Ipswich. Not 10/10 yet but give it time.
Tim Cosgrave
Quasi - 10 Oct 2006 18:50 |
The latest addition to the Fat Cat chain the others being in Ipswich and the twice CAMRA National Pub of the Year in Norwich, The Colchester vesion is located opposite another fine Pub, namely the Dragoon. On my recent visit fifteen ales were available, most of which canm from East Anglia and included four or five from the relatively new Fat Cat Brewery in Norwich. Beer was well priced and very well kept, but will go back for a recce in force soon. The Pub itself has been overhauled at some cost, i'd say, and they've gone for an 'old fashioned' Pub looke with views of some of the beers in a 'stillage room' and wooden floor and furniture. All in all, a promising addition to the Colchester Real Ale scene
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Now Fat Cat . Unbelievable range of ales ... get there now before it becomes too popular !!!
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Soon (next few weeks) to become the Fat Cat, run by the son of the Ipswich Fat Cat owner. Great news!
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