Forget pitchers of woo woo and purple rain – there’s no excuse now there’s a swanky new cocktail bar in town, full of creative and surprising concoctions. Continue reading
Category: Pubs & Bars
Norwich may not have the number of pubs it so famously used to – one for each week of the year – but we’re not short of a place to stop for a drink or two.
Warwick St Social, Warwick St
Headed up by award-winning chef Alex, Warwick St Social is another Golden Triangle gem. The restaurant and bar serves up affordable lunch and dinner menus that change daily, with a contemporary edge that gives the food flair enough to impress without being overly showy, and some dishes that have come across from sister restaurant the Ingham Swan. Continue reading
Mitre, Earlham Rd
The top aim at Mitre is simple, so simple that they made a hashtag for it: to create #APublicHome. And when we visited on one sunny spring day, a home is exactly what it felt like, with comfy sofas, big slices of cake, and a range of nooks and corners to suit everyone. Continue reading
The Ten Bells, St Benedicts
You can’t even look at advent calendars this year without seeing the word “gin”, so trendy has the juniper tipple become. Its popularity has exploded in recent years, with experts crediting the influence of bartenders, gin’s ubiquity in cocktails, and its short production time and versatility for the boom. Continue reading
Jarrold Deli & Wine Bar, London St
There was a time in Jarrold’s history when the deli was hidden in a dingy corner, a small selection of local pastries and cheeses obscured by shelving, when cookware displays sprawled across the basement.
That slightly sad counter is very much a thing of the past, thanks to a carefully planned refit that’s expanded the shop’s offering enormously and created a swanky wine bar that wouldn’t look out of place in a posh London department store.
Aroma, Upper King St
Tucked into a little listed building on King St, Aroma could be easy to miss, but you’d be a fool to walk past. Before you even get to the food and drink, you’ll be greeted by some of the friendliest cafe staff in the city, and then by an extensive array of food and drinks to choose from. Keeping it a local affair, Aroma uses coffee from Smokey Barn, which is based further down King St. And when the sun goes down – or, you know, any time before that, we’re not judging – the cafe/bar offers a range of cocktails, some evergreen, like the the espresso martini, and some seasonal, such as the Fireball chai.
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Frank’s Bar, Bedford St
There’s a good reason Frank’s is a bit of a Norwich institution: it’s got all the cosiness of your best mate’s house, along with good and drinks galore. Yep, even for your pickiest friend, as the good folks at Frank’s offer vegan, veggie, and gluten-free goodies and are happy to modify a range of their dishes to accommodate dietary requirements. You can even settle down to a movie on a Sunday night.
In fact, serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner, as well as the holy trinity of coffee, cakes, and cocktails, Frank’s is only a bunkbed away from being somewhere you may well like to move into.
If you like Frank’s, you’ll also love sister restaurant North. Click here to find out more.
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The Birdcage, Pottergate
What do you get when you mix cocktails, music, and art? A great night out at The Birdcage, that’s what.
Nestled in the Norwich Lanes, The Birdcage exhibits all the eccentricity you’d hope for in an art deco pub in a city bursting with creativity. Alongside the drinks, the pub puts on art shows, open mic nights, and life drawing classes (called BUMS), as well as offering Friday “fizz and chips” in partnership with neighbours and buddies the Grosvenor fish bar.
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St Andrews Brew House, St Andrews St
Beer so local it’s brewed on site, British tapas, and vegetarian food options galore? Count us in.
This corner of Norwich has certainly improved since the days the site hosted Delaneys. The stretch from Grapes Hill all the way down to Elm Hill is fast becoming a foodie mecca, playing host to quirky cafes and the infamous Benedicts restaurant. Just up the road from the gin-distilling Ten Bells, and next to the home of Norwich’s beer festival, St Andrews Brew House, with more than 30 different types of ale, lager, and craft beer on offer, certainly fits in here. Continue reading