Pubs of Norwich: The Dyers Arms
This is a series of posts where I am planning on visiting every single pub in Norwich regardless of any preconceived views about them. Even if I have been to a pub previously, I won't blog about it until I revisit it for this specific purpose.
It's one of those pubs that nobody has ever heard of unless you've lived near it; it's been there for years, so what's it like?
The Location:
It's on a street corner near several other pubs, and a couple of kebab shops in the Sprowston area of Norwich.
The Pub:
It's grotty and grimey, not exactly small and has a double sided bar, a dart board, a TV and weird seating around the edges of the room instead of in the middle.
The Food & Drink:
Any hopes of a gastronomic or craft experience can go out of the window, and on my visit you couldn't even hope for a brown, twiggy real ale as both hand pumps looked like they haven't seen any use since the conception of CAMRA 40 odd years ago.
The keg taps were blessed with delights such as Carling, John Smith's, Kronenbourg and Theakston Mild.
No Guinness on tap here, but there was a surger on the bar.
If you're wishing to dine, you're in luck because you can have a probably out of date packet of crisps or nuts.
Events:
Late enough on a weekend night you'll probably see a lot of eventful happenings, but a tap takeover it is not. I was told once by an ex-colleague that about 20 years ago he was at his girlfriend's house one night and decided to run across to the pub to buy a packet of condoms from the vending machine; he walked in and someone hit him with a bar stool. Never found out whether his condom mission was a success.
Oh, they show sports too. Unclear whether they actually pay for a Sky TV pub license.
Atmostphere:
Whatpub describes it as "a homely, cosy & friendly pub" but I would certainly not. It's grim and dusty. Not been cleaned since 1963.
My Visit:
I walked in and got weird looks; I stepped up to the bar and scanned the taps before ordering a pint of Carling because it doesn't seem like the kind of place where you're allowed to order a half. Once the locals (who were shoving as much double cheap spirit and coke down their necks as possible) realised that I'm not a cop, it was OK but still weird.
I took my pint of Carling outside in the cold and stood at a bench that looks like it'd collapse beneath me if I sat on it and contemplated the fact that I never really have any intention of returning.
It's one of those pubs that nobody has ever heard of unless you've lived near it; it's been there for years, so what's it like?
The Location:
It's on a street corner near several other pubs, and a couple of kebab shops in the Sprowston area of Norwich.
The Pub:
It's grotty and grimey, not exactly small and has a double sided bar, a dart board, a TV and weird seating around the edges of the room instead of in the middle.
The Food & Drink:
Any hopes of a gastronomic or craft experience can go out of the window, and on my visit you couldn't even hope for a brown, twiggy real ale as both hand pumps looked like they haven't seen any use since the conception of CAMRA 40 odd years ago.
The keg taps were blessed with delights such as Carling, John Smith's, Kronenbourg and Theakston Mild.
No Guinness on tap here, but there was a surger on the bar.
If you're wishing to dine, you're in luck because you can have a probably out of date packet of crisps or nuts.
Events:
Late enough on a weekend night you'll probably see a lot of eventful happenings, but a tap takeover it is not. I was told once by an ex-colleague that about 20 years ago he was at his girlfriend's house one night and decided to run across to the pub to buy a packet of condoms from the vending machine; he walked in and someone hit him with a bar stool. Never found out whether his condom mission was a success.
Oh, they show sports too. Unclear whether they actually pay for a Sky TV pub license.
Atmostphere:
Whatpub describes it as "a homely, cosy & friendly pub" but I would certainly not. It's grim and dusty. Not been cleaned since 1963.
My Visit:
I walked in and got weird looks; I stepped up to the bar and scanned the taps before ordering a pint of Carling because it doesn't seem like the kind of place where you're allowed to order a half. Once the locals (who were shoving as much double cheap spirit and coke down their necks as possible) realised that I'm not a cop, it was OK but still weird.
I took my pint of Carling outside in the cold and stood at a bench that looks like it'd collapse beneath me if I sat on it and contemplated the fact that I never really have any intention of returning.
By "weird seating around the edges of the room" do you just mean normal pub benches or something different?
ReplyDeleteI went in the Dyers Arms on the 3rd June 2006,while doing a large pub crawl round that area of Norwich,i gad a half of Adnams Bitter,which was a decent drink,there was also London Pride on the bar.
ReplyDelete