Fat Cat

The Fat Cat is a legendary old pub in the Kelham Island area of Sheffield, associated with the Kelham Island Brewery. It’s one of the city’s most recommended waterholes, and indeed people go there for a nice, relaxed pint, or five. It’s not much in terms of décor (especially the rather bare guest room to the left of the premises. I’d recommend to sit in the bar room part of the pub.
The bar itself has an original design (see photo). The owner is a friendly elderly fellow, and knowledgeable about the beers. When I visited yesterday there was also a spunky, lively young woman behind the bar who enjoyed chatting with the rather «mature» clientèle. This is a bar for old boozers, so don’t expect any fancy people here. Which is just as well if you ask me.
There are limited food options, but frankly, this place is all about the beers. There’s a fair sampling of the Kelham Island range, but there guest ales, too — and remarkably, not one but two German cloudy wheat beers, Erdinger and Schneider Weisse. The Kelham beers are great value at about £ 2.30 per pint, the imported wheat beers clock in at £ 4 and up.
The Kelham Island Museum of Sheffield’s industrial history is just around the corner, so you might feel tempted to combine the two.

Great old pub. It has a large yard out the back and the locals are very friendly. We invaded it with about 20 people and no one blinked an eye.
Lots of people point to the beer selection but I didn’t try any this time.

Brewery tap of Kelham Island, little disappointing apart from the quality of the beer the pub lacks a distinctive character but has a good beer garden. Still if you want good beer cannot go far wrong with a visit here.

A decent selection of beers in what is a really nice looking old pub.
Shame that the N2/​NZ (New Zealand Ale) was a wee bit disappointing in regards to its lack of flavour. The other beer I went for was much better though. Their website is well worth checking out for some very interesting history, including the flood of 2007.

Amazing pub founded by amazing man. Dave wickett the bravest man in UK.

Really great pub. The ales were fantastic, with really knowledgeable and friendly staff. Eclectic decorations. I have only been once and it was really, really quiet, mid-​week, so would have to go again to be able to properly sample it, I reckon, but would highly recommend it.

I have only really been in this pub in the evening; it’s a fairly small pub that fills up quickly with good reason!
It’s a proper pub with proper ales. Offering a good selection it could take you sometime to decide on what to have! Prices are reasonable, they do sell other drinks and not just ales.
As mention in other reviews this is an awarding winning pub and its understandable why.
The staff are good at what they do, so even when busy its not a long wait to get served like in other bars that I have been to. If you are lucky you could even get a seat but you will have to get there early (or very late).
It’s a no frills kind of place so its best going with people you like to talk to as there is not much else to do other then drink.
Its location is good, just out of the main city centre but not too far, also a good selection of pubs nearby in order to make an evening out.

Excellent if you are into real ales. Makes the most of what the Sheffield Brewerys have to offer. The food is decent, with good veggie fare. Good veggie food + good real ales is an unusual and impressive combination so get my vote.
Slightly off the beaten track if you are pub crawling, but this is probably a positive thing for those after a quiet drink.

As real ale pubs go, this is up there with the best. How could you fault a pub that regularly has ten real ales on tap and replaces them as soon as they run out?
They do have the advantage of Kelham Island not having far to deliver, but even so, the choice of ales is awesome.
Although not really a huge place, the service has never disappointed me or my family. Even when it is heaving with bodies, all customers get served without much of a wait.
The one time we ate here (too lazy to go into town centre) we were happy with the choice of meals and the service.
In short — if you like real ale, you can’t miss the Fat Cat off your list of must visit pubs.

Hey used to go here when i used to work in afactory in my younger days.
Really nice old fashioned pub with a really nice old atmosphere, good for having chats with your mates.
Iremember it sells alot of real ale but i just stuck with the lager.
Dont think it played much music or had a duke box but it didn, t matter, you just felt at home.
Ifyou want a friendly old fashioned pub give this aTRY.

The Fat Cat will always be a special place for me as it is the place I first discovered real ale. It has won several awards including Sheffield CAMRA pub of the year on many occasions and it’s brewery, Kelham Island Brewery brews ‘Pale Rider’ which is a former Champion Beer of Britain weinner.
The pub istself is quite small with two rooms — the main bar and what was formerly the non-​smoking lounge. There is a large beer garden at the back which is great in the summer. There is also a room upstairs which can be booked for functions.
Due to the pubs size and popularity, the Fat Cat can get very busy and sometimes it’s a tight squeeze at the bar, but it is well worth it as the beer is generally excellent and reasonably priced.

This is a great traditional real ale pub, it has a fantastic garden area too. There are plenty of real ales and unusual flavoured wines.
The food is great, very wholesome and home made, a good selection of vegetarian food too.
Have a look on the wall at the front of the pub to see the flood levels of the Great SHeffield flood and the more recent SHeffield flood.

This is another superb traditional pub in Sheffield. It has a fantastic range of real ale. It is very very cosy with a very ye olde layout. The food is second to none and is has won awards for it’s top notch vegetarian and vegan menus. No visit to Sheffield is complete without a visit to the Fat Cat, and no pub crawl along the Kelham Island /​Camra trail is complete without the Cat being included. Another pub that is part of Sheffield’s history and should be cherished by all traditiona pub lovers. One last point — the beer garden has to be the nicest beer garden of all pubs in Sheffield. So much effort has gone into making it special with lots of different varities of plants making it full of colour. Full respect to the owners.

As had been said before there isnt a lot to do here its very limited entertainment wise.
Clearly full of beer buffs as it has its only breward next door and to be fair the beer was top notch.
Same couldnt be said about the food, in fairness i did go on a busy day but was presented with a cold stilton pasta (should have been warm) and a bit of salad i wouldnt have fed my RABBIT!
Beer= YES
Food=NO

The Fat Cat
Among the CamRA crowd, this 150 year-​old pub has prodigious status. Situated near the Kelham Island Brewery, there’s a range of 10 real ales on tap, plenty of bottled continental beers in the fridge and some nice ciders too. The Cat has a great reputation and wins plenty of awards in the industry.
Should you decide upon a beverage before closing time, there’s the choice between the pleasant lounge or the beer garden (more of a yard, but still nice).
You won’t get a young, lively crowd in here and it the legendary status means it fills up quick, but should you find a corner of your own, enjoy it.
This is real ale Mecca.

What can I say about this pub that has not already been said?
In brief:
No Sky
No television
No Juke Box
No Music
No smoking room (25 years before pubs went no smoking)
No pool table
No bandits
No quiz machines
Real ale, 10 of, 4 from The Kelham Island Brewery next door.
Real hearty home made food
Real coal fires
Really welcoming hosts
Real patrons
Real ale beer garden
A real Fat Cat (see if you can spot her hidey hole)
It’s own brewery next door !
If you like Real Ale and good conversation with your friends in relaxed and comfortable surroundings, then this is a pub you really must try.