The Knowhere Guide

Eating and Drinking in Croydon, Greater London*

Croydon, Greater London Pubs, Cafes, Coffee Shops and Restaurants

Food

• THERE IS AN AWFUL TURKISH JOINT CALLED LE BIEN MANGER THEY THINK THE DECOR WILL DO EVERYTHING TO CONVINCE US TO EAT THERE, THE STANDARD OF SERVICE IS THE WORSE YOU WILL EVER SEE, THE OWNER DON'T HAVE A CLUE WHAT HE IS TALKING ABOUT, CAN YOU IMAGINE A PIECE OF FISH FOR £ 14.95 AND DESSERT FROM MAKRO CASH AND CARRY FOR 6 POUNDS A PIECE, THE FOOD WAS AWFUL, IT LOOKS LIKE AN ART GALLERY WITH NO CLASS, THE PRICE YOU PAY IS THE COST PRICE OF THOSE PICS FROM IKEA AND CHEAP PLATES FROM ISTANBUL, GO AND EAT AT IL POOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONTE THAT'S WHAT WE CALL FOOD, DON'T EAT AT LE BIEN MANGER IT'S BAD FOR YOU. BY THE WAY IT BELONGS TO THE SAME GUY WHO HAS THE KEBAB SHOP NEXT DOOR, EVEN HIS KEBABS ARE AWFUL. BEST PLACES TO EAT ARE: MAMMA ANGELA, ILPONTE AND MC DONALDS AT LEAST YOU KNOW WHERE YOU STAND WITH THESE PEOPLE. DON'T EAT AT MAMMA AMALFI GEORGE STREET, PIZZA'S ARE LIKE RUBBER YOU CAN ACTUALLY WEAR IT AS A SHOE, IT IS NOT EATABLE AT ALL ALSO STANDARD OF HYGIENE IS BELOW ZERO, KITCHEN IS VERY DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIRTY.
• zizzis in south croydon is the best Italian for miles!
• Thorntons on a wk day aftanoon is pretty rockin- they do a wikkid pot of tea for only £1.10!
• debenhams' high tea is definitely worth calling in for. £1.95- you cant complain!
• The 2 best places to eat in Croydon: The Little Bay, v. cheap but v. good and Gourmet Island is also great event though pricier.
• Guys you must check out the new restaurant across the road from the nosh op food is absollllllllllllllllllllutely to die for, they are cooooooooooooooooooool in there, tapas, pasta or say je nesais quoi? as del boy says: mais oui mange tout, rodney.... c'mon rodders get in there now it's open all day.it's called le bien manger, it's blue you caNNOT MISS IT,ON THE HIGH STREET.NUMBER 103/105.
• Bestest THAI FOOD, freshly made favouring your taste..name it.Want it be spicy,mild or whatever.Lighthearted environment.Very friendly staff.Very,VERY delicious home made ice cream.FANCY COMING ? visit MENTARA Restaurant at Lower Addiscombe Road Croydon,you can never regret yr first visit.Possibly yearn for more..
• South Croydon is great for restaurants, my pick of a pretty broad selection would be Pizzeria Romana, the Tree House and Gourmet Island (a Mauritian restaurant specialising in fish dishes). Also well worth a visit is Casablanca, a superb family-run Moroccan restaurant on Brigstock Road (going towards Thonrton Heath).
• The tree house is amazing down south croydon. the best sweet potatoe mash and other yummy things
• The new Italian place which is right under the flyover on the high street, opposite McClusky's. Not the greatest location but great food. Having said that I still prefer Pizza Express down the road!
• i havent seen anyone mention GALICIA Tapas bar yet - try it - its great fun and the waiters are the best around - fun friendly and polite - and a real meeting point in South Croydon - packed out at week-ends and still v busy rest of the time
• Wide selection
• dunnooo....
• the pizza hut in centeral croydon!!! the smell as you walk into the whitgift center is enough to tempt you and it so beats having mcdonalds every day.
• If you're into curry, and your in Croydon, visit Tikka Massala. Brilliant food and excellent prices...you won't regret it!!! Alternatively, if you want a slightli more interesting curry, go to the Banana Leaf in Addiscombe.
• The Mongolian Barbecue is gone now, as is Hockney's restaurant. Le Jardin de Province is the restaurant FROM HELL!
• Hin's Palace Chinese REstaurant in South End. Great service, great food, reasonable prices. I like it anyway!
• TGI Fridays is always fun, on the purley way. South Croydon as has already been stated by some other people is really good for restaurants.
• LOADS to choose from. If you are indecisive, check out South End, wander for 10 mins, and you will have passed at least 20 places to eat.
• Yates pub, Mama Amalfis.
• Croydon now has at least THREE noodle bars now... The first and best is the UDON noodle bar on London Road.
• good chinese place in sanderstead.
• Zara's Kitchen in South Croydon: a very good Indian restaurant, but book ahead on weekends. El Somrero in South Croydon: excellent Mexican restaurant - they also do terrific Margarita's. You mentioned Hockney's in the guide. I loved the place, too, but it's been closed for about two years now... how often do you update the guide?!
• The Chicken fast food place on the high street near the infamous flyover does the tastiest chicken burgers EVER!!
• Anna's in the whitgift center is a great place to eat
• The pizzeria Romana on South End is an absolutely great little Italian restaurant. It's next to Bagattis, but what it lacks in size it more than makes up for in atmosphere and GREAT food. The food is VERY fresh and all prepared on site. Fabulous-Yum!
• The Banana Leaf is a freat curry house, but an alternative is The Royal Asia, also on Lower Addiscombe Road. Superb food & superb staff make it one of the best curry houses I've been to, and I've had a few.... Turn right at the bottom of Cherry Orchard Road & it's opposite the Esso petrol station.
• Three McDonalds, all within 1 minute of each other. How useful. Two Burger Kings as well. Aren't we lucky?
• Pizza Express, South Croydon- try and get a seat outside while it's reasonably warm in the summer months. This urban garden setting provides the perfect surroundings to enjoy a pizza and glass of chardonnay, with the canopies, urns and leafy plants in dramatic contrast to the rest of the concrete jungle. Tip: Pear Tart Tatin, warmed up- yum! Also, check out Auberge- upper level of the Whitgift Centre. This Frech brasserie has a decidely scrumptious menu. Perfect dishes to suit a bite whilst shopping or perhaps a more lengthy and lingering meal.
• South Croydon is excellent for food - restuarant after restaurant - but behind the Swan & Sugarloaf, you'll find a little restuarant called 'Little Bay' - excellent continental food (all main courses, with vegetables of the day £4.95) or a set 3-course meal for £5 - my favourite
• Isn't Croydon lucky.......we now have three McD's .........I am sooooooooo happy. Not being too sarcastic?.......am I?
• Avoid Le Jardin de Provence (South Croydon) at all costs! N'mare service on Saturday night where we were stuck out in the side function room and forgotten about for 40 mins. Food cold, undercooked and restaurant menu outrageously expensive for the quality. Brasserie menu much better but they serve chips with everything which can get tedious....
• Riverside Vegetaria in High St is good for non-meat eaters.Zaras is good too.
• One of the best Indian restaurants I have ever been to is about 10 minutes walk from East Croydon station. It is called "The Banana Leaf" and it serves south indian style food. The food is really excelent (the chef has won awards for his cooking) and it is very reasonable. To get there go down Cherry Orchard Road from East Croydon Station and take a left at the bottom onto Lower Addiscombe Road. The Banana Leaf is on the right hand side after about 200 yds.
• Mamma Amalfi 18 George street Croydon,Offer the best home cooked food in the whole surrey area, using nothing but fresh ingredients, also famous for it's own stone baked pizzas, Fantastic Worthtrying it.
• Another great Thai restaurant is Mae Ping in South Croydon (just down from the Firkin). The food is excellent (they do a really good set menu). It's never totally packed out and the layout of the place is such that you CAN heave a conversation without worrying that the table next to you are having a good laugh at your attempts to chat your guest up! An excellent place to take someone who you want to impress to, without costing an arm and a leg......
• There's a tapas restaurant in George Street which looks good but STOP! Don't go in there, whatever you do. The service is APPALLING and none of the staff could care less about the customers. Avoid this one!
• Just walk or take a bus down to South End (South Croydon) to find restaurants from all over the world try Bagatti's for great pasta, or there's the Mongolian Barbecue, Kelong (Thai), also you'll find Greek, French, Spanish, Italian, Indian, vegetarian, Chinese and numerous chippies! A good Indian restaurant to try is the Sanderstead Tandoori or Diwani in Sanderstead Village.
• Mamma Amalfi; went here with great expectation; average though and service terrible. Stay in the bar area, and get drunk instead.
• Chiquitos by the WB cinema -- been there many times.
• Jim Thompsons: an oriental bazaar restaurant with bar downstairs. The food is very good, some may find it expensive. Excellent cocktails, I would avoid the Bloody mel-li if I was you. Service can be chaotic, staff look very harassed, but a great atmosphere. The owner/manager is also good, but again, very pressed for time.
• Dingwall Road, by East Croydon station, is the home of Croydon's Internet cafe, Cyberzone. They offer all the internet goodies: I.R.C., Telnet, E-mail, Newsgroup access etc. etc. More to the point, they claim the coffee's good. Sessions cost £3.00 per half hour and membership costs just £20 (a one off payment). Members sessions are £2.00 with 1 months "FREE" e-mail included within a password controlled personal desktop. (But mention this Knowhere entry and they say they'll give you 25% off on-line stuff, but not coffee.)
• Lots of cheap good cafes, esp. near the Warehouse Theatre (near East Croydon station). If you don't like the look of somewhere, there's always another place a couple of minutes away. Prices drop away from East Croydon station, but never get ridiculous. Nowhere particularly vile.
• Good Italian place at the top of the Whitgift Centre - Drummond Centre no good.
• How about Hockney's? Veggie, very good food at okay prices. Just past the flyover (not as bad as it sounds!). Also stop at Hockney's for all your - er - wholemeal needs.
• Money to burn? Check out the food at Joe Bananas.
• A word of warning though: avoid the kebab shop next to The Fiddler and Firkin Pub, just take detour and visit the pub instead!
• We've got two McDonalds in the centre of town, one in the High Street, the other down Church Street. And lucky us, we've got a Burger King too, as well as loads of pizza and kebab places all over the shop.

Pubs

• Sod’s law! They had just started sorting Brannigan’s out, kicking out all the wanna be’s and twats that brought the places reputation down, improved the door team, tuned up the screechy sound system and generally started running the place properly – inc cleaning – and they bloody go bust! Who ever takes this over learn from Brannigan’s mistakes, it used to be such a good, wanker free venue which was nice and chilled during the day, and fun at night… and they just started getting it back.
• George pub down Canterbury Road oppersit the VodaFone building (NOT the dive on George St) Sexy 25 year old landlord that always wears shorts… rain or shine, which is a treat for us girls at lunch… yum yum, cyclers legs on toast please. xxx
• A little old style pub I found by accident down West Croydon by the Lombard roundabout called the George (Canterbury road I think) is pretty nice. Nothing fancy, no frills, and no assholes. It used to be a dirty shit hole when I went there years ago, but no in the hands of a young lad that has really done some work on it, it clean, normal priced, decent lunch menu, anoth people to be interesting but not at all crowded and there all pretty nice foke when you get talking to em.
• What happened to Rat & Parrot? It used to be good. The Stop that’s there now is nice décor but dead. Can someone buy that and put some music and atmosphere in there. South Croydon is now the place if you want to avoid the central Croydon teenage knobs as so many of the bars up there are trying to attract them. Skylark is crap and dirty. The big provence restaurant is supposed to be turning into a food and drink during the day and classy fun party at night which will be greatly welcomed by us that don’t want to get bottled outside the kabab shop opersit McCluskys.
• South Croydon is sertanly becoming the place to head for, unlike central Croydon you don’t have to watch some poor bugger getting glassed at closing time (which is a regular event up by the Grants area) Weatherpoons (skylark or something ) is the cheap. Personally I rather pay the extra few pence for a drink and get more than almost out of date flat beer for me money. You get what you pay for! Cheap beer = no atmosphere, no entertainment, inexperienced staff that you have to ask 6 times till they get your drink right, and a bunch of doll queue twats that like to harass girls till they get into a punch up! STOP BEING CHEAP AND GO SOMEWHERE DECENT!
• Croydon ain’t as bad as many make it out to be, at the end of the day there is more bar’s per square meter in central Croydon as there is in the ‘oh so grate’ west-end everyone bangs on about, if the companies are still opening these bars then there must be the demand… that’s cause we all keep going back for more! Top shit hole… tiger tiger, overpriced retail unit which you would expect to find comet selling electrical good on the purley way, with a few trendy seats, a poorly engineered sound system and a load of kids that wanna be gangsters or old fart trying to be fresh! Dogeist drink… the fake Smirnoff ice they sell at the Walkabout… ACID! Top tip… word is that a small operator is to open a gaff called Bar ru-ru or something similar this year, ment to be a clean half classy all rounder but only charge pub prices. Wait and see?
• da goooooooooooosse
• CRO is *THE* place to be. I'm joking of course. Why not go heroes. I'm definately joking now. Oh god, even thinking about this shitty town is making me depressed, just don't ever go there, for your own sake.
• All pubs in croydon are created equal. My god, if you're too f'in lazy to go 20mins on the train to somewhere decent you deserve the croydon "bars"
• the ship is pretty good and comfy- a tad expensive compared to the goose across the road, although the goose (being a wetherspoons) has no music and thus no atmosphere. so a recommendation is to get tanked up in the goose then stumble across the road into the ship to enjoy the music, atmosphere and bearded men named charlie
• The Ship, good music, pagan friendly, and they do some great shooters - chocolate and strawberry - for something different!
• The rat and parrot! We used to think this place was class! But then we discovered some better places. Now it's been knocked down and changed into a fancy resteraunt or something. Oh well.
• CR0 in St. Georges Parade is great for good quick food in your lunch break, bit smokey though!
• Check the Black Sheep on Saturdays for a really mixed crowd and a pretty eclectic selection of music (expect to hear everything from Masters at Work and James Brown to the Strokes and the Rolling Stones). The Rendezvous Bar is great for a more chilled Friday/Saturday night out. Nice design and interior (including some great leather sofas), a slightly older crowd and DJs spinning soulboy classics. A definite bonus is that both these places have a late license.
• I like bars, particularly black sheep, casa, the george is cheap, pals is ok tiger tiger is amazing but extortionate and so forth
• Still a few decent pubs left in Croydon: Dog & Bull, The Standard, Princess Royal - avoid the 20+ grotty bars in the town centre, all daft dress codes and violence. How about a campaign to abolish dress codes???
• The Firkin in South Croydon has now become a 'sports' bar, the Dukes Head. 3 pool tables, big screen for the footie (but they don't have ITV sport).
• Definitely the Goose on the Market,great atmosphere and smirnoff ice are only £1.25 each,very cheap so a good place to go before heading to any clubs!!
• If you're going to Croydon make sure you book your ambulance before you leave. If you look at anyone the wrong way you're going to get trouble. After traveling many citys around the world and the UK I have decided Croydon is the most unfriendly place on the face of the planet. Most bars in central Croydon blare out music, so conversation with the anyone is almost impossible, unless you bring your own megaphone. If you're a postman you'll fit in at Mcluskys or Brannigans. If you like alternative go to the Ship. Hip Hop / Drum n Bass, Black Sheep. The Blue Orchid is great if you want a broken glass in your neck, by a kid trying to make a reputation for himself. Palls would be good if they let a few less people in and the music was turned down so a girl could actually hear what you say when you attempt to chat her up. Certain places are more relaxed in Croydon than others. Step on the wrong shoe and it will end in violence. Croydon is the epitome of suburban life. Same type of people, wearing the same clothes with the same miserable faces, talking about the same stuff. Men have shirts untucked with black jeans and some slip-ons, women dress like whores. In Croydon no one has heard the word "class". Stay on the train and head into London.
• Just wanted to give an update, Wig and Pen CLOSED yonks ago, under new management, v.boring now, no one goes there!!!!!
• the crowd is very fresh faced, like they just washed for 6 hours and shaved not, because they need to but it makes them feel manly.
• Yates Croydon, the place to be and pull loads of top class birds from Croydon
• I had to fill this in following the previous statement about the security @ Litten Tree. Agreed, the lady is lovely as with one of the guys, but the rest...I've heard of legal action being taken.
• Dont listen to anything anyone says about the ship - possibly one to avoid on a friday if you dont like the younger crowd (Though they /dont/ serve minors, and they will ID you if they dont know you), but apart from that it's a really nice pub, low prices and nice people there. For really low prices you might wanna check out the weatherspoons places - the Ship of Fools in West Croydon and the Skylark in South Croydon. There's also the george but personally I dont like that place, gets way too packed. Also theres the Goose on the Market, at the top of Surrey Street - does some very cheap stuff, and it's opposite the ship so you can pop over after having a few cheapies :-)
• All the Wetherspoon pubs are popular for getting tanked up in before moving on somewhere else, as they are cheap. Other than that, central Croydon has enough places to drink that you could quite easily drink somewhere new every night, it depends on your taste. Don't expect to get much change in any of the "classier" establishments, though, and note that quite a few places have bouncers on the doors at 8pm weekends, but let all and sundry in before then.
• Rendezvous in South Croydon is a pretty chilled out, independant bar. Old skool 80's soul from DJ on weekends. Older crowd. Some sofas, high ceilings in an old original tiled cold store or pharmacy setting.
• Yeh loads , the george
• depending on what music you go for: House&garage:yates/& the place opposite it/bar coast Rock&metal:the ship/the rose & crown No music:ship of fools Karaoke: opposite west croydon station
• The Eagle (Tamworth Road) is a very friendly and relatively inexpensive place to get drunk. The landlords are friendly, but DO NOT get on their bad side.
• The Ship is the only independent pub left in Croydon. Most of the rest being the same horrible chain pubs you see in every town centre across the land. Luckily, it is a great pub with a very friendly clientele whose gothic/skaterey looks tend to scare away most 'trendies' who think about coming in. Otherwise, the George for typical Weatherspoons cheap booze and no atmosphere or the Gun Tavern if you want somewhere to watch sports games in peace.
• Wigg and Penn for the younger lot playing Garage on Fridays, Heros the same only with a dj, The george is for the older older lot! used to be a meeting place for younger people. the CRO once called wigg and penn is now quite nice with a few sofas. Ship of fools full of different age people
• Undoubtedly the best place for cheap drinks for young drinkers (18-20) is the Ship of Fools near West Croydon (over the road from the train station entrance and travel a short distance away from Central Croydon). It's a Weatherspoons, so it's cheap, does great food to, and is increadibly nicely done up - there's even a fountain in the ladies toilets (so I'm told).
• The Skylark. £1.49 for a pint of Stella. Need I say more?
• Try the Skylark. Its down towards South Croydon amidst the many many restaurants. Its a Wetherspoons (so no TV or Jukebox unfortunatley) however its a great place to get tanked up before a night out. The bar guys are pretty friendly and the prices are cheaper than most. But I dont think they took too kindly to me and a bunch of 5 mates ordering sixteen 99p Smirnoff Ices...
• The Goose and Carrot is great on a saturday night. Dance night
• the cartoon good live bands leanient
• Fiddler and Firkin, bit small
• If you are on a shoestring try: The Black Sheep Bar - £1.50 all drinks )5 to 8 every day); The Pane and Table - 2 bottles for the price of 1 Smirnoff Ice and Fosters or 2 glasses of house wine for the price on 1 (3 to 11 most days); Bar Coast 2 bottles of Holston Pils for the price on 1 or 2 glasses of housewine for the price of 1 (5 to 8 every day). Other good pubs to visit are All Bar One, Bar Med, Hogs Head or Bar Cassa. For a mre traditional drink try the Dog and Bull or the Cricketers (Down by the fire station).
• Right - Croydon is a fantastic place if you know where to go and how to avoid the youngsters. I suggest starting at the George - I am fully aware that it has no atmosphere but it is the best place in Croydon to start if you want to get drunk without spending loads of money double voddie and coke for a mere £2.25 bargain. By rights only stay in there for a couple but, as often happens you find yourself creating your own atmosphere at about 10pm whilst steaming drunk! Then I suggest either the New Bar Med for a dance (watch out for the creepy blokes though), or Bar Cassa to chill (there will be no dancing involved here). Pals if you can bare the heat. Bar Monico/Bar coast if you can stand the younger crowd. And May I suggest no matter how much your friends try and persuade you avoid finishing off the evening in the famous Blue Orchid!
• please ignore all information on this section apart from this bit, if you have to drink in croydon, then at least get it right, head for Bar Casa ( modern and trendy minimalist bar, old townhouse) Bar Monaco ( dark but cool bar) Pane & Table ( quiet) Bar Coast ( alright ) and bar med ( only ok when dark and you can't see the garish colours) Pals ( fine if you are very drunk and fancy a dance) and All Bar One ( opening soon). All other pubs in croydon are outdated and rubbish, so avoid at all costs!! apart from Bar Latino which needs all the publicity it can get!! Places to never venture include Brannigans, McCluskeys,etc etc
• The Black Sheep Bar is easily the best place in Croydon for 18 - 25yr olds excellent music policy and range of people. Palls Bar near East Croydon is packed with women any night but gets overcrowded and too hot and the bouncers form a cue outside even when theres no need. Try not to catch the wrong persons eye in the back street pubs around Croydon. Everything u hear about Croydon being a little rough is true.
• I was working in Croydon for six months, I found two pubs that I frequented a lot: The SpreadEagle (next to the clock) and the Hog's Head...both have decent food and are good spots for a quick pint or to sit around for the entire evening...beats sitting around a hotel.
• Prince of Denmark, Portland Road (yes a bit off the beaten track but worth the effort if you want a traditional Irish drinking hole (not the plastic paddy type - you know who you are) has to be the best place for friendly chat, everybody knows everybody by the end of the night (trust me)and of course the Guinness - you will not get better any place else - I promise.
• Yates is O.K only place in Croydon that sells WKD.
• Rat and Parrot; tasty refurb has produced a beautifully orange decor; quite a change for those of us who had the fortune to witness the pre refurb state... but where the hell is the juke box? Also top place on a thursday or friday night is the Black Sheep Bar (just before the flyover) which is a haven for all you happening people out there; just make sure you get there before 10.00 on a friday to avoid ridiculously long queuing time. If time then chck out Rawnsleys Bar hidden away at the end of Katherine Street; small, cosy and quiet.
• The best traditional pub in Croydon has long been The Dog and Bull in Surrey Street. The Youngs beer is usually excellent. New Brummy landlord has taken to extrememly loud Karaoke sessions though, often featuring himself and/or his wife tonelessly making fools of themselves. Avoid the Karaoke though, and it is still a great place for a drink, or to meet your friends.
• Best place for pre-Orchid drinks - the Wig and Pen. Can be packed on a Friday night, but it's a great atmosphere. Also, Heroes is pretty good too (but very expenisve and packed when there's a decent footie match).
• Good beer and very good/reasonable food is to be had a short ride out of town at the Harrow Inn, Farley Road, Warlingham. For an authentic 15th century atmosphere try the White Lion on Warlingham Green. Another good food pub is the Wattendon Arms, Old Lodge Lane, Coulsdon.
• The Gun, very good for live music, although I have not been there much myself.
• Most of what has been said is true. Don't forget the Rat and Parrot as another pre-club pub. (What's going on with the id parade on the door? It's all changed since I've been at uni - more 15 year olds in there unfortunately.) If you wander into the depths of Purley or Coulsdon try the Foxley Hatch (cheap Fosters last time I was there) or the Tudor Rose (crap without a crowd of friends). And what happened to the Midday Sun - no pool table anymore!!!
• Dog and Bull does still exist and is still fairly basic, beer barrel tables etc. Nice for a quiet drink, but sometimes a little stressful due to locals. Definitely not somewhere to take any one on a first date. Managed to get into Yeats's wine lodge, nice place. Barmen very good; try the hot wine drink its got a great name, but can't remember it at the mo!
• My parents used to go to a pub in Surrey Street called the Dog and Bull. I went in there once: very 'Withnail and I'. Is it still there or has it succumbed to the ravages of the respectability brigade?
• The George is not too bad, but not much fun for a whole evening. Off the beaten track, try The Prince of Denmark, on Portland Road near Norwood Junction station, or - well, that's it really!
• Does Yates' Wine Lodge count? Apparently these places started off as somewhere you grandma could sup a sherry in peace - now they have bouncers! Anyone actually been in there?
• Another pub in Croydon that derserves a mention is The Oval in Oval Road off of Cherry Orchard Road. It's rubbish. Every night they have something going on to distract from the deadly serious business of drink. Karoake, Pop Quiz's, Pubbusters and Octagenarian DJ's playing sixties tat to cries of "get off". Avoid at all costs.
• Also check out The Porter and Sorter by East Croydon station and the Sorting Office as an excellent example of a pukka back-street pub.
• Another pub which is particularly popular with the wannabe counter-culture is "The Ship". But the best drinking place in Croydon is possibly "The Standard". I'm no beer buff, but the Fuller's "London Pride" is really good. What is particularly nice about the "Standard" is its location. It has a little patch of grass outside it where people wile away the summer evenings, right underneath the formidable fly-over road. Although I'd be the first to agree that Croydon is not blessed with the most attractive architecture, this strange and alien concrete structure, juxtaposed with the homeliness of the pub beneath it, is the image that makes me feel the warmest about the place.
• The George, situated in George St (hence the name) is again a popular pre-club stop for many of Croydon's up and coming, as well as quite a few people who, to be truthful, are too old to be clubbing, but, what the heck, it's Saturday night and time to get some serious drinking done. That is, of course, if you can get to the bar. Yes, the George is one of those pubs where it pays to arrive early to get a bar stool and then stay there all night, many's the time when you'll hear your mate saying "I'll get this round", only for him to return half and hour later with a half empty drink that's been spilt as he tries to break through the gathering rabble clad in 501's or short black skirts.
• The Townhouse (was Tavern), in the High Street, claims to have the highest bar in the world - don't know if true, but it goes up a long way. Good selection of bottled beers. A lively pub on most nights and home to serious trendies on Saturday. So expect to feel left out if you aren't wearing the latest from Yves Saint Laurent. A great place to spend the evening before you go to one of Croydon's night-clubs, three of which are within 5 mins walk.

Cafes and Coffee Shops

• Sergio's Continental bar is brilliant if you wnat to catch a quick bite to eat, service is allways friendly and their can be a strong comunity spirit in their, service is allways friendly though a little rushed at lunch times.
• Starbucks. Its expresso and warm milk. Not too hard? Even this global chain has found it completely impossible to train anyone in croydon to serve a remotely drinkable cup of coffee in less than 20mins
• thorntons and coffee etc are both pretty good...the staff in starbucks are a dubious to put it mildly..
• The Madeira cafe in St georges Walk, lovely bright and friendly.
• rosemarys is very cool. the staff are wicked and always laughing etc etc etc and theres that funny one with the brown hair is cool too. you can always find all the staff in the black sheep, cos theyre so cool. (there are some fit people working in the camping shop next door, too...)
• Fitzy's is cool, big leather sofas and huge mugs of coffee. down near croydon flyover
• Daisy's Diner in Addiscombe is good. So is the new cafe. Very sexy staff.
• Inshops, tramlink cafe superb brekfasts
• Books Etc. in The Whitgift Centre. There's good air-con and you can sit and read the books while you have a coffee.
• none you really want to eat in except the odd italian one on the high street & the two inside the whitgift centre.
• Books ect. has a cafe and it is great, the food is nice and the staff are very friendly
• Starbucks! Nice Cream with the coffee. The cafe on the middle floor of the Whitgift centre is okay but is always very busy. Casa on the High Street, tries to be a modern cafe/bar, ends up a pub that serves coffee.
• Joshua's Tea Shop in Alders for the ultimate in twee, otherwise try O'Briens on George st
• I recommend Starbucks in Croydon High Street (opposite Woolworths) - their Frapachinnos are the best!!!!
• Rosemary's Cafe (35St.George's Walk) make top snacks and sandwiches; staff always up for a laugh and the hot chocolate is legendary. Background music an interesting blend, everything from placebo to manfred mann. It rocks!

The Knowhere Guide started out as a list of places to skateboard in the UK. It is a compilation of (unedited) information and views supplied by users like yourself. It is not a conventional tourist guide!

In most cases, the information in each section has been submitted by more than one contributor (the credits at the bottom of the page list some, but not all, of the contributors) and some of it dates back to the 1970s.

We make no claims as to the accuracy of the information in the Guide - our only purpose is to provide a forum for users to share their knowledge and opinions. So please keep a large bag of salt handy and be prepared to read between the lines!

If you disagree with a comment, or information is out of date, please submit an update! The contributors come from all walks of life, and their opinions are bound to be subjective, so if your view isn't represented, please speak up and contribute to the balance of the Guide. See below in the 'Have Your Say' section for how to add your voice.

If we have helped you out or made you laugh you can buy us a pint.

Have Your Say...

You can tell us more about Croydon. This is also the method to use if you want to correct some of the information already here. (But please remember you're not mailing the person who actually wrote whatever-it-is.)

You can use the add an event form to tell us about events happening in Croydon.

Or, if you'd just like to leave a message for other users of this site, take a look at The Knowhere Board (handy if you're just trying to get in touch with someone).

Credits

Last updated: 2007-12-14