The Knowhere Guide

Going Out in Croydon, Greater London*

Croydon, Greater London Clubs, Music Venues, Cinemas

Clubs (Dance Music) and Music Bars

• as mentioned the dragon has great dj's, fidays are indie new and old, saturdays are funk and sould, and the last sat of the month is dj freeqboi, and he plays pretty much everything and anything, not for the faint heart of easily offended.. ship has dj's every nigh, mostly rock and metal, the sheep has a gay night on tuesdays, and cool sould funk rock and indie other nights, most other placs do grage and happy house,reflex for the 80's, popworld for the 90's, and escapde for the chav fight at the end of the night
• medjusas ha ha ha
• the black sheep in central croydon. no dress code. indie/rock/drum n bass/metal nice ppl. most uver bars in croydon are shit unless u like to dress up like a div and get into fights.
• Has to be The Black Sheep on Bank Holiday Sundays (and some other Sundays) Big name Drum & Bass DJ's, always a roadblock with the best vibe in Croydon. Shout to Dave, Skope, Sgt Pokes and the crew.
• St Mary's (anti) Social Club. Thursday nights for set dancing; other nights for 'easy listening/country and Western'.
• Croydon is not as bad as most people on this website seem to think - it's all a question of knowing where to go and what sort of music/ atmosphere you like... As a professional DJ who has worked in many venues in Croydon, including Tiger Tiger, Pals, Buddha Lounge (former), Yates, Bar Med and another place near the Black Sheep Bar that I can't remember the name of! If you want commercial chart, r'n'b and dance then head for Tiger Tiger - it's no more expensive than any other club/ bar, plus you get the classiest bar in Croydon (by far!) and a 2 room venue - bar AND club. If you want house music I would head for Buddha Lounge, or whatever the new name is now (opposite Tiger), and for garage head for Pals.. although Pals isn't as busy as it was in the late 1990s in south London's garage heyday! Also, depending on the age range you wish to mingle with, head for Tiger or perhaps Bar Med if you prefer 21+ (Tiger is supposed to be 25+). If you prefer 'sweet faced' youth (!) then head for the Blue Orchid or Atlantis out on the Purley Way (both First Leisure venues). If you don't want music then head for All Bar One or Wetherspoons in George Street. At the end of the day, the venues are only as good as the people in them, so go out there and find one to suit your tastes... and don't moan so much on this page!!!
• First time in ages i went Croydon last Fri didnt know where to go so decided to go to LOOP bar which is a mixture or rap,hiphop& garage there is a pool lounge there too and i had an alrite nite there no trouble lovedddd the Muzic!! coming from a 21 female jus moved to Croydon
• "Croydon? Wheres that?"......have u ever heard anyone ask that? No! Croydon has quite a rep, it must have some good attributes if ppl everywhere have heard about it! the nightlife is pretty good, iv been going out here for 4 years already, and im only 20, but don't slag it off- its improved and has clamped down on age restrictions! i wld have hated to have seen me out in McCluskies every week aged 16, but now thats closed, the classy Escapades has opened in its spot. Walkabout is a guaranteed great night out, cheap drinks (shots!!) and a good selection of music: live bands if u pick the right night! always heaving with a beautiful crowd, can take a while to get a drink tho. Littern Tree is always good too, a pub (cheap drinks) which has a dance floor! the music is alright, but atmosphere is good and you'l always see at least 1 person u know! Bar Med! does no one go here? Perfect after work watering hole, livens up later on dance floor downstairs, foam parties are great here, for that touch of club 18-30 hols. The Edge bar, corner of coombe road where O'neills was, this is where the 16 yr olds go. still, a good bar tho, i like. I don't like Black Sheep bar tho, i got searched for drugs, whats that about!? that is obviously the only type of clientele they attract. The list of places to go out in croydon is huge! Don't be hasty to slag off croydon unless you've tried them all! Tiger Tiger, Edwards, Lloyds, Reflex, Escapades, Walkabout, Littern Tree, Bar One92One, Bar Med, Mojama (babushka or whatever it is now?), All Bar One, Pals, Bar E (elephant bar), Bar R (rendevous), etc etc etc... and then theres the pubs..........................
• walkabout obviously!!got damn hard to get into recently but jst makes it al the beta if u get in.
• theres a good one called timebridge. top stuff.
• The Hooter Club which was started by Roy Budd way back in the earlt 60's
• I go into croydon most weekends hoping for a decent night out and usually get one. You lot are slaggin croydon and its clubs cos of the "crappy garage music" and not particularly up-to-date decor!! for god sake u pensioners!! anyways back to the whole music thing.. even if u went to a club in say leeds or centre of london ..or anywhere for that matter.. there are going to be clubs which play music u may not like..but croydon has a variety of places as we all have our own tastes.. so dont just pin point croydon. Oh yeah another point.. a few of you talk about the Croydon gangs from council estates or whatever it was.. that u may come across on a nite out.. and judgin by the spelling of some of you guys.. im pretty much thinkin u aint too clever for your boots yourselves. Just give croydon nightlife a break.As a 17 year old girly i think croydon can be pretty good and the talent aint too bad either.. but there r some exceptions..!! anyways as we know.. croydon is no central london when it comes to nightlife, but its a pretty cool all round place with a good variety of bars and clubs and the violence is generally pretty rare. All i can say to you moaning.. too-good-for-croydon irritating people (being polite there!).. is if u dont like it.. go somebloodywhere else!! no joke.. pleeeease do.
• Blue Orchid - is huge but I dont like it. Tiger Tiger is ok but expensive. flares is good. there are tonnes of Bars along the high street in south croydon that have late licenses & play music. Black Sheep bar is one of the best places in Croydon for alternatives, playes a wide miture from rap funk & ends up with some rock that everyone knows & usualy dances to. It attracts eveything from metallers to black guys who break dance - unique & never any trouble in there.
• One 92 One is GREAT. Even if you're not really into dance/club type music you will have a great time in this cool, chilled out bar/club. Friendly staff too.
• Looking for a night on the raz, look no further than Tiger Tiger. Ok, its got its fair share of Barry and Kev's, but the standard of women is pretty high. Word of advice, put the coat in early cos the Q's are ridiculous after about 10pm...
• dno but us croy gurlz go up 2 harlequiun, topboy, aquarium n da icon wich r undas 18's n unda 16 nite clubz.
• I really don't know why people hate croydon. OK it's not the best club spot in the world but all this talk about 'Gangs' & "Don't look at anyone or you'll get your head kicked in" is b******s. It is possible to go out, talk to a few new people and have a good time. I think the people who talk badly of croydon are either gimps or just not streetwise.
• FLARES!!! Can't not have a good time there, and it's great to watch the grannies think that they're teenagers. Also LLOYDS, if you can cope with the sticky floor, is wicked at the weekends. Stay clear of the BLUE ORCHID, unless you're a 15 year old rude-girl
• All the guys going out in Croydon look as if they have been cloned in some secret place. Step in shoes with useless buckles on it that make them look like car-salesmen and their shirts are ALWAYS hanging over their trousers, one hand in the pocket, walking like bouncers. The girls have a general lack of style and seem to have a cloth-size judging problem. Police & ambulance crew are part of the street furniture. Normal Croydon citizens go out in London. Do the same.
• Alright so croydon is dirty, smelly, trampy full of violent hoodrats, geezers, slags and the bouncers are wankers. BUT it is possible to have a good night out, the only way your gonna get into a fight is if you act like those dickheads that try frontin. there are plenty of good clubs that offer relitavly cheap nights out - edwards is the best for r'n'b and hip hop thursday student night is cheap and friday is always packed, sometimes too much but theres a relaxed mature friendly feel. bamboo is a great laugh on thursday nights if your into reggae whilst Lloyds is pure cheese every night - a good laugh when the drinks are cheap. Blue orchid is shit as ever full of dirty hoes and 13 yr olds, the cab drivers outside are just as nasty - avoid at all costs. McKluskys is pretty dry, tiger tiger is expensive and hard to get into, kudos is just full of thugged out males (and females) or pillheads, and the remainder of the clubs are pretty much the same. so if you want real hardcore clubbing fuck off to the west end, after all its only one train ride away, but if you're looking to have a good night out with your mates in a busy, sociable town give croydon a try - and dont forget to pile into crazy chicken at closing!
• Am I the only person in croydon wh thinks the Blue Orchid is MASSIVELY over-hyped??!!
• the cartoon is great fun if u wana watch live bands but when it come to the djs they leave a bit to be disired of as all the descent ones have buggered off except for cole - you get a large age range which is good as well lots of trendies goin theyre now thou
• Check out Lloyd's (right next door to Tiger Tiger) for a slightly different(better?) mix of tunes, a nice spacious bar area upstairs and a darkly intimate dance floor/bar area downstairs. Slightly older crowd than most of the similar palces in Croydon and I was surprised to find quite a different atmosphere. Good place.
• The milan bar (ie Lloyds) great place but watch out for the giant female bouncer.....i could have her for assult the way she treated me the other night....for no reason and i mean no reason (well i told her to shut up coz she was shouting at us to hurry up but it wasnt us causing the delay) the beast (as she is known) grabbed me by the arms and literally threw me the doors...onto the street.....everyone around stood in horror...a young innocent girl being attacked by a overly feed animal....the bruises today are the bluest of all my bruises and personnaly i think she should be locked up in the zoo where she belongs! so watch out for her coz u never know when the beast will strike again!
• Black Sheep is quite good on Thursday nights, although there is quite a few young people in there.
• 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.
• Litten tree on friday nites is the best place in Croydon its well underated, Blue orkid is poo!
• stay away from the blue orchid! it is pants and you're bound to run into Dane Bowers!
• cartoon (or the "toon" as it is called) u can always hav a laugh (preferably wen brainfreeze is playing)
• Doesn't matter, they're all gonna be full of Burberry wearing, Hackett loving scum that work in a bank for £12,000 a year and will do for the rest of their shitty lives.
• Just like to say that croydon is a heavy night out if you go to the right places. Blue Orchid for a start is wickid- expensive unless you go on a thursday all inclusive night! why is every1 scared of the groups? tiger tiger is good but needs to play more r'n'b and garage. Edwards in the grant centre- really good night out. good music, good crowds a mature atmosphere. Walkabouts, not a club but a good place to have a few drinks first! aswell as goerge's the weatherspoon pub. cheap drinks!!!
• flares on a friday night provide some pretty amusing 'golden oldies' and you're pretty much guaranteed a pull
• The Black sheep bar. Thursday is metal night. I used to hate it but still have fond memories of me and my mates arguing about our band. Then they'd force me to mosh. Then I'd hurt my knee.
• alot of people slate croydon but there are alot of posotive things about it, really there is, no really. the sun always shines, the women are butifull and theres no chance of being stabed and haveing your phone thats only worth a fiver being prised frome your gradualy rigamortis tightening grip. these are all facts about croydon, well maybe not the last one but its not as bad as people say. there is or was alot of violence in croydon but this trend is gradualy slowing down as the council and police are steping on the type wankers that tend to visit croydon. wardens are being introduced into the town centre and to some of the residencial areas, cameras watch you most of the time so at night you are pretty safe. blue orchid is full of wankers but theres an easy way not to get to fight them, use your brain and don't knock about with them. violence is a thing that is going to be in any popular large town in south london. alot of people + alot of drink is going to have some repercusions. stories about people geting shot and stabed are genraly accurate but these things tend mostly to happen to people to bring it on themselfs. not allways, the bloke who got shot in atlantis probably didnt need to die as he only steped on the mans foot but most of the shit happens to residence and drug dealers who yes also tend to be residence, so as long as your visting croydon and arent a drug dealer youre chance of geting, shot ore knee caped is quite low. avoid residencial areas that dont have posh names or the word estate at the end, dont stare at the bald man with a swashstika tatood on his head or make sligh comments about any of the gang members girlfriends and you can have a quality night out. i love croydon and the only thing that i can complain about is the gangs. there aint too many of them and as long as you can grow a beerd your pretty safe, but there are allways dakys n seeeek eds standin around clubs cos they find causeing trouble and robing people a constructive past time. there easy to spot. basball cap down over eyes, walk with a limp, tallk like complete muppet and have a hood scar bandana/doorag (optional) across face + hoody over hat even thoug its 30 degrees outside in the middle of winter. Tossers!!!!!!!!!
• Why all this mention of "clubbing" in Croydon??? There aren't any clubs in Croydon, only loads of pubs and bars with late licences. (Oh, and the official armpit of the earth at the bottom of The Nestle Tower!) The only place that plays any form of dance music is The Black Sheep Bar and The Cage, and dont start replying back about UK Garage and R&B, they're about as dance orientated as Westlife. I can almost guarantee anyone who writes back to this email slagging it off has never been to a real club in their life, and their idea of a big night on the town is going to Leicester Square or if they're really adventurous, The Ministry Of Sound. Get a life you Hackett t-shirt wearing losers!!! GARAGE IS FOR THE WEAK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
• cartoon rock club gud but over rated
• BLUE ORCHID- Entrance fee usually, drinks are way too expensive, cost me £12 for 3 Smirnof Ices! If your willing to pay that then your better of in the westend where at least you have more fun for your money! FLARES- I like it here. Shots cost about £1.50 or 4 for £5! No entrance fee untill 11:30, open untill 2:00. People are friendly..playing 70's, 80's and 90's THE BLACK SHEEP- Relaxed friendly place, guys make sure you have I.D. Place where most people are 'alternative'. Plays lots of Ska, Rock, Metal. THE SHIP- Cheap, fun, again lots of goths/skaters etc.
• The Cage, - just wanted to let you know that the Cage is now a gay venue. Open from Wednesdays thru to Sundays. Wednesday night seems to have a kind of 'student night' feel to it, playing loads of commercial/indie type stuff. Friday nights are a bit more handbag-dance type tracks.
• the cage has too many men. pole dancing is fun though.
• I would just like to say that the Blue Orchid is not that and and who could miss out on cheap drinks and all inclisve nites for £15.00 on a thursday its great!!!!! Heroes is also a get Bar for all the sport and it has some great drinks deals too check them out before you judge
• stay away from the blue orchid at all cost. pals is not too bad, and tiger tiger is definately the place if you can get in and afford the drinks
• the blue orchid!!!! great nite out watch out for leery boys tho
• People slag Croydon of and I guarantee everyone of them had at least one good time in Croydon.. So if Croydon is such a bad place why is it that the place is always busy and pubs are always opening up ...for example you now have TIGER TIGER...opened in FEB/MARCH this is owned by the people who have the redcube bar, you have Edwards soon to be opened in The new Grants Centre. SO everyone that slags the place of sort your lives out Iguarantee you will be in Croydon once again.
• cinatras - clientele always looks to me either remarkably young or remarkably desperate - cattle market springs to mind
• Croydon, the home of 'pikeys' and 'hoes'! Anyone over the age of nineteen taking Higher Education should avoid the sight of the pre-pubescents in Blue Orchid and the disgraceful council estate slags everywhere else. People here generlly think they are 'wel `ard' and can`t string two sentances together without swearing. Wannabe a snob and laugh at a bunch of de-generates then go here! BOUNCERS HERE ARE TOSSERS
• Clubs in Croydon? You are joking I assume? There's the Blue Orchid, but at 30 I'm about 12 years too old for it, marvel at the queues during half term (Honest!). Also Cinatra's, - every night is Pull-A-Pig night, or Grab-A-Granny night to be more polite. I'm at least 25 years too young for that place. Plus I have a habit of not shaving my head or leaving my shirt untucked. I guess I couldn't get in cos I'm not a complete wanker. There's usually an Ambulance parked outside Cinatra's, - waiting for the first casualty of the night. Take a look if you don't believe me.
• Flares(where bar coast used to be)is great for laugh if your up for a night with 70's music but very long queues!!The Black Sheeps the best place to head if you cant be bothered to get all dressed up and dont wanna listen to crappy garage music!
• Blue Orchid, full of over enthusiastic lads; give 'em a wide, real wide bearth! yeah, given u could have a good nite there if they ever learnt 2 control themselves!! Get in 2 central 4 da uncompromised good nite out!
• Brannigans good for when your drunk, older crowd, always over 21's. Mckluskys, reasonable drinks, settees in back for when your too tired and your feet hurt, Blue orchid, OK, full of youngsters though, Litten Tree, bets place on a friday night, large selection of music
• Blue orchid, frankly infamouse for the ageing process defying clientel, some look like they still need permisson to get out of gym.
• Not sure on this one..........
• For starters Joe Bananas closed down more than 2 yrs ago, and is now Budda Lounge. Atlantis was shut down because of the increase in violence, it was less than two months ago that a man was shot dead, and has now revamped itself to Kudos with mainly house to keep the attitude alone. And the Blue Lagoon has gone and is now the Treehouse. dont get me started on Metrepol which closed down when i was at the ripe old age of 13-7 yrs ago. wanna go Croydon-don't, unless you want to go home in an ambulence!!
• Ranan's undergroud Garage, venues via text messaging
• Ignore the Orchid and your typical friday night in croydon is garage night, we now have "Cage" on the site of the old "PO NA NA's" but don't worry, its bigger its better, and you can see where you're going. It plays everything from your hardcore punk to the always popular house and trance (on seperate nights obviously)! Its run by the same people that run the black sheep and the crowd seems to have a similar attitude, so there you go, something new for the weekend (or a week night)! i think so.
• As other people have mentionned, the Black Sheep bar is good, though I'm not sure about some of those drinks offers I've heard mentionned - as far as I know at the moment they do £1 a drink for certain drinks on tuesday nights after 7. Also you wanna get there before 11pm as they start charging to get in, only about 4 quid, but if you're skint and you just wanna loaf in there and ponse then yeah.. If you're into live music you wanna check out the cartoon aswell - it's not open as late as the black sheep but they do frequently licence until about 12 or 1 and the music is usually a shitload better. If you're slightly more into dance, garage etc you might want to goto Atlantis, but dont get on the Atlantis bus if you can help it.
• Blue Orchid is over-rated but not the worst place in the world. It is pretty big. If you want to see a museum-piece club, check out Cinatra's. It charges less than £20 entry and you then drink what you want. It isn't ALL watered down, either...but the place hasn't been decorated since roughly 1974....
• Buddha Bar
• Blue skoolkid shite, infact they all crap
• Many meat-markets. The black sheep bar is a pretty ecclectic place, mish-mash of people depending what night you turn up for. 'The club' at the blue anchor pub (toward south croydon) is the best. Intimate & fairly friendly. Buddha lounge is nice & chilled.
• i haVE TO SAY I HAVE BEEN GOING TO CINATRAS FOR YEARS NOW WITH MY MATES AND IT ALWAYS IS A GOOD NIGHT OUT I LOVE THAT PLACE
• The Black Sheep Bar is probably the only place worth going to after hours - they play a blend of stuff with a hip-hop night on Fridays and a decent funky night on Saturdays. The rest of the time it operates as a normal pub and if you go in before 11 it's free.
• Orchis is ok as long as you keep your delf to yourself, so much look at another person and you will have them on your back! Club Vsion even worse Many fights which is why it got closed down, buddah lounge for the older lot, a relaxed atmosphere.
• Why not give the Litten Tree a go? It's free before 11pm and open till 2, and they play all sorts, from hard house to cheesy. Granted, its not technically a club, more like a bar, but it has a friendly atmosphere, and the bouncers are ok!! Especially this lady bouncer, who recognises me and is always nice to me!! Makes me feel all warm inside.......
• I have been clubbing Croydon for about 5 years and sadly it doeasn't get any better as you get older. The Orchid is full of lads wanting to fight and youngs girls who can't handle their drink. In my experience not for couples. Sinatras you can have a laugh with couples if there are a few of you but is full of old people that should be claiming their pension or stupid gits that don't take no for an answer. Pals is a tad classier, safer and much more mature in every aspect.
• The Buddha Lounge- the renamed, revamped club on site of Joe Banana's. Thankfully a decent place (at last) for anyone over the age of 22 who thinks Pals is just plain annoying nowadays. Stylish in decor, The Buddha Lounge is "eastern" in style- dark, candle lit, reams of fabric, low level seating and tons of scatter cushions. Upstairs you can enjoy a drink whilst actually being able to hear eachother talk (novel). Downstairs is the dance floor and a further two bars. Friday nights seem to be the best- best music/vibe/clientel. Tunes you can expect to hear- Bob Sinclair- Feel for you (current T.U.N.E), Bad Habit, lots of Masters at Work stuff feat. India, a bit of Frankie Nuckles and many more tunes of the like (if you know these ones I have mentioned you will get the picture). No 2-step garage here, just pure original uk garage (no booming bad boy base lines-)and snippets of US garage (much funkier and more vocal). Obviously you get your usual "Croydon people" in there, but on the whole, people seem to really be into the music- especially when it gets later and they start to really "feel it" on the dance floor! Beware of curtained booths with gagging for it couples in - v.sad and v.gross when afore mentioned begin to grope (bearing in mind yer av. Croydon people on the pull and not overly attractive at best of times).
• Avoid Mckluskeys at ALLL costs! Its full of people too old to be out at night partying and has a crap door policy. I went on a Saturday night and found the entire place full of men who all looked like postmen, builders or factory workers with around 20 women in the entire place. Beware inside "The Blue Orchid" nightclub, large groups of blokes go together and picking a fight with the wrong guy could easily result in a bottle in the ear.
• Cinatras for all those 50 year olds that fancy getting pished and picking up a younger model.
• All that stuff about Croydon is mainly true. As a resident of the place for 16 years or so, its not as bad as many people make out. HOWEVER for clubs, pubs and all things jolly, it's probably better to take a 20 minute train journey into London to be guaranteed a good night out.
• Club wise Croydon is OK, including spots such as The Blue Orchid, Joe Bananas, Braggs, Metropol, Players and The Coliseum to name but six. All have their pros and cons, but experience is the only way of finding out which one suits you. A bit of advice though, lads - if you want to get into J.B. make sure that you've got a girl stapled to your arm or the ego-matic bouncers are likely to deny you entry (Gits eh??) Looking for rock? Then hit the Cartoon, Croydon's best rock club filled with leather jacket clad guys and babes with bikes between their legs (except that the Cartoon closed down at the end of '95. It's due to re-open at some point, though). Alternatively, try the Ble Beyond in South Croydon, now a dance club. Again, Saturday night is the time to be there; dress down or expect to be flogged.

Live Music Venues

• The Cartoon! Best place, lots of bands. Brixton Academy and London in general have bigger bands and are easily accessible.
• the green dragon, is the nuts, the cartoon is legendary, the ship sheep and the soon to be re-opened harp are all good for metal and alternative, the rest are ropey.
• The Black Sheep has great live music nights.
• Fairfield halls-they do the BEST pantomines!!!men dressed as women still cracks me up!
• i listen to the zutons playing in the good shepherd church.
• Beanos sometimes have live music.
• Cartoon Pub/club. Crap area (in the heart of West Croydon), Great music (live local rock bands and the like)
• the black sheep i think? friday is metal night.
• dno but us croy gurlz go up 2 harlequiun, topboy, aquarium n da icon wich r undas 18's n unda 16 nite clubz. around
• the cartoon is great fun if u wana watch live bands but when it come to the djs they leave a bit to be disired of as all the descent ones have buggered off except for cole - you get a large age range which is good as well lots of trendies goin theyre now thou - black sheep is getting better for live bands thou and isnt as dingy
• The Ship just off Katharine Street, ace place
• Black Sheep Bar. Just had a refurb and added a stage and new sound system. There's now live music on Wednesdays and an open mike night on Sundays. They should've done this years ago, and it certainly beats walking through gangsta territory to go to the 'Toon. (Ugh, can't believe I said 'Toon!)Why not check out my band Nomansland @ the Black Sheep Bar on Wednesday 25th June, with L A Andrews. Two bands with great female singers.
• update: just to let you all know, sadly Shake Some Action, the punk record shop that used to have live bands in the afternoon sometimes, has shut down. if anyone is thinking of opening a place like that in croydon, please, please do. it's currently the least 'alternative' place on earth.
• Forestdale Arms, selsdon. Got music/party pub.
• The Forestdale Arms, now it cleaned its act up. Karaoke/disco Friday, Disco/Live Band Saturday, Somtimes a old style singer on Sunday... And you can take your family too!
• The Cartoon in West Croydon!
• I thought this was about croydon..the only chance at seeing any music here is to fo to the fairfield halls and see jim davidsion in "puss in boots"
• The Braithwaite Hall (part of the Clocktower) is the best live music venue in Croydon, and arguably one of the best outside central London. They've put on some fantastic gigs in the past year, with jazz, Latin and North African/Arabic music to the fore. The atmosphere and the acoustics are always top-notch.
• Black sheep, for a variety of reasons, young teenage college students is one of them, drum n bass, hip hop metal etc throughout the week.
• The Cartoon.
• Bar latino on rock night
• The Cartoon Shake Some Action Records also has a few live bands every now and again.
• The Cartoon is a good place to go if you like live music, they get a lot of decent unsigned bands in, and also have a lot of tribute bands - they've got a gig listing on their website at http://www.thecartoon.co.uk. You quite often have to pay to get in but its worth it, and it's normally only 3 quid or so, I've never paid over 5 quid to get in, and the bar is reasonably priced
• One of the most underused and underated venues in Croydon is the Blues Club at the rear of Ruskin House, the headquarters of the Croydon Labour Party (The Blues Club is entirely non-political and just happens to rent the hall at the rear). It is on Friday night from 8.00pm. With Folk and Blues on Sunday nights from 8.00pm also. Only costs £2 and you get entered into a raffle for that too, for a bottle of wine. Beer is cheap too. You get a freeform jam session from 8.00pm till 9.00pm and then usually two guest bands till about 11.00pm. A 100% safe, friendly place full of nice enthusiastic people. Absolutely no Croydon kids on the pull here! Decor nothing to look at but atmosphere great, especially in Summer as it has a nice garden. Take numerous buses to South Croydon and walk up Coombe Road to traffic lights. Venue on corner.
• The cartoon has re-opened & puts out fresh hopefuls every night apart from the occasional sunday rock-karaoke sess. Shake some action (the record shop) has a rehearsal space & sometimes do mini-gigs in the shop.
• The Cartoon in London Road is excellent for live music and adult company. The only place for rock music and beer at pub prices.
• The Cartoon bar in London Rd which now, having re-opened, has a vibrant punk/metal scene with hardcore and skacore bands especially popular. Since it's a tight-knit scene everyone knows most of the bands anyway and drinks with them too. Every Bank Holiday there is some kind of all-dayer too, usually culminating in the 'Slam-Fest' where the best young bands in Croydon mesh their styles together for one day. The scene is metal/punk and the factions get along in pecaeful harmony, often crossing over too. It's a relatively new and so pretty young scene, focusing around an all-ages policy at the door and a very open policy on who plays.
• The cartoon is a great venue for live music. They have live bands on every night and the atmosphere is always really good. The bar prices are sensible too-just like normal pub prices.
• the cartoon west croydon next to sinatras
• Have you tried Salsa?? Croydon is HUGE on Salsa venues - great way to meet people - get fit and have a great night out. Pals in Wellesley Road every Tuesday (Beg 7.30/Intermed 8.45), Bar Latino (Park Street) every Thursday 8.30

Cinemas

• Grant's is surprisingly good for mainstream and Bollywood, David Lean in the Clocktower has sporadic showings of quality indeendent stuff.
• theres a hooooooge grants cinema right in the centere of the bar area bit! other than that purley way is a 10 min tram ride and has a good out of town location...
• Vue
• grants and purley way
• Vue (Grant's). I have some good memories of the Purley Way cinema and got a refund there for reporting some anti-social behaviour (missiles hurled at my head) during the showing of the film 'Legally Blonde'. Croydon still has some way to go in terms of accommodating single cinema-goers; if there's a film I want to see on my own I will go and see it elsewhere (e.g. the Clapham Picture House, Wimbledon Odeon) where I will be respected and left to enjoy the film by myself.
• Grants is the worst cinema. They ask for Id if you are like 30 and going to see a 12A.
• Vue at Grants in the town centre and at Purley Way are both excellent multiplexs
• Vue - Grants in central Croydon or Purley Way is but a tram ride away... The ABC in Purley is now flats and The Safari in Broad Greem will soon suffer a similar fate.
• Grants is well expensive for the crappy screens it has. it always tries to rip you of by charging adult fares aswel wen it is QUITE obvious u are sneaking in!!
• Vue
• new addington cinema rules. its next to the bakers. 30 screen superplex multi-million cinema. get down there today.
• The old Davis, and the Odeon in West Croydon was the place to see the old movies. Taratula, Fankenstein ect.
• Beano's. Home of the smallest cinema in europe on the top floor.
• The two Warner Villages ones are okay. If not expensive. The Safari was a good idea, expect that it was nicknamed Cinema of death (due to location and patrons)
• GRANTS
• the grants is really expensive better off getting a 249 to streatham on a tuesday the cheep day its only about 3 quid(maybe a little more)
• grantz in croy itz ite nuffin special
• If you actually want to see a decent film (rather than the rubbish that the Warner Village mostly shows) go to the Croydon Clocktower. It shows some really good stuff, even if the seats are a bit cramped and the sound system isn't blow-you-eardrums THX.
• Grant's : If you like paying through the nose for crap food, cold popcorn, miserable under-payed assistants, and worst of all seats that have drinks holders that don't hold anything but small drinks .... and as the price difference between small and large is about 20p everybody buys large, so you can kick it all over the floor
• Grants.
• the clocktower (in the same building as the library) is an excellent arty kind of picture house, where you can see unusual, not so commercial films, that don't come out at the "fleapit" (er, i mean safari, heh) in west croydon. however, the fleapit is very good if you want a budget film outing. personally, i wouldn't go to the fleapit by myself, as i don't feel safe around the area. if you're a big strapping lad you probably don't have the same problem. but the clocktower is fine, though if a film looks like it may be popular you should book in advance as the theatres are tiny.
• Recently a new one was built at Grants, in the town centre. It's mostly empty though till you get up about 4 escalators, which is kinda stupid I think.
• Grants! New Warner Brothers.
• The new Warner bros in croydon is wicked, it means we dont have to go to bloody purley way anymore!
• grants
• Wait till it comes out on video if you value your phone and want to see a film without the sound of a group of 14 year olds in the back row shouting at each other.
• grants is new..the hologram on the way in is pretty trippy. particularly when youre on your way out cos its backwards
• Grants, - The Warner Cinema (8 screens?) is now open and it's fab. Very smart indeed!
• The David Lean cinema is the best by miles, screening a great mix of contemporary independent film from around the world, the most interesting mainstream hits and the odd cult classic. Don't miss the great value £6 double bills on the first Sunday of each month.
• The david lean is great for alternative film, safari if you like indian films, and now we finally have a decent cinema complex in the refurbished grants building.
• Warner Brothers on purley way, very comfy seats not much leg room though. Expensive food as all cinemas, large number of screens.
• warner brothers cinema on the purley way is the only one but its okey through extremely expensive
• Theres a multiplex down Purley Way.
• The comments were true for Warner Bros until about 18 months ago, great seating, surround sound and all the latest films. Unfortunately, it has let itself go. Its permanently dirty, and on our last visit, took three attempts to find two seats which weren't covered in chocolate. This is a shame because the complex really is exelent. A great night out spent drinking and bowling, followed by the late showing. Alas it is no more!
• I saw people had already mentionned stuff here about the warner on the purley way - it's a nice cinema and you've got the bowling alley right nextdoor. However personally I'd much rather goto the one in West Croydon - it's much cheaper and you can roll off into the cartoon afterwards (they're practically next to each other)
• Enormous Megabowl on the purley way if you fancy haemorraging cash, also a huge warner village multiplex too...
• The Clocktower cinema is really nice, it often shows films that you wouldn't find in those big multiplexes, like arty European ones or ones that didn't get a general release.
• WArner Village. A spooky american set-up in the middle of croydon.
• The Clocktower cinema is the only arthouse one in Croydon and as such shows loads of great films you can't see anywhere else. Plus it has an intimate and comfortable atmosphere you don't find in any of the hideous multiplexes spread around the place.
• david lean cinema is good.
• It's tiny, but the David Lean Cinema in the Clocktower is probably one of the best places around to see a movie. It's also a good idea to pick up a copy of their pre-printed monthly schedule beforehand to plan ahead.
• The ABC in Purley has gone
• There is a Warner Village off Purley Way with 8 screens, and a bowling alley nextdoor to that, as well as a few resturants. A 10 screen one is being built in the centre.
• Dear Knowhere I'm the GM of the Warner Cinema in Croydon, which you say nice things about - thank you! It would be great if you could include a link to our website at www.warnervillage.co.uk - full information and online booking. All the best Rob Lines GM Croydon
• For the casual cinema going try Warner Village on Purley way (nr IKEA) for the serious non-popcorn-eating cinema fan try the Clocktower cinema
• Well, I just love Warner Brothers off the Purley Way - surround sound, tiered seating and 8 screens (+ Baskin Robins icecream!))
• Beckenham Cinema is one of the best little places to visit, nice and safe. David Lean, at Clocktower is rather nice too.
• Do not venture to the cinema in Thornton Heath unless you wish to pick up a new knife, in your back.

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