BITE user comments - zjp
Comments by zjp
Today the star of the show was locally brewed IPA from Clarence & Frederick's which was disappearing fast. It was probably the best beer they've brewed yet.
This is the place to come for Croydon beer, both from C&F And from Cronx. After some experimentation, both of these breweries are developing fine brews and the Green Dragon is to be commended for showcasing them so positively. Nice!
The pub is being managed superbly by Kevin in the wake of Esther's departure. Lets hope the company recognise what an asset he is and make him manager. He knows what has to be done to keep this the best venue in Croydon.
18 Aug 2013 00:07
A miracle in the making.
The recent additions make this popular pub more comfortable for the crowds of real ale fans who flock here. Good to see key keg beer on the bar.
Wonderful in an understated way.
24 Jun 2013 07:18
The Green Dragon leads the pack in Croydon. Real ale of superb quality, and a young customer base make this place a top choice, especially when there's live music.
Esther makes this pub buzz. Do it. Go there.
Peace & love,
24 Jan 2008 23:57
The Croydon Real Ale Promotion Society (CRAPS) met here on Tuesday 17th April and forgot to move on to their second pub of the evening. This is an unpretentious traditional local where the emphasis seems firmly on quality and range. For myself, I found the Hepworths Pullman at 4.2% the perfect pint, and kept coming back for more. The Sheps Late Harvest was tasty, as was the other Hepworths beer, Sussex Bitter at 3.6%.
The menus looked very good, and I really was tempted by the creamy chicken pie, but luckily for my waistline the kitchen was closed. It was 10.15 in the evening after all.
An all too rare visit. If I lived a mile or so closer this would definitely be my local.
20 Apr 2007 10:56
Had a good night here with great company, excellent beer & superb service from a friendly barmaid. Well worth a visit again.
4 Apr 2007 00:33
Great local pub. Looking forwards to the Westerham Brewery evening on the 23rd April!
4 Apr 2007 00:29
A pub without pretentions; a haven from the rat-race.
A pub for indulging in peaceful contemplation with a pint and a paper.
A pub from an age before baseball caps & widescreen TV. A pub where good manners are appreciated and rewarded tenfold.
A place you can take your mum.
I wish it was my local.
29 Nov 2006 18:09
The Claret Free House, Addiscombe
Like beer? Head into The Claret and take your choice from the ever-changing range of hand-pulled cask ales served here. Never had a duff pint in here in 10 years of regular drinking. Perfect!
There's a board showing the current selection, and also what's waiting in the wings - sometimes there's 30 plus names there, all from independent brewers. Palmers of Bridport IPA is the "house" beer.
It's a friendly place and you'll always find someone to chew the fat with if you go alone. The decor is brewers Tudor, but don't let that put you off.
Rolls (corned beef; cheese etc)are the only sustenance available, thank God.
Why's this place not yet in the top 40?
6 Oct 2006 00:44
The
Harp, a true West End gem
Enables us all to
Have
A
Really good, well-kept
Pint or three
Before heading
In homeward directions,
Not wanting
Nor needing to leave.
It's the best example of an
English pub (in the Irish mode)
We have.
All I ask is Punch
Leave it alone
So we can continue to
Have good times here...
Cheers!
3 Oct 2006 11:45
Quite simply the finest example of a London pub which ticks all the boxes.
It comes into its own when it's quieter, say on a Tuesday evening, when there's a chance to have an interesting conversation with the other locals, or the landlord when he's not run off his feet.
Excellent Harveys of Lewes ales. Miles Jenner: if you read this be proud - you've a good'un here.
Proper home-made steak and kidney pudding which even mother couldn't do better.
Go there, but take a couple of ale-loving chums, and enjoy an unspoiled proper grown-ups' pub.
Cheers
3 Oct 2006 11:34
Beautiful!
Beautiful beer!
Beautiful barmaids!
Beautiful Cornish Pasties!
Beautiful minimalist decoration!
Beautiful warm welcome!
Beautiful toilets!
Beautiful....
3 Oct 2006 11:22
Over the years I've visited the Evening Star many, many times. I've enjoyed the "atmosphere" whatever that is, but usually because I've arrived with several mates who appreciate some of the finest draught beer in the country, and can talk intelligently about a wide range of topics without once saying "nowhamean" or "innit". A good pub should be a blank canvas for punters to paint their own version of the red town...
The other clientele are usually friendly enough to respond to overtures from an outgoing personality, and engage in pleasant persiflage. All human life is there, to paraphrase a certain rag.
The staff are second to none. The rather churlish 'plaint below - if we are to believe it - must have arisen under special circumstances. My own barside manner may well have been challenged by heads poking around the door while I was clearing up.
As for criticisms about food: this is a PUB, and therefore about BEER. Anything more than the delicious bar snacks provided at The Star would render it a pseudo-restaurant with all the kerfuffle which that entails. No thanks, I hear hundreds of Star fans murmuring.
Apart from possibly The Bridge Inn at Topsham, and The Stand Up Inn in Lindfield, and The Harp in Chandos Place (Hi Binnie!) and the Claret in Addiscombe (NONE of which serve anything more sophisticated foodwise than a pasty)The Evening Star is one of the finest traditional alehouses in the land.
But don't go there hoping to pull, or listen to street sounds, or play fruit machines, or watch Sky TV on a screen the size of a wall. There are other delights here.
(Dave Rovicks did play a good gig there the other year)
3 Oct 2006 11:16
The Albert Tavern, South Norwood
1960s pub replacing the original 3 storey Albert Tavern which was destroyed by a flying bomb in 1944.
Redecorated recently with a few more large flat-screen TVs and slightly fewer places to sit. The staff are efficient and friendly, and seem to take a pleasure in customer service, a rare thing these days.
Green King beers - the usual selection, but their IPA is well-kept and tastes less bland here than it can be. Good turnover perhaps?
Reasonable pub grub - if you are not on a diet.
2 Oct 2006 15:36
I can't agree about the "solemnity" perceived by the previous reviewer! On Tuesday evening this place was filled with happy drinkers, sampling the huge range of beers available, and growing happier by the minute.
The decor is unfussy minimalist-plain, but you come here to drink beer, not stare at the wallpaper. There were 3 handpumped ales from Dark Star and Ridgeway breweries, and a very tasty cherry kriek on tap. It gets better every visit.
2 Oct 2006 15:25
The Goose on the Market, Croydon
A reasonable "Wetherspoon" type clone, with similar cheap prices and a reasonable selection of beers including Youngs sold cheaper than the nearby D&B!
This is an "all-day drinkers" pub, which attracts a young crowd in the evening, eager to make their pocket money stretch. So, great for a cheap midday drink and bite to eat, but unless you are attracted to the idea of watching teenagers trying to impress each other by making animal noises after having over-indulged on whatever this week's alco-pop is, avoid in the evening, and try a grown-ups pub..
25 Sep 2006 23:25
Frank and his staff run a rare example of an unspoiled traditional market pub, a proper stand-up boozer with a clientele drawn from every sector of society, young, old, rich, poor, and it's difficult not to be drawn into easy conversation. That's just the start...
The Youngs ordinary is sometimes so good here it makes you forgive the brewery selling up and moving to Bedford. It can stop you in your tracks, make you gasp and hold your glass reverently as you savour the aroma of honey and flowers that proper hops exude.
That's what this pub is all about: excellent beer, excellent customers, and a lovely old building with a timeless atmosphere.
25 Sep 2006 23:13
The Square and Compass, Worth Matravers
I wsa first impressed by this pub about 30 years ago, when carrying my pint from the hatch down the stone-flagged passage to the front door, my eye was caught by a framed sketch on the wall, original, signed Augustus John. It's that kind of place.
Outside, I drank my pint, one of the best I'd tasted,, and gazed over the English channel with warm sunlight and a cool breeze vying for dominance. What a setting...
This is a special pub, but it knows it.
24 Sep 2006 13:40
I don't think I have ever visited a more "perfect" pub.
Real ale served by gravity from the cask in a timeless setting by the Exe...
This is one I'll return to again and again.
23 Sep 2006 09:37
The Oval Tavern, Croydon
Now Esther has been in situ for a couple of weeks or so things are definitely looking up for the Oval. There were four hand pumps offering Landlord, Doom Bar, Tribute and another national brand, but more pumps to come and beers from SIBA perchance.
The pub is looking spruce having had a clean-up, and there is an air of optimism which was lacking under the previous regime. The music is continuing and there's a quiz on Wednesdays and open mike night on Tuesday . All good!
18 Aug 2013 00:26