The Oval Tavern, Croydon

I read all the reviews about this pub and really wondered what I was going to find. Well, I found something that I hadn't been expecting, as the pub has recently changed hands (July 2013, I'm told) so I guess the older reviews couldn't know that! The new owner is Esther, who is well-known in Croydon for having turned a number of pubs around and has a real passion for pubs, people, good beer and music. The evening I went it was quiet, warm and comfortable, and I read my paper and enjoyed my beer and some (really tasty) food (and I believe it was home-cooked!) off the menu - she said the kitchen had just re-opened having been closed for some years (who closes a kitchen in a pub nowadays??). Then the place completely changed: people poured in (almost too many people!). There was a live band playing a kind of blues (hoe-down?) and the atmosphere was amazing: loads of happy people of all ages (yup: I felt neither too old nor too young - good for this 48 year old!) drinking loads and stomping to the music. I'll go again and see what else happens to this pub.

13 Oct 2013 11:36