The Oval Tavern

Monday evening dinner, good variety of food options. While unfortunately there were items on the menu they were not able to serve, it was plenty to have many delicious sharing items. Service was good, wasn't too busy on a Monday Nice place!

On a lovely Summer's Sunday we luckily got a table for a Sunday Roast at the Oval Tavern, a popular venue with locals which can get busy as they also have live Jazz playing. We sat outside ordering a roast beef, and roast lamb lunches; from the prompt and friendly staff. The meat used is very good quality, and this was especially noted from the lamb. Though do not forget about the vegetables, and I was actually wowed by the carrots which can get a lack of love in most pubs. The roast in all was good, however the slight let down for me were the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. The Yorkshire pudding was a bit overdone for my liking, and I would have loved more of a crunchy exterior to the potatoes (my preference 😅). However this is all my experience being subjective, and overall I had a nice lunch at this pub; which is a place anyone would have a good time and easy Sunday at!

Beautiful quaint pub with great garden and the menu was varied and good value...Great Korean pork belly 😋 and Sunday Roasts! Live Jazz!

What a fabulous pub. Awesome Sunday roasts, live music and brilliant staff and patrons. This is an occasional haunt for me as I love their Sunday roasts in the beer garden with my pooch. I do recommend booking for tge Sunday roast as they are quite popular with many locals and on occasion have been booked out.

Getting rarer than hen's teeth, a good old fashioned pub with traditional pub grub. Friendly staff and a rear garden to make the most of the hot weather.

Lovely night out. Friendly staff and nice selection of food choices. Best chips in Croydon! Usual beverage options. Except for lack of white wine on most recent visit!! Great pub for music lovers. Huge outdoor space too. Highly recommended.

From Canada & visited UK for the first time. This was the last pub my son & I visited during our six day trip. I wish we had gone earlier as we would have gone more often. Authentic pub with good people and warm smiles. It spoke to us immediately. Cheers eh!

Great place for a lunchtime catch up with a former work colleague on a mid-week lunchtime. Have also visited this pub on evenings when live music has been on and thoroughly enjoyed it also. Will return again for sure.

Visiting from out of town and stumbled upon this pub smack in the middle of a residential street. Good vibes, good beer, great staff.

I was frustrated the online menu didn't quite match the real-life menu but the man on the bar staff comped me a half-pint of the mango cider on tap, so all forgiven =) I got the avocado pesto pasta as a side for 2 pounds and it was a nice-sized portion. It was served cold, however, so I asked for it to be warmed which seemed to disturb the cook. Of course pesto+ avocado = amazeballs. My husband's Moroccan burger was a bit spicy and he liked it. I liked the tartar sauce that accompanied the dish. I'm just dinging another star because the food took FOREVER to come. I really thought they were killing the lamb for how long it took. The barman apologised though so my heart softened a little.

Recently, I've taken a shine to exploring more local pubs in the area and The Oval is nicely situated between me and my other local, The Glamorgan. In fact, the pub was recommended to me by another bartender of another pub. How can you go wrong? The pub itself kind of abruptly appears on you - like exams or deadlines you've procrastinated on - because it's located down a residential street. It's lined with houses on both sides and then dead smack in the middle is its brick-face, painted signs, and muffled chatter of clients. The pub itself has a very dark interior, with warped wooden floor boards and a low ceiling. It feels like a pub should to me. It's eclectically decorated with the generic pub stools but the walls are lined with photos of different bands. It's got an indie and, dare I say it, hipster feel to it. In the opposite corner of the pub you'll find a little elevated space for the musicians that come there to play. The Oval Tavern is probably best known for it's daily selection of music and performances: Tuesdays they do blues, Friday is DJ night and Sunday they usually have Jazz on (the full list can be seen at their website: http://www.theovalcroydon.co.uk/events.html) I imagine the pub to get VERY crowded during these gigs which may be a downside (depending on how much you like people). However, every time I've got the pub has been empty, or nearly empty and that has suited me just fine. More so, since this IS a pub, the beers there are rotated fairly often. After chatting with the bartender, he informed me that they usually have Trooper and Tribute on but the other three or four taps rotate regularly - in fact - every time, thus far, I have been to the Oval the changing taps were already rotated. I have yet to try their food but I have noticed they do a barbecue when the weather is particularly nice and it has taken every fiber of my willpower to keep from buying food. All I can really say is that.. the food smells good. All in all, it's a great pub and one that I could definitely see myself frequenting regularly.

A great, low-key pub about five minutes on foot from East Croydon station. They're stocked with all the major beers on tap and have a solid selection of bottled beer. The pub itself is very spacious and is a great place to rendezvous if you're a big group. All in all, an unpretentious watering hole frequented by Croydon locals.

Found myself and a friend here by accident. And was pleasantly suprised. It was a David Bowie night and there was a selection of singers. There was an eccectic crowd (the place was packed). Wouldn't rate the wine, but it is just a pub I guess. Good atmosphere and would go back.

Great staff, fantastic food and, well, it's got to be all about good beer, ain't it? Esther knows what the locals and the real ale lovers are really after and never fails to excel!