User name:

Password:

Login


Sign in with Facebook


Not already a member?
Join our community and - Rate & review pubs - Upload pictures - Add events JOIN for free NOW


Chat about:
Cambridge PuG Crawl, Friday 5th April 2024 with Gann on the Pub Forum

The George (JD Wetherspoon), Croydon

17-21 George Street
Croydon
CR0 1LA

Return to pub summary

Pub Type

J D Wetherspoon
Page: 1 2

Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) Add Review see review guidelines


Blue Scrumpy left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Second Visit (11/11/23):

My latest visit to this town centre Wetherspoon's was not quite as good as my first. The real ale range seems to have deteriorated a little and so has the real cider choice. Ales on across the 2 bars were Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best, Sharp's Doom Bar, Brains The Rev James, Mad Squirrel Resolution & Mister Squirrel, Surrey Hills Greensand IPA & Shere Drop, Oakham Green Devil & Thornbridge Jaipur. The cider was Weston's Old Rosie.

This time we sat towards the rear, where tables are packed in tightly and nearly all were taken on our Saturday morning visit. Breakfast was ok, but the lack of any black pudding was a disappointment for me. Downgrading my rating to a 6/10.

Original Visit 12/12/21:

Large branch of Wetherspoon's not too far from East Croydon station. As 'spoon's go, this is a good one.

On entering, be sure to check what is on offer at both bars, as they do differ. I initially focused on the one near the entrance, until reading about the second one at the rear.

A number of elderly Irish folk were making quite a racket in the front area, whilst the rear area was much busier and seemed to be more geared towards diners.

The usual Wetherspoon's beers were on - Greene King IPA & Abbot are regulars alongside Thornbridge Jaipur. Guests included quite a few Christmas themed ones - Exmoor Exmas, Bath Ales Festivity, Twickenham London Porter, Bateman's Rosey Nosey, Hook Norton Greedy Goose, Coach House Three Kings, Oakham Citra & JHB, Theakston Old Peculier & Hanlon's Citramas IPA. Ciders were Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon & Thistly Cross Whisky Cask.

At £1.99 a pint, I managed a few before staggering home.

On 14th November 2023 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2442 recommendations about 2441 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Moby Duck left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

My first visit to a Spoons in over two years and it may be some time before another, the only reason I came here was due to the repute of its beer range which despite checking both bars didn't live up to my expectations, plenty of usual suspects and a few guests but both the Oakham Green Devil and Jaipur had gone off unreplaced so I settled for an Adnams Ghost Ship which itself wasn't in the greatest shape. The pub of course was heaving on a Friday late morning, but as a pub experience I'm afraid this does very little for me.

On 5th February 2022 - rating: 4
[User has posted 1868 recommendations about 1841 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Bucking Fastard left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

ORIGINAL REVIEW Jan 2011.

As others have mentioned ,this looks a typical Spoons but with an increasing focus on a decent range of ale.10 handpumps with three usual suspects London Pride,GK Abbott,and "Ruddles" bitter pleasingly augmented on my trip by Thornbridge Jaipur IPA and Kipling,three Dark Star brews (Hophead,Meltdown and Festival) together with Abbott Reserve and Dorking Brewery's DB Number One.
The front of the pub is more earthy and has a pubby feel.There are large pillars on both left and right handsides breaking up an otherwise large area into sections and this is where the drinkers congregate,near the front bar.Beyond here is a raised dining area which extends well back into the building with ranks of dining tables and some alcoves on both sides.It is however worth investigating the Top bar ,at the back of the building as the handpumps here carry beers not found at the front bar,usually two Dark Star brews.
You will be hard pressed to find lower alcohol prices anywhere else in Croydon .The beer variety and quality makes this a good place to include in any crawl around Croydon ,which over the years has developed a good real ale scene.

UPDATE Sept 2019.

Oh dear.The old team have left ,and with them all hope of getting outstanding ale.The new management team no longer stock as regulars Burning Sky Aurora,Plateau or Thornbridge Jaipur although these are listed as regulars in the 2020 GBG.No sign either of ales from Oakham,Saltaire or high class Locales.Instead besides the trio of Doom,the other 12 handpumps will offer beers sourced under the very low Wetherspoons "clearing price" for a barrel meaning they will only offer as guests beer that is difficult to sell elsewhere.On my trip there was a 5% malty mess,another beer at 4.5% and 10 ales between 3.8% and 4.3% with little of any interest.This is now a bog standard 'spoons and not worthy of making any special effort to visit.A very sad day.

FURTHER UPDATE

All back to normal with Burning Sky Plateau and Aurora,Thornbridge Jaipur IPA and also Titanic Plum Porter back as permanent fixtures and so the rating goes back up to 8.The very best place for quality ale in central Croydon.Well done to Tim and the team here for recognising the error of their ways .

On 4th December 2019 - rating: 8
[User has posted 2709 recommendations about 2709 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Just a quick pint, then I'm off left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

The larger-than-expected interior is wholly unremarkable in appearance, but it is always very busy, particular at and around the front bar (which unfortunately is the one with the better range of beers from 11 handpumps). Best bet is to get your pint there and then move towards the back counter (with six - usually different - real ales available) which is a bit more civilised. Never had a bad pint here, and the Nottingham Rock Mild (£2.29) was excellent on my latest visit.

On 3rd June 2018 - rating: 7
[User has posted 8061 recommendations about 8061 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


hondo . left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Large 2 bar spoons that feels a bit formulaic bit does the job as part of a crawl.

On 27th October 2017 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 2883 recommendations about 2820 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Rex Rattus left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Standard guest ales here were £2.69 a pint, and the traditional breakfast £3.30. Par for the course I suppose, but I have paid more in upmarket places like Epsom.

This pub is larger than it appears from outside, seemingly stretching to the back forever; so far in fact that there's another bar counter at the far end. But overall it's a typical 'spoons with dark varnished tables and chairs crammed in, with its fair share of tall tables/tall stools of course. According to a sign on the wall it seems to be an ever present in the Good Beer Guide. Next to this sign is a craft beer display, showcasing the "craft" beers available here.

There's nothing about this one that makes it stand out from the 'spoons crowd. But you know what you're going to get - cheap food and decent beer at cheap prices.

On 21st April 2017 - rating: 5
[User has posted 2606 recommendations about 2520 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


Aqualung . left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Visit 02/01/2015

I've never been entirely convinced by this place. The interior is just a standard old school Spoons with some of the typical daytime Spoons brigade at the front. The prices seem to have rocketed in under two years since my first visit, the Tillingbourne Black Troll quoted at £2.15 below was marked at £2.70 today, an outrageous price for a 3.7% local beer in a Wetherspoons.
The beer selection didn't seem as interesting as on previous visits with little out of the ordinary on the lower bar and three regular Dark Star Beers at the back. The American Adnam's Xplorer at the back bar was 80p a pint dearer than I subsequently found it at my local Spoons.
I tried a pint of Oakham Bishop's Farewell (£2.70) which really wasn't in that good condition and then went for the Dark Star American Pale which thankfully was in very good nick. I'm knocking the score down to 6, it would be 5 but for the quality Dark Star pint. It's over-rated and over-priced in my opinion.



Visit 04/10/2013

I'm happy to report that this time the beer quality was very good. I had a pint of Oakham Black Hole Porter (£2.80) which may not be the best Oakham beer but was in good nick and as far as I could tell was clear.
I then tried the Dark Star Green Hopped IPA (£2.80) from the back bar and this was outstanding. Rating restored to 9. If it wasn't more expensive than most other Spoons it would be a 10.


Visit 06th September 2013

It's almost exactly six months since my first visit here and I was looking forward to seeing what was on offer. What I got was a huge disappointment, I went for the Hawkshead Cumbrian Five Hop (£2.65) which was tasty enough (a hop bomb in fact) but was by no means clear. I then tried the 7.5% Oakham Attila (£3.25) which was also cloudy and I got the impression was on the turn. I didn't get to note all of the beers in the main bar partly because there was a shaven headed buffoon propping up the bar right in front of some of the pumps. I didn't see any on offer at £1.99. The top bar had four mainstream Dark Star beers at an unspecified price plus two ciders.

I'm happy to accept that I may have just been unlucky today, catching a cask that was being served too soon and one that was at death's door, but this is a regular GBG entry and compared to other Spoons it isn't cheap. Of the other five Spoons visited on the day, four had beer that was in much better condition than the two I tried here.
This just isn't good enough for a GBG listed pub and as a result I've reduced the rating from 9 to 6. I will be returning some time and hope I have better luck.



Visit 01st March 2013

I turned up here today with very high expectations for this Spoons given it's reputation. I certainly wasn't let down by the beer choice or quality. The four beers tried were London Fields Love Not War (£2.09), Brain's St David's Ale (£2.25), Cronx Entire (£2.40) and Thornbridge Jaipur(£2.89). I've been trying to pin down Jaipur for years, as despite it being on the Spoons guest list for at least two years this is the first time I've seen it. The price probably explains why, just as well I had a 50p CAMRA ticket with me.

I did wonder about the prices, in my East London haunts I would have expected the St David's to be £2.09 and the Cronx to be £2.25. Either they have a different pricing policy or I was charged the premium price for the St David's and the super premium price for the Cronx.

The quality of the beers was superb, although the Jaipur did have a slight haze which may be down to the pale nature of the beer.

If it wasn't for the beer range and selection this would be no more than a typical shop conversion Spoons. It's a long narrow affair with the only natural light coming from the doors in George Street which makes it quite a dark place.

Before leaving I went to the bar at the opposite end from George Street to find it was a mini Dark Star beer festival. Given that there were also two Surrey beers on the main bar that I had not seen before, then I will definitely visit this one again.

On 3rd January 2015 - rating: 6
[User has posted 2143 recommendations about 2143 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john mcgraw left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Having read other recent reviews on this pub I can only say that I am a fairly regular visitor and in the vast majority of my visits the beer is in good form and at a very fair price. As in other pubs sometimes the beer is not in top form but generally us real ale drinkers accept this and know this is not the norm. I am sending this review from the George. Today there is a great range of ales from Oakham, Dark Star and other breweries which are in great form. At the moment I am drinking a pint of sixpoint Bengali Tiger and it is excellent and at £2.30 a pint (wed club) cannot be faulted. Yesterday I paid £4.60 for a 6% beer in Brighton. So things at the George are not as bad as some people think especially CAMRA as it is in the gbg. Of course things could change as I do believe a change of management is on the cards.

On 12th September 2013 - rating: 9
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


john gray left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

Better than average Wetherspoon pub with 3 tillingbourne +4 Oakham on the bar. The Tillingbourne beers were very good.Less than £2 a pint was a result as its over £3 a pint in central London Wetherspoon pubs now.

On 28th June 2013 - no rating submitted
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]


Please Note: This review is over a year old.


paulof horsham left this review about The George (JD Wetherspoon)

While you can be pretty sure what you're going to get from a Wetherspoon's outlet (and this one looks little different to the one in your town), The George manages to impress. Obviously, as already mentioned, it's a pretty large space, and it's generally pretty busy, although it does seem to have the sound of a proper pub.

However, it's the range and quality of the ale that really stands out. There's a solid emphasis on good beer from good local breweries (it's the only place I've ever seen Tillingbourne ales, for example, and the Falls Gold was in very good nick). Ale from further afield is also offered (the Oakham lorry had clearly paid a visit before I did), while the manager seems happy to put on a stronger beer or two - Jaipur and Oakham Green Devil were both available when I visited. And I would recommend a trip to the back bar to see what's on - that's where I got the tasty Green Devil, but could have had a Hophead 'Galaxy'.

So, in summary and, surprising as it sounds, there's a Wetherspoon's pub in Croydon well worth visiting!

On 6th February 2013 - rating: 8
[User has posted 449 recommendations about 421 pubs]

Page: 1 2