The Green Dragon, Croydon

Wait all day to go to an impressive bank conversion and then find one right next door to the quite similar Spread Eagle just over the road. This is in the 2026 GBG and I was delighted to be reminded how good Hogs Back TEA can be. I can't believe its been 10 years since I last found this on cask. We can thank Untappd for that. Also a great selection of cider in a bag - which I missed on first ordering. If there hadnt been so much work to do in town, I would have stayed for 2. Cavernous, with a mixture of bench seatings and standalone tables. Toilets knocking spoon into a cocked hat in the distance from bar stakes. Live music venue, so I can imagine a much better atmosphere on those nights.

High ceilings and a tiled floor make for an noisy experience at the Green Dragon, even when it's far from full. I popped in on the off-chance, having been unimpressed with the offerings at Wetherspoon's George nearby and was pleased to find a more interesting selection of ales in here - Southwark Brewery seem to be popular. There's a few craft keg as well. If you take an interest in the cask, you may be offered a CAMRA discount. Probably worth checking out in Central Croydon.

The Green Dragon appears to be the best that Croydon has to offer. It has a corner location, with plenty of seating inside and toilets downstairs. There were 5 real ales, 6 real ciders and a number of craft beers. Ales were Bexley Crook Log, Southwark Harvard & Top Drop, By The Horns Panowow & Redemption Pale Ale. Real ciders were in boxes above the rear of the bar. The selection was Lilley's Lemon & Lime Cider & Merry Monkey, Dudda's Tun Salted Caramel Cider, Dorset Nectar Medium Organic, Weston's Old Rosie & Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon. Craft beers were BrewDog Planet Pale, Magic Rock Chameleon & High Wire, Hammerton Traume, Siren Soundwave, Laine's Twisted Lips, Mad Squirrel Hoodblink & Big Hug Do Not Disturb. Nice place that I'm sure I will return to. Apparently a CAMRA discount can be applied to, but this was not offered.

Another architcturally impressive looking croydon pub, unfortunately this doesnt transfer to the interior which is rather barn like and unappealing. There were eight handpumps with five beers on that I failed to note at the time but I had a pint of Gloucester Dockside Dark on cask while there was a range of craft options from the eight taps. I didn't quite warm to this pub so much.

2 floor bar (upstairs closed during my visit) with a mixed style interior part brewdog industrial but also retaining some original features. 8 real ale taps,8 “craft keg” taps and 6 ciders.

Official site of The Green Dragon - www.craft-pubs.co.uk