The Spread Eagle, Croydon

Very much Old Joint Stock vibes here with a bank conversion run by fullers. Impressively high ceilings. A grand staircase. The finest looking Chesterfield I have ever seen (one with a roof) that I just missed out on. No ESB on, but they did have HSB and it was in fine condition. This was just over £6, which made my meal of hunters chicken seem quite good value at £12.95. Very friendly service. Perfect location for polite society.

Large and imposing Fuller's Ale & Pie House situated next to what appeared to be Croydon's town hall. We didn't venture far from the bar in here. Although unlike previous places we's visited, there were some other customers in here. There's not too much of a surprise on the real ale front, with Fuller's London Pride & ESB & Gale's HSB serving as the regular beers. Guests were the seasonal Fuller's Jack Frost & Dark Star Hophead. I chose the Jack Frost, which had clearly not been pulled through that day. Bar staff did pull some through, despite saying that it was supposed to taste malty. Whilst I agree with that, I don't think it is supposed to taste like vinegar. After being poured through, the next beer I had was in much better condition. There was no sign of a discount for us though. We obviously didn't look like CAMRA members, as we had no beards nor tank tops, despite the 4 of us all being members! This was the first of 3 Fuller's pubs we visited on that day. I don't recall having been to one for a while. But now I remember why I tend to avoid them!

Set in a quite impressive looking building this Fullers Ale & Pie house also boasts some very nice woodwork throughout. There are a total of 12 handpumps with most being doubled up and a couple vacant, beers on were HSB, ESB, London Pride, Jack Frost and Dark Star Hophead, I asked for a pint of Hophead and rather impressivly the girl serving asked if I was a CAMRA member( I had a beard but no tank top) so I ended up paying a reasonable £4.18 for the pint. The pub was a little quiet at noon on a Friday but I found it a comfortable 20 minutes or so.

Not been to this imposing Fuller's Ale & Pie House for years, but all seems much the same within this impressive building. The former bank has been well converted, and the main bar benefits from a high ceiling and windows on three sides. Further seating and dining areas can be found upstairs, with a theatre too. Dark wood-panelling throughout. Pride, Oliver's Island, HSB, ESB and the seasonal Spring Sprinter plus two guests from Gypsy Hill - Mosaic and the dry-hopped Bounder - available from the two banks of six handpumps on this long-overdue revisit.