The Sir Julian Huxley (JD Wetherspoon), South Croydon

The better of the 2 Wetherspoon's we tried in South East London on Tuesday (the other being the Skylark in Croydon). The Sir Julian Huxley had a much more friendly feel to it. The interior was a little more modern than most, with artwork on the walls. The usual 3 ales were on - Greene King Abbot, Ruddles Best & Sharp's Doom Bar, whilst the 2 guests were Windsor & Eton Windsor Knot & Purple Moose Whakahari. They also had a real cider - Gwynt y Ddraig Black Dragon.

A slightly above-average Wetherspoons', in a usual sort of modern shop conversion but with a slightly unusual layout and a creditable enthusiasm for real ale. The bar is to the left, with a comfortable eating sort of area up a couple of steps opposite, and a quieter conservatory to the rear. Stairs down at the back lead to a patio garden. Ales on at time of visit included three from Reunion and one from Twickenham, as well as the usual stuff. Perhaps seemed to be a bit more of a locals' pub than your typical Spoons'.

Selsdon Man was a phrase coined by Labour Prime Minister Harold Wilson back in the early seventies to describe a group of dogmatic Free Market Tories. The modern vernacular is apparently "Swivel Eyed Loonies" which doesn't say much about the advancement of the English Language over the last forty years. This has absolutely nothing to do with this pub, which is named after a biologist who was a supporter of the nearby Selsdon Wood Nature Reserve. It's a converted shop in a small suburban shopping area and unusually for a Spoons doesn't open until 10:00. As shop conversions go it's more attractive than most with the bar on the left, a raised area on the right for diners and a sort of conservatory at the back. I arrived here not long after opening time to find a wholly disappointing beer selection. There are 10 pumps with the 2 GK beers, London Pride and official guest Wharfebank Wispa IPA all doubled up, Doombar and a low ABV beer called Leveller which I believe was from the Two Cocks brewery in Berskhire. I went for the Wispa IPA (£2.30) which was in pretty poor condition. This has to be one of the worst Spoons I've been to, the only redeeming feature is that the building is a lot more attractive than most shop conversions. Given that there are no other pubs in this area, just a posh Hotel you would have thought that they could have done better than this. Maybe the real Selsdon man (and woman) doesn't like real ale.

This Wetherspoons is all that Selsdon has to offer pub-wise nowadays so it was not much of a surprise to find the place very busy when I arrived on a recent weekday evening. It’s a strange split-level building with the bar on the lower left hand side of the pub. There is some seating opposite the servery, but the majority is on the raised right hand side, which is nicely partitioned off from the lower half creating two clearly defined areas. The seating section is carpeted and has an almost modern look to it, rather than the standard Wetherspoons decor. Some folding doors take you to the rear of this section where there is a nice space with a fireplace and muted lighting which would make a cosy lounge area, but unfortunately it’s been filled with regulation Wetherspoons tables and chairs. Past the bar there is an unusual conservatory at the back of the pub and stairs lead down to the beer garden which has a few benches and looked like a bit of a sun trap. I counted ten hand pumps of which five were dispensing ‘Spoons regulars, with four guest ales and one cider making up the remainder. I opted for a pint of Inveralmond Duncan’s IPA but thought it was a bit off form. The staff were a bit disorganised but seemed polite enough. It’s not one of Wetherspoons’ finest outlets for sure, but it certainly plays an important role in this part of the borough, even if that’s because it effectively killed off the competition. It might be worth a look if passing, but it’s certainly not one to make an effort to get to.

A fairly large uninspiring Wetherspoon's that despite having a local Croydon Borough beer festival going on had very little in the way of guest beers.