Matthews Yard, Croydon

Conceived in the wake of the Croydon riots of 2011, as a community hub and arts space, Matthew’s Yard operated successfully down at it’s original site off Surrey Street Market for the best part of eight years before finally giving way to Croydon Councils plans to demolish it and replace it with a big block of flats. Thankfully, the Matthew’s Yard team were able to raise enough money to reopen in this much more prominent location – a former Maplins store close to West Croydon’s bus and train stations. Much like the old venue, this place doesn’t really try to create a pub-like feel, opting instead for a more inclusive café-bar vibe that seems to appeal to a wide customer base well beyond the demographic of your average pub. The bar occupies a simple, spacious room with large shop windows to the front helping to make it feel bright and airy inside. There are smart floorboards throughout, benches down either side of the room and some multi-coloured tables and chairs through the centre. The servery is to the rear and has a café counter to the left for coffee and cakes, and a proper bar to the right, with the keg taps mounted on a white tiled section of the bar back. The walls have been decorated with a lot of bright, vibrant portraits, many of which seem to be for sale, helping to make the interior feel quite striking upon entry. Stairs to the front lead up to a second room which has plenty more seating, including some sofas, as well as a ping-pong table, a mobile bar counter, games consoles and a TV screen plus a stack of board games. One of the walls is mirrored, making the room feel bigger than it really is, whilst the curved front wall has large windows that look down to the busy road junction below. Pop music played quietly in the background throughout our stay and as with the old venue, a programme of live music, comedy, theatre, poetry and the like takes place year round, although seemingly not to the degree it did before – hopefully this will build up over time. As before, there’s no cask ale, but the keg selection is much improved with some craft options from Signal, Tiny Rebel and Beavertown plus a Hawkes cider available alongside one or two more familiar brands and a selection of craft bottles and cans. I tried the Signal Pale Ale which was so-so, and had one of their cakes, which was tasty and forms part of the vegan menu offered here. Aside from the reduced programming, I thought this place bettered the original venue on pretty much every front, and it continues to be an excellent facility for the local community. As a pub/bar, it doesn’t quite work for me, although it is good to see a new venue in the otherwise depleted West Croydon area. I’m really glad these guys were able to keep this place going and I’m sure I’ll be back again in the future, but perhaps for more than just a drink.

Facebook page of Matthews Yard - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Matthews Yard - www.facebook.com

Official site of Matthews Yard - www.matthewsyard.com

Official site of Matthews Yard - www.matthewsyard.com