Riff Raffs, Croydon

Set in an old shop unit on the busy George Street, opposite the tram stop of the same name, this is a quirky modern craft beer bar and café. From the outside, the pub’s dark glass frontage might be a little off-putting to some, whilst the font used for the pub name makes it look like it might be a gamer’s shop or arcade, but once through the front door, you find yourself in a typical shop converted set up, running quite a fair way back and therefore feeling a bit bigger than your typical micropub. Although it has been open for a fair while now, the place did still feel like it was bedding in a little, although efforts to decorate the place with some snazzy graffiti-style murals and cool urban photography, were pretty successful and brightened the place up nicely. There’s a good amount of seating available, mostly down the left-hand wall, and the servery can be found at the very back, formed into an L-shape around the rear-left corner, with a coffee and tea making station to one side and all the beer taps to the other. We arrived to find all four keg taps in operation, mostly dispensing niche continental pilsners, but also with a stout from the local Anspach and Hobday brewery, which we all plumped for. This is a good, reliable brew which was served to us by a very friendly and chatty barmaid. The place was quite quiet when we called by, not long after opening time, but a group were setting up for a friend’s birthday party later that evening and I get the impression it can get a lot livelier during peak hours. This is an interesting addition to the Croydon pub scene, filling a gap that I never really knew existed, inasmuch as it’s a café-style bar with some interesting beer and slightly hipster pretensions. With Matthew’s yard now a member’s only set-up, this is a decent alternative, and its prominent central location means I’ll probably be back here again before too long. Date of visit – 19th November 2023

Facebook page of Riff Raffs - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Riff Raffs - www.facebook.com

Hipsterism comes to Croydon.Opposite the George Street tram stop this shop conversion is strange but interesting and looks like a work in progress.There is street art on the right wall,exposed brick on the left ,a long thin interior with furniture that looks reclaimed from a skip and lots of plywood dotted about ,possibly a future mixing desk to the front,with the bar at the rear.Distressed is an understatement,it's positively rough with no heating but the welcome from the buxom barmaid was friendly . The downstairs loos are unisex traps with louvered half doors ,minimalistic. At the bar there was a single unused handpump but cask will appear on the occasional tap takeovers.On my trip the keg selection was Ansbach & Hobday Stout Porter and London Black,Cronx Pop Up IPA and Entire Porter (not overcarbonated but a little cold,decent enough £5.20),Against the Grain Session Cider,a House Pils and Budvar lager. It's dog friendly , there is a vinyl turntable and the soundtrack was comtemporary but not off putting. Worth popping into,it may well weather in and apparantly the coffee is decent too.The lack of interior lighting may lead you to wonder if it's open given the building work in progress but the A board outside does confirm it's trading.