The Cronx Tap, Croydon

Official site of The Cronx Tap - www.thecronx.com

Official site of The Cronx Tap - www.thecronx.com

After closing their enjoyable microbar in the Boxpark complex a few years ago, this venture, located in an old coffee shop, was a highly anticipated return for the local brewery. They’ve opted for a much larger premises this time around, with a sizeable ground floor area and two first floor rooms. You enter into the main bar space, which has limited seating around the perimeter and a large servery against the right-hand wall. It’s a bit of a plain space, with limited visual distraction, but I think at this stage, I’m prepared to accept that it all feels quite new and needs a bit more time for things to properly bed in. Further back, a second seating area appears, with some padded benches in a small alcove to the right, and beyond this, a rather lonely looking lady had set up a counter serving food, although no-one was being signposted to it, so she wasn’t doing much of a trade as a result. Of the two upstairs rooms, one is a kind of mezzanine seating area, offering overspill seating and views down to the bar below, whilst the other is a function room that will be available for private hire. It was good to see some familiar faces from the original taproom working behind the bar, but sadly they hadn’t brought the cask ale range with them, as there were just two handpulls in operation when we arrived, dispensing Cronx Bitter and Titsey Green and Gold. There was a strong keg range to make up the numbers, which included plenty of Cronx options and my pint of the Green and Gold was in pretty good shape. I’m really glad that this brewery have been able to open a new bar after the disappointment of their Boxpark closure. For me, it still needs a bit of time to find its identity and generate some character, but regardless it’s a good spot to find some locally brewed ale in a contemporary taproom setting. Date of visit – 19th November 2023

The new Cronx Tap is located just across the road from the Green Dragon, which happens to be my favourite pub in Croydon. It's located much further from East Croydon station than their former place in the Boxpark, but it's a fairly large space that was apparently a bakery that didn't make best use of the space previously. The friendly barmaid wasn't phased by a large group of us turning up just after opening. In fact, she was really friendly and chatty. Beers and ciders are listed on a board to the right-hand side of the bar. Cask ales were Cronx Old Town & Titsey Mercer's Ale. Real ciders were Malvern Cider Malvern Gold, Newton Court First Press & Sting Tipsy Martian. Broadoak Moonshine Rum & Raisin was also listed, but I couldn't locate it. The largest choice is the craft beer choice - Cronx Green Hop 2023, FLaPA, Entire & Pop Up!, Howling Hops Mini Chuck, Pretty Decent The Greatest Love Story, Bianca Road Guava Polava, Toast Session IPA, Battersea Sunset Sour & Gipsy Hill Freezer Burn. The craft cider was their own House Cider. An excellent beer and cider selection, with something for everyone. I agree with the previous reviewer about a lack of character and a lack of natural light. But I'm sure I'll be back to check upon their progress.

Facebook page of The Cronx Tap - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Cronx Tap - www.facebook.com