Man On The Moon, Croydon

There was a Doom Bar clip on the single handpump, but not on unfortunately. In fact I got the impression that they don't sell real ale now, but I wasn't certain that they never have it on. There was no sign of any food - well not strictly true as the barmaid and a couple of blokes were tucking into a pile of chips on some paper on the bar counter, dipping them into polystyrene cups of sauce, or curry, or some such. It looked quite tasty actually, but perhaps not as good as the 'spoons breakfast I had enjoyed earlier. There were a couple of dogs hanging around who occasionally got a chip flung their way. The tableau was completed by another bloke sinking pints of lager who didn't seem to be able to open his mouth without the 'F' word coming out. A display of estate life at its best. I quite enjoyed my visit here. The layout, trophies, and decor hasn't changed since the previous reviewer's visit. In fact the layout is original from when it was built in the early 60s, except the original bar counter front has been covered with a cheap looking covering that has been painted red and blue, presumably as homage to the Palace. It looks ghastly. This is a classic 60s estate pub (originally called the Man in the Moon, but renamed the Man on the Moon after the 1969 moon landing). Everything about it says "estate", from the brutalist blockhouse exterior to the lager drinking and swearing local. I think it's a great pub, but a decent real ale would be a great improvement, although if there's no call for it I can't see why they should stock it.

Randomness Guide to London - Man on the Moon entry

Randomness Guide to London - Man on the Moon entry

The Man on the Moon may have an interesting name and pub sign, all in honour of the moon landings which took place around the time the pub opened, but it also boasts the ugliest exterior I've ever had the misfortune to approach. The grim 1960's estate pub facade, coupled with numerous smokers on the raised porch, was almost enough to put me off venturing inside, but having trekked all the way from Croydon to check it out, I decided to brave it. I'm pleased to report that I was genuinely surprised to find a rather pleasant, two room estate pub which looks like it hasn't been revamped since it first started trading. The entrance takes you into a small passageway, with a small public bar to the left. The room has lino flooring, padded bench seating and wood panelled walls, all of which evokes images of 60's interior design. The walls are covered in various bits of sporting memorabilia, including plenty of photos and awards for the pub's various own teams, especially for tug of war, which appears to be a speciality. Framed and signed pictures of the Crystal Palace squad and Jimmy Greaves and a signed England rugby shirt hang amongst the pub's own trophy collection which are displayed in a cabinet and along the top of the servery. Two TV's were on, each showing a different horse racing channel and I spotted a dartboard in the corner near the door, whilst a small collection of books lined a shelf behind one of the bench seats. At the rear of the pub there is a much larger, carpeted room with banquette seating around the edge and a large stage on the left hand side, in front of which is a dancefloor area. There are plenty more trophies in this room as well and the walls are decorated with more sports memorabilia as well as various pictures relating to space travel and the moon landings. Another TV was on in this room, again showing racing and there was a second dart board which requires players to get up on stage in order to enjoy a game. I was somewhat surprised to find Palace Ale available at £2.90 a pint, as well as Courage Best and Toby Bitter on tap. My pint of the Palace Ale was in good shape and went down very well after having a bit of a wait for it to settle. The barmaid was polite although a fairly slow to spot me waiting to be served. This pub feels like a social club in many respects and is certainly not somewhere that the pub purist would be likely to seek out, but I quite liked it in here thanks to the decent beer and time warp qualities of the interior. However, I'm not sure I'd view it as the sort of place I'd want to make an effort to return to. If I lived in New Addington, it would be my pub of choice though.