Dice, Croydon Town Centre, Croydon

Dice is a two floor late bar/club that had some heavy-on-the-base dance music playing during my visit early yesterday (Wednesday) evening. I got the feeling that the staff were not expecting any customers because they were nowhere to be seen. This was a blessing because I was able to sneak out without having to endure the first poured generic lager of the day.

Another new venture on Croydon’s bleak drinking strip, Bar Sport is, as the name subtlety hints, a bar dedicated to showing sport. It’s a two story affair, with a laminate floor bar area on the ground floor and a smarter looking lounge type area upstairs with a gallery looking down towards the front door. The main bar has white and red walls and the servery runs midway down the right hand wall. There are lots of high tables and padded high stools opposite the bar and near the entrance whilst some regular tables and chairs and padded benches can be found to the rear of the room. A few sports shirts appear on the walls including the likes of the England rugby team and Crystal Palace, whilst images of Muhammad Ali and George Best jostle for space in between the vast number of large screens, all showing the evening’s Champion’s League fixture. An alternative fixture was being shown upstairs where I believe there is also a pool table. This used to be a club in the past and there is still a DJ booth in evidence, although I don’t know if it gets much use. I understand the bar had problems getting its license, so anyone arriving after 20:00 will have to go through an ID scanner at the front door – I arrived at 19:30 on a Tuesday evening and was therefore classified as a safe drinker, although not so safe as to be allowed a glass to drink from, as my Guinness was served in a plastic vessel. There is a quote on the menu which says “If we don’t have it, you don’t need it”. Unbeknownst to me, it appears that I don’t need decent beer, as there is no cask ale, just a depressing list of keg crap including John Smiths and Guinness at £2.95 a pint. The gaudy menu screamed ‘processed slop’ and offered burgers for 7 quid. I found very little to recommend in this bar. I might pop in if they were the only place in town willing to show a televised lower league fixture involving my team (although the nearby Spreadeagle can usually be relied upon for this), but otherwise it is best given a wide berth until its almost inevitable demise within the next 12 months or so.