Dog & Bull, Croydon

My visit to the Dog and Bull was early on a recent Wednesday evening so there were no signs of the adjacent stalls and traders on Surrey Street Market. However, the pub was quite busy with a local crowd who were standing around the island bar and using the seating to the right and rear of the pub. This is a Youngs establishment so it wasn’t surprising to see Ordinary and Special available at the bar, but I think that two different beers tripled up on six hand pumps is a poor show. Standard and premium draught products were also available and the pub mains from the food menu were priced around the £10 mark. I spotted a plasma screen which was switched off and there was some very low background music playing off a jukebox. There is a weekly quiz advertised for every Wednesday night from 20:00. I found the service to be very friendly and I would have no problem returning for another well-kept pint of Ordinary if in the area.

I love this gem of a Pub, always a warm welcome, and always great beer. It is an old fashioned market pub, the traders in and out all day, great banter and atmosphere make this a must when in Croydon.

Visited in May 2010 The Dog and Bull is an excellent, traditional Youngs pub, situated in the heart of Croydon's Surrey Street Market. It's a Grade 2 listed building. There's a central island bar surrounded by a mixture of seating and wood panelled walls with an additional drinking area at the back and in an extension on the right, which, although you wouldn't know it, was a later addition to the pub. The walls are decorated with a fine collection of evocative photos of old Croydon. Pleasingly, the framed pictures of the Queen Mother and Prince Charles, which used to be a feature of all Youngs pubs, are still very much in evidence. Splendid stained and frosted windows depicting the eponymous dog and bull are also a feature. Unusually for central Croydon, there's a large outside sun trap garden at the back where summer BBQ's are held. An upstairs room has been brought into use as a function room, which I don't recollect noticing on earlier visits. There's now a Comedy Night on the first Tuesday of every month. On my May visit, beers on were Youngs Special, Ordinary, London Gold plus Hooky Bitter, a guest beer sometimes seen in Youngs pubs nowadays. The Ordinary - £ 2.90p - was reasonable. The pub has been a CAMRA Good Beer Guide regular in recent years. A recent refurbishment has seen the introduction of some plush seating and banquettes in place of some of the old basic furniture. In contrast to some earlier reviewers, I think that, unusually for Youngs, it is quite tastefully done and is probably a recognition that the pub needed to make more effort to extend its customer base beyond just market traders and customers. Decent pubs are few and far between in Croydon. This is still one of the ones worth seeking out

Randomness Guide to London - Dog And Bull entry

Randomness Guide to London - Dog And Bull entry

One of the greats. Keep using it, the current Young's management will kill it with ruthless efficiency if you don't.

Fantastic Youngs house that is difficult to fault. There was a nice quiet easy going atmosphere when I visited and a friendly vibe from both customers and staff. There is a main bar and small seating areas both to the right and at the back. Look out for the decorative stained glass on the front windows featuring, unsurprisingly, dogs and bulls. The beer was in good condition and the Special was £2.80 which I though was reasonable by comparison. The hidden gem with this place is the beer garden out the back. It should perhaps be termed a beer patio as it is paved rather than grassed however there's plenty of foliage, flowerbed features and plant pots around to give it a garden feel. It's a large area with more than 20 wooden benches, some basking in the sun and others with umbrellas for those who like a bit of shade. It also has a purpose built BBQ area. A great Summer pub.