King of the South, South End, Croydon

Please Note: This review is over a year old.

Pub SignMan left this review about Apatura

Visited this place a fair while ago on a night out with colleagues and didn't think it was worth adding to the site as it's very much a restaurant which happens to have retained the bar counter from its former life as the Duke's Head. The place is set up pretty much entirely for people wanting to eat, with a formal seating area in the large, open area to the left and some comfier seating, also serving set tables, in the narrower area opposite the bar. The servery has this garish plastic frontage, which presumably hides the original counter behind it and I seem to recall lots of neon lighting and cream furnishings. They seem to think they are quite a classy establishment, but pretty much everything here is facade - a definite case of style over substance.
Drinkers have limited options, with no handpulls on the bar, just a selection of uninspiring mainstream lagers and bottled beers. We came here to eat and I remember the menu was surprisingly expensive, especially considering the quality of the food that actually came out. The staff were trying to get us to go for the three course set menu, which a lot of us nearly did until we realised that it was cheaper to order the same three dishes separately from the menu - not sure if they were trying to con people or were just genuinely rubbish at maths.
I suppose you could just come here for a drink, but I have no idea what sort of person would want to do that when there is a broad selection of pubs, bars and clubs just a short walk in any direction from here. I didn't rate this place as a restaurant and rate it even less as a pub.

On 16^th November 2017 - rating: 2
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