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Disappointment of the week with Mobyduck
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South Beats, Croydon
Croydon
CR0 1NG
Reviews (Current Rating Average: 7 of 10) see review guidelines
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about South Beats
This place was renamed South Beats in late 2015 and is now a rather drab cocktail bar of the type you can find in pretty good supply at this end of town. All of the handpulls have gone, so its keg (Meantime London Lager or Pale Ale probably the pick) or bottles (London Pride at £4.25). Or cocktails, of course, with a menu showing these mostly around the £8.50 mark. The décor hasn't changed much and the downstairs function room still seems to be operational. DJ nights are heavily promoted. We popped in for a brief late night drink and found it loud, soulless and poor value for money. Sad to see the former Beer Circus reduced to this.
Original reviews for Half and Half - 21st January 2012
This place never really took off as I expected it to and now it tends to attract suits from nearby offices who enjoy the foreign lagers and wine on offer. The beers recently have been one Dark Star (usually Hophead) and one Redemption (usually Trinity), but they are served way too cold. The bottled beer selection has been cut back somewhat, with a core range of popular Belgian, Czech, German and US names and six to eight 'guest' bottles listed on a sheet on the bar counter with full tasting notes. Still worth popping in now and again, but I can't help thinking that it lost some of its spark when the initial licensee left. 7/10
February 2010
This small, narrow pub/bar is a worthy successor to the long departed Beer Circus that previously inhabited these cosy environs.
The Dark Star ales are very well kept, with Hophead seemingly always available alongside a second pump which rotates through the brewery's other offerings. Add to this a comprehensive selection of premium lagers and bottled European beers (mostly from Eastern Europe as opposed to Belgium, from what I could see) and you have yourself one of Croydon's hidden gems.
The premises is pretty small, but there is a downstairs lounge style area (occasionally used for wine and beer tasting evenings)if the ground floor is too crowded.
A real asset to Croydon and has the potential to be the best pub in the borough.
On 14th July 2016
- rating: 3
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about Half & Half
Quiet sort of bar with 2 handpumps one with a Cronx beer on my visit.Poor selection of bottled beers and hard not to compare it with the Beer Circus which was a fav of mine.
On 27th February 2013
- rating: 7
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Malden man left this review about Half & Half
More of a wine bar than a pub feel, but not uncomfortably so. A large range of Belgian beers served plus a few continental lagers but also Dark Star Hophead served in marked lined glasses. Served slightly cold though in my opinion, however as a light beer it can stand up to this.
Narrow layout due to the side bar, opens out slightly either end, but not a big place. Seating comprises a couple of sofas, some stools at drinking shelves made of reclaimed timbers and some small "pouffes" ( small soft stools without backs....I'm sure that's what they are called). Some exposed rather ordinary brickwork, slate effect floors and some stained timber cladding. The bar has a multi coloured effect wooden veneer.
A jazzy/bluesy soundtrack, laid back kind of feel. Certainly not traditional or pubby but its ok in its way.
Belgian beer tasting sessions are advertised.
On 20th June 2009
- rating: 6
[User has posted 1707 recommendations about 1681 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Clive Thompson left this review about Half & Half
Site of the old Beer Circus but has had a lot of work done. It's now a small attractive laid back chilled out bar with a few sofas and stools. There's a downstairs area that can be hired for private functions. The guv'nor is clearly passionate about the venture and happy to chat, including about the possibility of another real ale pump if turnover justifies it. Just one real ale at present, Dark Star Hophead, but it was in excellent condition and just £2.70 a pint (20% off Monday-Thursday). Draught beers included Becks, Leffe, Staropramen, Budvar and Budvar Dark, plus there were some interesting bottles in the chiller cabinet. The front area is quite bright as the large windows face out onto the High Street, so you can watch the world go by as you're enjoying a drink. Good place for a beer and deserves to be a success.
On 10th May 2009
- rating: 8
[User has posted 777 recommendations about 697 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john mcgraw left this review about The Beer Circus
Small comfortable street corner pub selling about 3 real ales with Dark Star Hophead on as a regular.Local CAMRA pub of the year 2005.Note.Watch the opening hours as this pub only opens in the evenings most days of the week.15 mins from East/West Croydon stations.
On 30th November 2006
- rating: 10
[User has posted 2044 recommendations about 2025 pubs]