Croydon Pubs: The Best Pubs and Where to Drink

The Croydon pubs most people look for are the Dark Horse in Selhurst, CAMRA’s Croydon Pub of the Year for 2026; the Claret & Ale in Addiscombe, a free house that has won the same title many times; the Royal Standard, a small back-street local by the Flyover; and the Dog on Surrey Street, which calls itself the town’s oldest pub. All checked on 24 October 2026.

We have not visited these pubs for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry gives what the pub says about itself on its own website or social page, and the public record. That record includes the pub’s entry on CAMRA’s national pub database, kept by the Croydon and Sutton branch of the Campaign for Real Ale, and its Food Standards Agency hygiene rating where it serves food. Opening hours and prices change, so check before a long trip.

Town centre

The Royal Standard, Sheldon Street

CAMRA describes it as “a small, friendly traditional back-street pub” with four small drinking areas, the rear one wood panelled, and a garden across the road under the Flyover. Fuller’s sold it to Admiral Taverns in June 2024. Esther Sutton, who ran the Oval Tavern, took it over in spring 2025, Inside Croydon reported, and CAMRA says a wider range of cask ales has followed. Quiz on Wednesdays; dogs welcome; step-free to the bar, but there is no accessible toilet. Hours, as listed by CAMRA: Monday to Thursday 3pm to midnight; Friday 3pm to 1am; Saturday noon to 1am; Sunday noon to 11pm. The pub has no website; news goes on its Facebook page. Call 020 8680 3106. 1 Sheldon Street, CR0 1SS. Our listing.

The Spread Eagle, Katharine Street

The Spread Eagle fills a Grade II listed building opposite the town hall, built in 1893 as the Croydon branch of the Union Bank of London (CAMRA). It is now one of the Whelan’s group of pubs, and its site describes it as an Irish pub over two floors with a function room upstairs. On the menu, fish and chips is £16.95 and Sunday roasts are £16.95 to £17.95. Food is served Monday to Thursday 12pm to 3pm and 5pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday 12pm to 9pm, and Sunday 12pm to 7pm. CAMRA notes sport on the screens, a Sunday quiz at 7pm, step-free access by the side door with an accessible toilet, and a strict no-hats policy. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 20 September 2025). Call 020 8781 1135. 39-41 Katharine Street, CR0 1NX. Our listing.

The Green Dragon, High Street

The Green Dragon is a Stonegate pub near the market. CAMRA says it has up to seven hand pumps with a constantly changing range, sometimes from local breweries, and an upstairs room for music, a monthly comedy night and other events. Its own site lists pizza, burgers, grills and “classic pub meals”, a quiz with a £3 entry, and rooms for private hire. Hours: Monday to Thursday 11am to 11pm; Friday and Saturday 11am to 1am; Sunday 11am to 11pm. Food is served 12pm to 9pm every day. One entrance is step-free, and so is most of the ground floor, including a toilet (ask staff for the key). Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 26 September 2026). Call 020 8667 0684. 58-60 High Street, CR0 1NA. Our listing.

The Dog, Surrey Street

For years this was the Dog and Bull. It reopened on 9 May 2025 as a Laine pub, renamed the Dog, with the walled garden refurbished as “the Wilderness” (CAMRA). Its site calls it “Croydon’s oldest pub”, dating back to the 1400s and built on the site of a medieval inn; the Grade II listing that CAMRA quotes dates the present building to the early 18th century. It now pitches itself at sport, with eight screens, a private karaoke room and a kitchen run by Bang Bang Burger. An island bar serves the separate rooms. Hours: Sunday to Thursday 12pm to 11pm; Friday and Saturday 12pm to midnight. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 20 August 2025). Call 020 8161 0989. 24 Surrey Street, CR0 1RG. Our listing.

Addiscombe and East Croydon

The Oval Tavern, Oval Road

The Oval Tavern is a one-room pub with a garden on a lower level. CAMRA notes six hand pumps, up to four cask ales, live music “mainly jazz, blues and folk” and a popular Wednesday quiz, when many tables are reserved. Children are welcome until 9pm, with story time on Saturday afternoons, and dogs are welcome. The toilets are down a flight of stairs and there is no accessible toilet. Its food page says the food is “home made using fresh local ingredients wherever possible”, and it lists sandwiches from £5.95 and home-made burgers at £9.75. Hours, as listed by CAMRA: noon to 11pm, and to midnight on Friday and Saturday. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 18 July 2025). Call 020 8686 6023. 131 Oval Road, CR0 6BR. Our listing.

The Builders Arms, Leslie Park Road

CAMRA calls the Builders Arms a back-street community local, opened in the 19th century and now a Fuller’s tenancy. The pub’s site says it “may look small from the front” but has two bars, a restaurant area and a large enclosed garden, plus log fires. On the menu, beer-battered fish and chips is £17 and pizzas are £12 to £14. On Mondays, any two pizzas cost £15, and Sunday roasts are served from 12pm to 6pm. Quiz on Tuesdays. Children are welcome until 8pm, and dogs are welcome. There is step-free access to the bar and an accessible toilet. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 30 March 2026). Call 020 8654 1803. 65 Leslie Park Road, CR0 6TP. Our listing.

The Claret & Ale, Bingham Corner

A small, privately owned free house by Addiscombe tram stop. CAMRA says it keeps “a constantly changing selection of cask ales” alongside Palmers IPA, with the coming beers chalked on a board opposite the bar. The aviation memorabilia on the walls come from the owner’s former job as a pilot. Sport is shown with the sound usually muted. The branch notes it “has often been the local CAMRA Croydon Pub of the Year, most recently in 2024”. Dogs are welcome; there is step-free access, but no accessible toilet. Hours, as listed by CAMRA: noon to 11pm Monday to Wednesday and Sunday, to 11.30pm on Thursday and Saturday, and to midnight on Friday. It has no website. Hygiene rating 4 (FSA, 28 July 2021). Call 020 8656 7452. 5 Bingham Corner, Lower Addiscombe Road, CR0 7AA. Our listing.

Selhurst, Thornton Heath and Crystal Palace

The Dark Horse, Gloucester Road

From 1952 this was the Two Brewers, a Shepherd Neame pub; it closed in January 2025, and the Royal Standard’s former team set out to reopen it (Inside Croydon). It reopened in July 2025 as the Dark Horse, an independent family pub. CAMRA named it Croydon’s Pub of the Year for 2026, and it went on as one of the 12 regional winners in the Greater London competition (Time Out). CAMRA’s record lists three changing cask ales, no televisions, darts, pool, a Thursday quiz at 8pm, and children until 9pm. Hours: 3pm to 11pm Monday to Thursday, to midnight on Friday and Saturday, and to 10.30pm on Sunday; it may open earlier on Crystal Palace match days. There is a shallow step at the door and no accessible toilet. The FSA register still shows the Two Brewers’ 5 from November 2023. News: Facebook. Call 020 3518 5948. 221 Gloucester Road, CR0 2DW.

The Railway Telegraph, Brigstock Road

Built in 1876 by Thornton Heath station, the Railway Telegraph was a Young’s pub from 1877, and Young’s bought the freehold in 1901 (CAMRA). The old public and saloon bars were later joined into one large L-shaped bar. Its site describes a family-friendly pub with a patio garden, every major sporting event on screen and “a warm welcome to all football supporters” heading to Selhurst Park. It is open from 12pm to midnight every day. Food is served 12pm to 8pm Monday to Friday and 12pm to 6pm on Saturday, with no food on Sunday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 January 2019). Call 020 8684 9839. 19 Brigstock Road, CR7 7JJ. Our listing.

The Sparrowhawk, Westow Hill

On the north-west corner of the Crystal Palace triangle, the Sparrowhawk was first opened in 1838 and rebuilt in 1853, and it traded for years as the Hollybush. CAMRA says the name comes from a suggested answer to the Victorian Crystal Palace’s sparrow problem. The current owners say they took over in summer 2024. They list nine screens for live sport, live music every weekend, a function room, and food from breakfast to evening meals, including a Sunday roast, with “all our meats guaranteed 100% British”. Hours, as listed by CAMRA: 10am to 11.30pm on weekdays, 9am to midnight on Saturday, and 9am to 10.30pm on Sunday. Dogs are welcome. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 24 July 2024). Call 020 8761 4831. 2 Westow Hill, SE19 1RX.

The White Hart, Church Road

The White Hart sits on the southern corner of the Crystal Palace triangle. The first pub here was built in 1824 and rebuilt in 1876 to a design by Sextus Dyball (CAMRA). It has taken back its original name after a spell as an Irish-themed bar. It is run by Mitchells & Butlers. The kitchen is open to view, and there are three hand pumps on a semicircular bar. CAMRA lists open mic on Thursdays, DJs on Friday and Saturday nights and a Monday quiz. It is card only, with no cash. Children are welcome until 8pm, and dogs are welcome. Hours: Monday to Wednesday 12pm to 11pm; Thursday 11am to 11pm; Friday and Saturday 11am to 1am; Sunday 12pm to 11pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 10 February 2025). Call 020 8771 9389. 96 Church Road, SE19 2EZ.

South Croydon and Selsdon

The Crown & Sceptre, Junction Road

The Crown & Sceptre is a single-bar pub, extended at the back. CAMRA records that it once sold Crowley’s Croydon Ales and became a Fuller’s house in a 1980s pub swap. The pub’s site names Michelle Lobb and Clive Samuels as licensees and describes a menu “focused on small plates and pizza”. Hours: Monday to Saturday 12pm to 11pm; Sunday 12pm to 10.30pm. Food is served on Monday from 6pm to 8.45pm and Tuesday to Friday 12pm to 2pm and 6pm to 8.45pm. On Saturday it runs from 12pm to 8.45pm and on Sunday from 12pm to 6pm. Children are welcome in the rear until 8pm. Charity quiz on Tuesdays. There is step-free access from the car park with an accessible toilet. We could not find it on the FSA register. Call 07541 788121. 32 Junction Road, CR2 6RB. Our listing.

The Golden Ark, Selsdon

The Golden Ark calls itself the first micropub in Croydon. It was set up by Maria and Matt, opened in January 2019 according to CAMRA, and serves rotating real ales, craft beers and ciders, plus a list of gins, rums and whiskies. CAMRA counts four hand pumps, more beer on keg, a Wednesday quiz that needs booking, and its own beer festival, Ark-toberfest. There are bar snacks rather than meals. Its bottle shop delivers free within seven miles of CR2 on orders of £20 or more. Open every day, 12pm to 10.30pm. Dogs are welcome; the bar is step-free, but the single toilet is not accessible. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 22 May 2023). Call 020 8651 0700. 186 Addington Road, CR2 8LB. Our listing.

Purley and Kenley

The Jolly Farmers, Purley

The Jolly Farmers stands on the Purley Cross junction, a short walk from Purley station. Its site promises live music and DJs and a big garden. CAMRA adds that the music runs Friday to Sunday and that there are TV booths in the car park. Its kitchen, Rajeev’s Kitchen, serves “authentic Indian curries” from 5pm, with gluten-free options and a takeaway. The minimum card spend is £5. Hours, as listed by CAMRA: noon to 11pm Monday and Tuesday, to 11.30pm Wednesday and Thursday, to midnight Friday and Saturday, and to 10pm on Sunday. Hygiene ratings: pub 5 (FSA, 12 February 2024), kitchen 5 (FSA, 2 October 2025). Call 020 8660 2076. 7 Purley Road, CR8 2HA. Our listing.

The Wattenden Arms, Kenley

The Wattenden Arms calls itself “a much-loved traditional country pub”, built more than 150 years ago near Kenley Aerodrome. During the Battle of Britain, the RAF took it over as an auxiliary mess for Fighter Command at RAF Kenley. It welcomes “walkers, cyclists and four legged friends” and has a car park for customers. Lunch and supper are served seven days a week. A set menu, 2 courses for £20 or 3 for £25, runs on Monday and Tuesday lunchtimes and on Wednesday. It says it won a Tripadvisor Travellers’ Choice award for 2026. Hours: Monday and Tuesday 11.30am to 9pm; Wednesday to Sunday 11.30am to 10.30pm. CAMRA lists step-free access from the rear and an accessible toilet. Hygiene rating 3 (FSA, 26 February 2026). Call 020 8660 4926. Old Lodge Lane, CR8 5EU. Our listing.

How we chose

We started from the pubs that the Croydon and Sutton branch of CAMRA lists in its local pub guide, its awards, and the pubs that local guides keep naming. We then checked each one against its own website or social page, its CAMRA record and the Food Standards Agency register on 24 October 2026. We left out anywhere rated below 3 for hygiene and anywhere we could not confirm was trading. That ruled out the Kenley Hotel, closed since July 2025 according to CAMRA, and the Market Tavern on Surrey Street, which shut in autumn 2025 according to Inside Croydon. Nobody listed has paid to be here. For more ideas, see the best restaurants in Croydon, things to do in Croydon, what’s on this month and the pubs in our directory.

Run a place that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@croydontoday.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

Which is the best pub in Croydon according to CAMRA?

The Croydon and Sutton branch of CAMRA, the Campaign for Real Ale, named the Dark Horse at 221 Gloucester Road, Selhurst, its Croydon borough Pub of the Year for 2026. It was one of 12 regional winners in the Greater London competition, which the Cockpit in Chislehurst won. The Claret & Ale in Addiscombe last won the borough title in 2024.

What is the oldest pub in Croydon?

The Dog on Surrey Street, known for years as the Dog and Bull, calls itself Croydon’s oldest pub and says it dates back to the 1400s, on the site of a medieval inn. The building is Grade II listed. The Wattenden Arms in Kenley says it was built more than 150 years ago, and the White Hart in Upper Norwood was first built in 1824.

Which Croydon pubs are dog friendly?

CAMRA’s records list the Royal Standard, the Oval Tavern, the Builders Arms, the Claret & Ale, the Dark Horse, the Golden Ark, the Sparrowhawk and the White Hart as dog friendly. The Wattenden Arms in Kenley says on its own site that it welcomes walkers, cyclists and four-legged friends.