South Norwood pubs

Not reviewed yet.

Want to review it? The pub's sign proclaims this is "Home of the Eagles". Not the band who wrote "Hotel California" - no. This pub is in the catchment area of Crystal Palace FC who have recently appointed the maverick Neil Warnock as their manager. Good luck to them. Like the football team it supports, this pub seems to be struggling. On our visit there were only three other punters and the barmaid present. There are planets in the outer reaches of the solar system that have more atmosphere. Hopefully match days see more business, as this could be a good pub. The Courage Best was excellent and slaked our thirst after some serious DIY. Just re-opened after a very sensitive refit, retaining a host of traditional features but removing the grime, the Alliance is laid back and friendly. There are a few real ales, and the radio burbles out into the saloon, tuned to one of those stations where you already know all of the songs. The crowd was very local, at least on opening night, and all seemed to know each other, but they seemed to like what they saw, and it was a relaxing place to while away a few hours. Plasma screens aside, when walking into the Cherry Trees I often get the feeling that I have crossed some invisible boundary that has taken me either back through time to 1982, or hurtling several miles through space to the glorious environs of New Cross. It's, uh, a post-punk thing; a scruffy mix of people who still haven't given up the fight, along with some railway travellers, plasterers and ebullient locals; a cracking musical soundtrack that leans firmly in the punk-funk direction; live jam sessions on Sundays and retro-leftfield club nights on post-match Saturdays. It's a whole scene going on in just one pub, and it's like old-style rebellion never died. An unexpected red rose in South Norwood's bouquet. Not as welded to the Sky Sports and pool playing axiom of existence as I had suspected, the Clifton turns out to be surprisingly okay, in a beaten-up, old-style kind of way. Its lack of drinkable non-alcoholic beverages (we're down to the Britvic pineapple juice or Red Bull) is compensated by a generous spread of real ales (five, I think, on a rolling basis), a good jukebox and a convivial atmosphere. Standing as it does in the shadow of Selhurst Park, it's home supporters only on match days, but is otherwise a decent joint for a few quiet pints. Not reviewed yet.

Want to review it? Not reviewed yet.

Want to review it? Wonderful exterior that is like Dickens in full-on fantasy mode: quaint, well-kept and cottage-like, a rustic hanger-on from the days before South Norwood sprawled outwards from the station and swallowed up the countryside. Inside is dark, low-ceilinged and close, with a clutter of memorabilia and antique stuff hanging overhead, everything decked out in olde worlde wooden style. There's plenty of seats but it gets busy, and is a favourite with those Woodside locals who like a quiet, traditional drinking hole. The pub is split into two drinking areas: a smaller bar that gets rammed with the regulars, and a larger bar that hosts whatever televised football comes along, late night karaoke massacres, quizzes and whatnot. Very local sort of place, a mixed bag of all-sorts from great big fat tattooed football-shirted men to retired professor types and almost everything in between. Many seemed to know each other, which I found initially a little intimidating, and non-regulars can have a bit of a problem catching the eyes of the bar staff (one man while I was in walked out in protest) but both punters and barstaff can be got the hang of, after which the Joiners shows itself to be an excellent pub with a genial atmosphere, very worthy of its fabulous exterior. Opens until 1am on Saturdays, as I accidentally found out due to their clock being an hour slow, and has one real ale (Speckled Hen). Sky Sports etc on offer. What with the Ship and the Jolly Sailor, I wondered what the nautical connection with South Norwood was, it not being remotely close even to the Thames, let alone the sea. It turns out to have been a stopping over point on the canal that passed through from Southwark's docks down to Croydon, and what with exaggeration being the spice of life, bargemen turned into jolly sailors and barges into ships. In its heyday, during the testing of a vacuum-powered train system intended for use on the Underground, the influence of the Jolly Sailor was such that it gave its name to the local rail station, now plain old Norwood Junction in a sure victory of boring common sense over silly romanticism. Whether or not its reach has reduced over time, this is still the red-and-white throbbing organ at the heart of South Norwood: lively, friendly, traditional, and very local. Once you get past the rather garish decor and the immediate alarm that you aren't local enough to fit in, the atmosphere settles down to that of a very good pub that knows the needs of its punters. Some real ales, Sky TV and a pool table. A well-looked after, attractive front leads into one of those pubs that was last refurbished at some point in the eighties, with one eye on Tom Cruise's Cocktail sophistication and one eye on suburban stone-cladding fantasies. The result, given a bit of distance from the horror of the time, is oddly endearing, especially the carpet, which looks like an Albert Speer take on the funky nightclub scene. Plenty of windows, plenty of seats and plenty of bar keep the whole thing sweet, with a pretty cheerful crowd and a well-trained set of barstaff. Has a big screen, puts on discos every Saturday, and seems to be much loved by the anglo-sino-thai community. A good, solid pub. Dark, full of character and interesting. No, I am not describing a pint of Guinness. This is a pub, and a good one at that. This long, narrow drinking establishment extends back almost as far as the eye can see. A feint green glow at the far end marks out the location of a pool table. The staff are friendly and there is a pleasing selection of beers including (on our visit) Abbott Ale and Hobgoblin. This is another Palace pub, but less in your face. A must for any South Norwood pub crawl.

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