The Oval Tavern in Croydon

The only highlight is that they offer music and the place was very busy The service was very poor and staff are not very friendly :( nothing happened they were just not very friendly Couldn’t try food as I arrived at 8:55 but no an issue

From Canada & visited UK for the first time. This was the last pub my son & I visited during our six day trip. I wish we had gone earlier as we would have gone more often. Authentic pub with good people and warm smiles. It spoke to us immediately. Cheers eh!

Average pub experience, good food, friendly staff

Genuine local established in 1850, a true pub in all respects, the way it should be. Friends meet here.

Great service and warm welcome, delicious food. Would definitely recommend a visit.

I wouldn't have my taverns in any other shape! Great place, great music, 5 stars

My favourite pub in Croydon, friendly staff and a varied range of beers. Their Sunday lunch is excellent, as is the atmosphere in the 'secret' garden, particularly in the summer months.

Fantastic live music on a Monday, a real treat! Welcoming pub, would go again.

Excellent music venue but not a great policy to let people reserve tables when others get there early to get a seat to watch the band or just socialise. For Sunday lunch it's fair enough but otherwise should be first come first served. Other than that great entertainment, great staff, great beer, great food. Great place👍🏼

excellent bit of blues here.. good beer ... pleasent way to spend an evening

An old looking pub with great live music and nice staff. We had an awesome night on Friday night!

Really lovely local with something for everyone. Very comfortable, not expensive, staff and punters all friendly. Good for dogs and children too.

The big band on Mondays is fantastic

Amazing pub with great drinks and food options. They have a side entrance that is a slope for a better accessible way to get into the garden, the toilets are up or down some steps so can be tricky with reduced mobility but everyone is so friendly and helpful you can always ask for help! Really love it there!

Didn't eat there but the food always looks amazing

Good food, nice music, good crowd,

Went for Their Majesties, great atmosphere and great food!

What a gem of a pub. The bar/floor team is lovely, just so nice. We went in for a Sunday roast which was spectacular. Live jazz music was on , cask beer was well kept, selection of scotch was grand- perfect Sunday. It has this -sadly not so common these days- homely, comforting vibe. You’ll be silly to not swing by if I’m the area.

I always feel so looked after at The Oval Tavern, the food is absolutely delicious 😋 Definitely my favourite pub in Croydon if not London entirely 👏👏👏

The best pub and live music venue in Croydon by far. Brilliant home cooked food, ever changing selection of hand-pumped beers, friendly staff and fantastic live music to suit all tastes. Highly recommended!

Lovely back street pub with lots of community events and music. The food is home made and delicious too, especially the Sunday roast:: but you would be wise to phone well in advance as it books up quickly...prices are reasonable too. Definitely worth a visit.

Top pub Cool garden & good atmosphere

This has become one of my favourite pubs of all time. Absolutely loved it. Delightful. Great atmosphere, great size, lovely tucked away pub

Tucked away but worth the trip; good music, beer and outside space

Gem of a pub! They often here live music, large beer garden and froendly staff. Well recommended

Great little Croydon pub with a garden. We went on folk night and the live music was good. The garden is great in the Summer. The garden is compact. Inside is cosy.

Good beers. Croydon day of dance. Very busy.

Went for Sunday lunch the food was amazing and reasonably priced. Also had the bonus of live jazz. First time in this pub and have booked to go back in 3 weeks time.

Sunday lunch today was poor. The lamb was very fatty and the potatoes were really hard. I appreciate that Sunday lunch is not an easy dish to serve especially with the range of vegetables on offer. i would like to try some of their other dishes sometime soon so i will reserve judgement until I have visited on a week day. the garden is great and the staff very attentive so many good things going for this pub.

Great 👍 Wonderful pub with great service and amazing food. The seating area outside is very good, too, with pretty bedding plants, informal seating and a relaxing atmosphere.

On a lovely Summer's Sunday we luckily got a table for a Sunday Roast at the Oval Tavern, a popular venue with locals which can get busy as they also have live Jazz playing. We sat outside ordering a roast beef, and roast lamb lunches; from the prompt and friendly staff. The meat used is very good quality, and this was especially noted from the lamb. Though do not forget about the vegetables, and I was actually wowed by the carrots which can get a lack of love in most pubs. The roast in all was good, however the slight let down for me were the Yorkshire puddings and roast potatoes. The Yorkshire pudding was a bit overdone for my liking, and I would have loved more of a crunchy exterior to the potatoes (my preference 😅). However this is all my experience being subjective, and overall I had a nice lunch at this pub; which is a place anyone would have a good time and easy Sunday at!

Busy evening in the beer garden before mega thunder storm . Good ales.

Just been there once via recommendations. Food and drinks were good. I really like the vibe, people were singing and playing music during the afternoon. I will definitely go again.

We visit once a month for the Their Majesties event. Its the warmest environment, lovely bar team and incredible performers. Well priced drinks too!

A pub that can't order beer ..it's ridiculous.4 taps with no beer . It's not the first time . apparently the owner is a councillor which that explains it all . What a joke

Love the Oval.. Most eclectic place in Croydon!! Caters for everyone from live music to book clubs & the food is amazing too.All served by really friendly staff..

A very nice pub.. friendly staff, nice food. Just the job really..

Great local, good food and great live music

Wonderful night celebrating Pride 🏳️‍🌈🏳️‍⚧️⚧️😻

We popped into this pub for the first time enroute to a gig. I was pleasantly surprised. It's a small, cosy venue. Staff are polite you had the sense this place was for music/food lovers. We weren't there to eat but our mouth watered at the food being served so its defintely a place to go if you want some real home made cuisine. We didnt stay long enough to hear any live music - although Ive heard its the place to be for that. All in all I can say it had such a cool vibe, staff were so chilled and so were the rest of the clientele that I am looking forward to another visit where I can spend some. quality time there.

Still the best pub in Croydon. Great atmosphere on Friday night with some brilliant live music and a good crowd. Beers aren’t the cheapest, but they serve a really good pints and have a wide selection of cask and keg options.

A great British pub, just in time for the brass band performance every Monday, a huge band of 25 people, very exciting!

My son and i went for Sunday lunch today 07/07/2024, we were told its so good you have to book, So we booked, and had to sit in the garden, its jazz on sunday, and the weather was not very stable which didnt help , the service, is lovely , but the food is very average, - My son had the roast beef, he wasnt that impressed, and i had the nut roast, the gravy was very salt, and the potatoes werent very roast , carotts were al dente , and the red cabbage tasted of nothing ! I enjoyed the swede ,/and parsnips , but we have had some bad experiences with sunday lunches , so we thought wed try somwhere a little better, and all i can say is that its nothing special , if i could have stood to cook i would have at home, - and it would have been lots better,(but i cant stand for long at the moment - ) My son and I werent overly impressed, and my son took most of his home for the fox!

My Son and i have been looking for really nice Sunday Lunches, locally since we have both been very ill,with the same illness, and i find now i cant walk very well or stand up for long, and although its more expensive to eat out, it means i dont have to stand and cook, which i really used to enjoy, but i havent the strength atm. However we had tried two other places and they were abysmal , so someone suggested that the Oval Tavern, reasonably near us was so good you had to book. So we thought wed give it a go . My poor son wasnt that well and couldnt eat some of his, he ate the beef , but took the veg home for the fox, I had Nut roast and their veg. Ive got to say its more homecooked than most, but the gravy is very very salty , The carrots are al dente , and the nut roast is soft ! the only veg i enjoyed was the sweede. The roast potatoes werE ok, and the yorksire was greasy , the red cabbage tasted of nothing , and the parsnips were a little soggy, however it was quite busy due to loads of locals and Jazz however i dont think that should show in the quality , which i would mark as very average. It was a shame as i was hoping for something a little better than average- edible- but very salty , and a little soggy .

One of the best pubs in Croydon

Not been here for over 20 years when I used to live in Oval Road, then it was a bit of a dive and now it's a nice pub with a nice garden and good staff. A great little pub tucked away in a side road near East Croydon station.

Great drinks, great food, lovely staff and jazz on Monday evening!

Great bar , friendly staff and a safe space for all

Amazing little find, we tried this a few months ago on a Sunday without booking and failed as too busy, we returned this past weekend and could see why, its very nice, lovely outdoor area, great food, defo worth dropping in.

The best proper pub that I have been to in ages. I wish it was my local, I’d be in there every night. The food was also great. 👍

My son is a peep show fan so we popped into the Oval Tavern to see where some scenes were filmed. Thank you to the amazing bar staff who were so welcoming and friendly. The pub is gorgeous with a stunning atmosphere. We will 100% be back in the future so we can enjoy it fully. ❤️

Great atmosphere and great service, with a wide selection of beers

Nice place for relaxing drinks and company!

Beautiful quaint pub with great garden and the menu was varied and good value...Great Korean pork belly 😋!!!

Great pub with a friendly atmosphere.

Was having a nice lunch until four people came in and let their dog sit and walk all over their table. It also drank out of their pint glasses. Bar staff not only did nothing but went over and stroked the dog. Was approached by one of the people and told not to stare as they also felt uncomfortable. So disappointed as a lovely pub but I won’t eat or drink here again due to disgusting hygiene.

Came here today, was having a nice time in a pub I've come to regularly in the past. Until a group of people came in and allowed their dog on the table. It was walking and sitting on the surface of the table. Then it drank out of a beer glass. Bar staff did nothing and actually stroked the dog. Unbelievable, talk about hygiene.

Went on a Sunday when live band was playing. Was little crowded but staff tried to serve the best they could. Parking is a problem for this pub..decent place to walk if you stay near east Croydon or use public transport.

A great find, with excellent food, beer selection and fun activities like a quizzes and live music.

Fab pub run by friendly, efficient staff who do a tremendous job especially when they’re busy!!! Very popular with locals. This is how a pub should be run.

Great cosy pub tucked away on a quiet street. Such a good vibe with the jazz playing - a real mood booster on a drizzly grey day. Fab roast dinner, we had the lamb! Really impressed with the range of veg (red cabbage, swede mash, parsnip, carrot, broccoli) as well as crispy roast potatoes, a stuffing ball and huge Yorkshire pudding! Appreciated them bringing over extra gravy as a standard - you can never have too much! Cauliflower cheese was decent too. All in all a lovely afternoon. We'll be back!

Decent little pub in Croydon, we went on a Saturday on a somewhat sunny day a d the garden was busy but we managed to find seats. The food was simple but tasty and at an extremely affordable price. There was a drag show going on that evening, which looked fun, but as we hadn't booked, there was nowhere for us to watch the show. The inside is tiny.

Had a beautiful Sunday lunch listening to jazz amazing 🙏🙏

This is a lovely traditional pub, decent menu and lovely (heated when needed) outdoor seating area. Standard pub prices with a wide range of wines and beers as well as the usual spirits. Dog friendly so take your good girls and boys for a relaxed drink!

You couldn't find a better pub in Croydon and I've not found many better across London. Bonus points for being an independent! Had an appointment that brought me across from Belfast for the day and found this spot at the end of the day. Food was affordable and great, inside and outside the place is wonderful, and Tristan on the bar was great craic. He also poured one of the nicest Guinness I've had in London. The Oval is lovely and should that appointment lead to another I'll surely be back.

Great pub for food, drink and music. Been here many a time and always enjoyed the friendly, efficient service. On every single occasion the only negative aspect was the appalling odour in the ladies restrooms. The management must be aware of this as there are a few plastic room air-fresheners placed near the sink but they do not seem to be resolving the problem. Such a shame that this one issue lets down what is otherwise the best pub in the area.

When I visited The Oval Tavern I really enjoyed its cosy, music-filled atmosphere, and the staff were super friendly. I've added it to my barguide.london site too!

Great evening of live music at the open mic. Dave puts on a fab gathering. It's a friendly, homely affair with a good selection of talented musicians. Tonight's highlights were Dan Luke's and the stand out songs of Theo Dussek

What Train Station from Asda Wallington Superstore is there a bus station near the airport and you

Lovely local pub. Live music on the weekend and always a nice crowd in there. Good Guinness too

I had arranged to meet a friend of mine i hadn't seen in some time for a nice quiet drink and catch up.On line this looked like a nice relaxed little pub. Unfortunately we felt like we had walked into a toddlers day care lots of baby's crying very noisy. If this is a regular meeting spot for mothers you should check with the pub first before you go or be prepared to leave and find somewhere quieter.

6 adults, including 2 visiting from New York, 1 baby, 1 dog. We had a really nice time thank you. Mostly sandwiches and soups. Very good service, and food, and very reasonable cost. Well worth a visit.

Lovely find in East Croydon, food was very tasty, staff very friendly and all rounded off we a decent drop of Proper Job!!

Great pub. Great food. Could be the best pub in Croydon.

Best pub in Croydon by far. Really cosy inside and with a lovely beer garden too. Great, friendly staff and a lovely home cooked food menu as well as regular live music and other events. Book your tables early as this place books up fast! As the sign outside says: "Friendly food, tasty staff" 😂

The best pub in Croydon; Ester is kind and runs an amazing pub with old world charm, lovely staff, tasty food and a relaxed ambience. We come here every Friday after work and end up staying for hours.

The staff, food, indy beer selection and live music make this the perfect local. Both the weekday menu and the Sunday roasts are great value. Personal faves are the Beef Rendang, ChiliChoc, and Pork Bau Buns. Also had the pleasure to celebrate a wedding reception with dear friends there, and the team at the Oval did a brilliant job and helped create many happy memories!

Fantastic pub to go and have a roast in. Always packed so maybe book in advance. Band playing jazz added to the laid back atmosphere.

This place is our go to for lunch, even after I moved to the other side of London I would still spend an hour travelling here rather than anywhere else for a Sunday roast! Lots of veggie/ vegan options, good food is always a guarantee here. I really recommend going down for their live music nights as the atmosphere is unmatched and the staff couldn't be friendlier :)

Super miejsce ,można posłuchać muzyki na żywo. Co tydzień cis nowego.

Wouldn’t recommend - poor service and experience. P.s - Don’t book a table in advance, they don’t reserve tables anyway! Myself and my partner booked a table a week in advance - as we had heard that the roasts and food in here are fantastic, and we knew that it would be busy being a Sunday afternoon. We called ahead 2 hours before to double check the timings, a table booked for 2:30 and all was confirmed as fine. When we arrived, it was clear to see that the pub was extremely busy, due to it being a Sunday and popular for a roast dinner, and also due to having live music on. We scanned around but every table was occupied, and as we couldn’t locate our table, decided to ask at the bar and get a drink. We explained that we had a table booked, and the bar lady knew the name from us calling previously one can only presume. She proceeded to ask us if we wanted a drink, so we got some drinks before she then went to check with one of her colleagues which table it was, as they were all occupied. The lady then came back smirking (I am not sure if this was embarrassment or that she found it funny), and told us that all tables were occupied, and that the only choice we had was to either sit outside in the cold or share a table with another couple sat a table for 4. We both felt frustrated and incredibly disappointed, as this completely ridiculed the idea of booking a table in the first place. Whilst I understand that it’s a busy day / period, to not have a reserved sign on a table seemed completely disorganised, and to have us buy a drink first also made us feel that we were then backed into a corner of having to wait regardless. I decided to discuss this with the bar lady, who agreed it didn’t make much sense, but was only telling us as instructed by her senior colleague. I said that had we have known there was not a table for us, that we wouldn’t of made the effort to travel down there (around 30 mins away), and definitely would not have bought a drink! She then went away and spoke to her senior colleague once again, and came back and refunded us for the drinks we had purchased and apologised. Myself and my partner could not believe the experience, so decided to finish the drinks and leave, so went and sat out in the garden. A member of staff came shortly after, to say that they had ‘made a table and some space for us upstairs’, but due to the experience and service previously, we politely declined. The member of staff was very friendly and seemed genuinely gutted that we had had such a bad experience and apologised profusely. It wasn’t his fault at all, and I explained that I didn’t think it was fair that he was given the job of having to come out to us to take ‘both barrels’ so to speak, so I kindly asked if he would ask the manager to come and have a word with us so I could provide honest feedback. He went to find the manager but came back soon after and apologised to say that the manager was not available, but that he would provide the feedback to them and ensure it was passed on. The principle of booking a table at any restaurant or pub is that it is ready or nearly ready when you arrive, and that bookings for tables are prioritised over walk in customers. This obviously wasn’t the case here, so I can’t recommend booking a table here, as it may result in a similar experience. Myself and my partner after phoning a few places (who were all full with bookings for roasts - what a surprise!), then decided to take a walk into East Croydon. We came across a lovely modernised restaurant across from the station called Fern, and the experience was absolutely faultless. We decided to eat there instead and I have to say, we probably had a nicer meal than we could have had at The Oval anyway. Safe to say we won’t be returning, and neither will our friends or family members after hearing about this!

Wouldn’t recommend - poor service and experience. P.s - Don’t book a table in advance, they don’t reserve tables anyway! Myself and my partner booked a table a week in advance - as we had heard that the roasts and food in here are fantastic, and we knew that it would be busy being a Sunday afternoon. We called ahead 2 hours before to double check the timings, a table booked for 2:30 and all was confirmed as fine. When we arrived, it was clear to see that the pub was extremely busy, due to it being a Sunday and popular for a roast dinner, and also due to having live music on. We scanned around but every table was occupied, and as we couldn’t locate our table, decided to ask at the bar and get a drink. We explained that we had a table booked, and the bar lady knew the name from us calling previously one can only presume. She proceeded to ask us if we wanted a drink, so we got some drinks before she then went to check with one of her colleagues which table it was, as they were all occupied. The lady then came back smirking (I am not sure if this was embarrassment or that she found it funny), and told us that all tables were occupied, and that the only choice we had was to either sit outside in the cold or share a table with another couple sat a table for 4. We both felt frustrated and incredibly disappointed, as this completely ridiculed the idea of booking a table in the first place. Whilst I understand that it’s a busy day / period, to not have a reserved sign on a table seemed completely disorganised, and to have us buy a drink first also made us feel that we were then backed into a corner of having to wait regardless. I decided to discuss this with the bar lady, who agreed it didn’t make much sense, but was only telling us as instructed by her senior colleague. I said that had we have known there was not a table for us, that we wouldn’t of made the effort to travel down there (around 30 mins away), and definitely would not have bought a drink! She then went away and spoke to her senior colleague once again, and came back and refunded us for the drinks we had purchased and apologised. Myself and my partner could not believe the experience, so decided to finish the drinks and leave, so went and sat out in the garden. A member of staff came shortly after, to say that they had ‘made a table and some space for us upstairs’, but due to the experience and service previously, we politely declined. The member of staff was very friendly and seemed genuinely gutted that we had had such a bad experience and apologised profusely. It wasn’t his fault at all, and I explained that I didn’t think it was fair that he was given the job of having to come out to us to take ‘both barrels’ so to speak, so I kindly asked if he would ask the manager to come and have a word with us so I could provide honest feedback. He went to find the manager but came back soon after and apologised to say that the manager was not available, but that he would provide the feedback to them and ensure it was passed on. The principle of booking a table at any restaurant or pub is that it is ready or nearly ready when you arrive, and that bookings for tables are prioritised over walk in customers. This obviously wasn’t the case here, so I can’t recommend booking a table here, as it may result in a similar experience. Myself and my partner after phoning a few places (who were all full with bookings for roasts - what a surprise!), then decided to take a walk into East Croydon. We came across a lovely modernised restaurant across from the station called Fern, and the experience was absolutely faultless. We decided to eat there instead and I have to say, we probably had a nicer meal than we could have had at The Oval anyway. Safe to say we won’t be returning, and neither will our friends or family members after hearing about this!

Buen bar en Croydon. Cerveza de barril. Tienen comida a la mesa. Platos del día por £9.75 y buen tamaño. Música en vivo. Volvería

Good local to chill out while listening to live music and enjoying their great food.

What a great pub, came with my daughter who lives in the area and had a fantastic Sunday lunch, roast beef and roast chicken, very good value loads on the plate. Would be good if you could do a smaller portion for us with not such big appetites . Lovely friendly staff and customers and great band for Sunday lunch time. Definitely book for Sunday as it gets packed.

We absolutely love this local pub, not only is the food affordable, it is completely delicious. In Croydon you simple can’t beat it. 😍

popped in here for a drink on a croydon xmas crawl and must say really surprised. 1st of all it was packed with a lovely family crowd. nice vibe and great staff ...standing room only there were 11 of us and i think there may have been music later.great guinness and its a shame we didn't stay for another. will deffo be back.

Had many great nights here - a gem Of a pub with live bands and great atmosphere highly recommended ✌️👍🥰 love this place! X

Had our family Christmas lunch here it was absolutely amazing Fabulous food fabulous atmosphere Fabulous staff. It was soooo Christmassy Thank you 🙏

Great pub, went to see a live gig, which was really good. Drinks are a fair price, and it has a nice atmosphere

Great night. Great atmosphere. Good beers.

Great food and great service. I wish there’s more seats available.

Great food at good prices, and unexpected (and v v good) live music to go with our roast!

Great little venue. Lovely food, music.

Went to see the Big Beer Band for the first time last night - it was amazing! The music was amazing, beer was flowing and the atmosphere was great!

Wonderful experience and can't believe we've never been before! Visited for a Sunday roast after seeing good reviews and will definitely be coming back. Fantastic Jazz band playing and the atmosphere was something I haven't experienced in a while. Friendly locals and staff alongside a delicious roast dinner for a reasonable price. I had the mushroom wellington and my partner the beef, both thoroughly enjoyed our meals and was lovely as a vegetarian to feel you had the same selection as meat eaters; I don't usually get stuffing! A good selection of drinks in a proper pub. Will make sure to come back in the summer as the garden is a great space too.

A proper community pub serving great cask ale and promoting superb live music.

Love this pub. A little gem in the back streets of Croydon. I was there on a Saturday afternoon and it was very busy, so quite noisy. The pub is both pet and child friendly. The food we ordered was lovely but the service was slow though it was very busy so to be expected. Only gripe is that it could be a little cleaner. Children tend to shove things down the back of radiators.

Great staff super friendly and very receptive, the food came out really quick and was great, the atmosphere was lovely. Kids friendly

A real treasure of a local pub which managed to attract people from far and wide to it's great musical line up, friendly atmosphere and home made food