Crofton Park Tavern — Restaurant in London

🚇 Crofton Park 🍺 £6.20 Battersea Lager

The Crofton Park Tavern is located close to Brockley & Ladywell Cemeteries in Crofton Park, Southeast London. The nearest station is Crofton Park mainline.

The pub is sited in what was two shops which have been knocked through into one. The first bar/pub here was The Alpha Club followed by a pub called Jam Circus which is now trading in Deptford. This pub opened its doors in 2019 and is part of the Mosaic Pub & Dining PubCo.

This is a one bar pub that is traditionally decorated with contemporary touches. The servery is located at the front right and has a glass gantry above the counter. The front of the pub has two sections which are predominantly drinking areas, at the back of the pub is a raised section that is set aside for dining. The decor is bare boarded floors, exposed brick and pastel green walls plus a number of framed traditional prints adorning the walls. At the rear of the pub is an enclosed partially covered beer garden with booths.

The beer line up consists of well known keg brands plus a couple of beers from @batterseabrew . I decided on a Battersea Lager, my pint was decent, price point was a smidge above average. The food menu is Gastro pub classics and a choice of weighty steaks, Fish & Chips costs £15.50, Roasts are available on a Sunday.

I arrived just before 5pm on a mild Saturday afternoon in May. The pub was busy with local punters and a large family group in for a celebration. The atmosphere was laidback and convivial, the service was welcoming and friendly.

The pub hosts quiz nights and live music sessions, check their socials for updates.

Visiting the @croftonparktav was chilled local pub experience. The setting is comfortable, beer was decent, the food receives positive reviews and the service on point. Good to see this pub receiving local support, worth a look if you’re in the area.

📅 4th May 2024

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I had high hopes for our visit to the local pub, especially since we were disappointed last week when they were out of the beef short ribs we wanted to try. We decided to give it another shot, but this experience was even more frustrating.

Upon arrival, it was clear the pub was packed. The manager approached us and informed us that there would be a 15-20 minute wait for a table since we didn’t have a reservation. No problem, we happily settled at the bar. However, after waiting for nearly an hour with no updates, we began to wonder if our estimated wait time had any basis in reality.

I politely asked if we could at least place our food order while waiting, especially since we had our child with us and didn’t want to prolong the wait for our meal. The response was disappointing; it seemed like they didn’t even want to entertain that suggestion. After what felt like eternity, we finally noticed a table that had been vacated and were seated.

While we appreciated the offer of a free round of drinks for our wait, it quickly became apparent that service was still lacking. When we attempted to order our starters, the beef short ribs were unfortunately sold out—just like last week. We placed our orders for other food and settled in for yet another wait.

When our meal finally arrived—after a further 15-minute wait—it was wrong, delivered to another table! By this time, we had already been at the pub for nearly two hours, and our little one was getting restless and hungry. We had to ask for the receipt just so we could leave and grab a quick meal at home.

Overall, I left feeling incredibly disappointed. The management really needs to improve their communication and service efficiency. A night out turned into a frustrating ordeal, and I doubt we’ll be returning any time soon unless we hear significant improvements...

3 of us went for a Sunday Roast.

The food was delicious, we all had the roast pork and it was lovely. Crispy crackling, nicely done roast potatoes and yorkshires and a very tasty gravy. A good healthy portion with some added cauliflower cheese made for a nice lunch.

However the service from our specific waitress was dreadful, and left a significantly sour note on our afternoon. She was dismissive, abrupt and rude with a distinct lack of care for our experience at the restaurant. There was a whole host of communication blunders (eg. She said they didn’t have anything at all on draught?!) Most importantly - she completely forgot to register our starters. We each ordered starters that simply never arrived. We weren’t offered any kind of remuneration for this, only a cold apology and a response of “well at least you’ll have room for pudding.” She also left us with the card machine when we were paying (I could’ve easily refunded the price to only card or simply not paid and they wouldn’t have had a clue). There was no care for us as customers. She didn’t ever ask how anything was, or whether we needed anything. Incredibly poor basic mistakes from someone in the hospitality industry.

It was also expensive! We paid £84 for 3 roast dinners, a cider and 2 coca-cola’s. If we’d of had a nicer experience that may be justified but due to the appalling customer experience we were in and out writhing 45 minutes.

I’m sure the pub would be a lovely dining experience with a different waiter/waitress. But sadly the one we had definitely should not be working in hospitality.

I’m sure we’ll return to the Croydon park Tavern soon, hoping someone else...