Enjoy fantastic food at Mr Fox, Croydon

BY BILL LACY

Pubs reopened this week, and so did a little piece of my soul.

The only downsides were that the weather has not been kind to us and it has required more effort and organisation to secure a seat outdoors.

I failed miserably to manage both things. Despite my grand plans, I toasted the reopening of pubs in a Wetherspoons car park, all the while Googling where I can buy a winter coat.

For the end of the week, I tried and failed to secure tables at a few pubs I had my eye on, although I did learn that these days contacting pubs on something called Instagram is more effective than phoning them up.

After some trickery, we managed to secure a table at Mr Fox in Croydon’s Surrey Street, which I had not paid much attention to before but which has a powerful Instagram presence.

The first thing I noticed is that pubs have now, quite naturally, taken advantage of all the available outside space.

Good on them. There was a buzz about places as you walked past, like it is when you are on holiday.

People were greeting each other with hugs and dressed up to the nines, clearly happy to be out after all this time.

The inside was empty of course although the design, music, darkness and the downstairs toilets made it look and feel a bit like a nightclub.

Perhaps being outside was no bad thing after all.

I was sat down in a pleasant corner and, having learnt my lesson from earlier in the week, whipped out a blanket, the need to combat the cold outweighing the need to look good.

There is no real ale, and I had a pint of Sharp’s Offshore Pilsner, although there was a decent-looking cocktail range.

But what really makes Mr Fox stand out is the food.

To call it above average pub food would be to understate it. The chef used to work at Chapter One, Farnborough Common, which formerly had a Michelin star, and the quality of the food was excellent, starting with the focaccia.

I only ordered a burger, but even that was superb, raising its game with the inclusion of bone marrow.

I also tried grilled octopus, served with a saffron emulsion, which you don’t normally get down the Dog and Duck.

The service was above average and I couldn’t believe it when our charming waitress said it was only her third day in the job.

It settled into an enjoyable evening, especially after the magic heater came on, despite my earlier misgivings about this not being a “pub”.

In its outdoors guise, I think Mr Fox is more of a restaurant than a pub, but the offering is very good and a sign of things to come for Croydon.

Mr Fox, 34 Surrey Street, Croydon CR0 1RJ