I’ve had a flat in Croydon for the past 9 years and South End (which, if you head down into central Croydon from the East Croydon station direction, starts at the left hand end of the High St) is the area to head for if you want to eat out.  This  road stretches down into South Croydon and the majority of establishments are restaurants.  Restaurants come and go, and you will find that the majority only have a few tables occupied on a midweek night, but the most popular by far is Galicia, a Spanish restaurant and tapas bar, about 5 mins walk from the High St.  This is the one place where, whatever night of the week you visit, there is a great atmosphere and half the tables at least will be occupied even on a Monday evening.  The place is split into two sections, restaurant and tapas, and it is not possible to book tables for tapas in advance, so if they are full you need to request a table at the bar and then have a few drinks whilst you wait your turn and the waiters will come and find you .  The waiters are fun and the food is good quality and good value (personal favourites are garlic prawns, chorizo and stuffed peppers, all about £4 or £5, and they also do good liquer coffees!).  Highly recommended for a good night out.  There are numerous other restaurants around - plenty of Indians, a mexican, a couple of Thai, french, italian etc, but none seem to attract the number of customers that Galicia does.  And if you’re looking to go for drinks before or after, "the strip" is also renowned for its large number of bars!  Just be careful when out late as unfortunately the area can get a bit rough at closing time!

My second favourite place to eat in the Croydon area is Zafran, a small indian restaurant on the main road in Addiscombe.  This is a brightly coloured place inside, which offers the usual indian dishes, with some different starters plus a list of chef's specials to make things a bit more interesting.  They also have a cocktail menu which is unusual for an indian and the drinks prices are very reasonable, as is the food.  Food quality is also high and we enjoy sitting over our meal in there - again, a nice atmosphere and always fairly full.