Riff Raffs – Croydon

At the end of the 433 bus route, and only a few hundred yards from ‘Riff Raffs’, is a shopping precinct which sums up this corner of Croydon.

For well over a decade, town planners and property developers have seriously screwed things up. Brexit and Covid exacerbated the problem, sending the area into a spiral of decline after the plans by the European based consortium’s were shelved.

Riff Raffs itself is a small venue hidden along a row of shops in St George Street that I stumbled across a month or so back.

It’s a watering hole with a permanent turntable sat next to the bar, where resident and guest DJs take it in turns to spin their sounds.

What sets this apart from other locals, is that it doesn’t pretend to be anything other than what it is, a converted shop, with decent beer, shots at a good price with banging sounds. The bar staff and clientele are super friendly and a tad more ‘alternative’ than the average bar.

That’ll be Kieran lead guitar and singer from local band Flounder who can occasionally be found sleeping on our sofa!
Although I’ve not personally seen them, Ben, (Emma’s son) does a lot of media stuff for them. The band appear to have a lot of fun and leaves a trail of destruction in their wake!

We’ve been to Riff Raffs a few times in recent weeks, and given the infectious sounds, thought I’d add it on here in the music section of this blog – why not!

It is incredibly welcoming and ideal for “pre’s or posts”, or simply a great night with good friends although I admit it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea – which is why I guess I like it so much.