‘I visited Croydon Hospital’s restaurant but it was my food that needed CPR”
It’s a sad reality that people are spending longer in hospitals, whether it be queuing at A&E doors in an ambulance or waiting days for a social care bed to become available to be discharged. So for patients’ friends and family – some good grub after visiting hours is essential. At MyLondon we are no stranger to a food review from testing London’s ’embarassing’ best restaurant to a Pizzeria with dried crickets and seaweed.
So, leaving no stone unturned, I headed down to Croydon University Hospital to see what was on the menu. The restaurant is called the ‘Oasis Restaurant’ and is located on the first floor above the main entrance of the hospital. With it’s walls punctuated by scenic ‘sea views’ lined with palm trees and calming blue tones, it is supposed to give the impression you could be at the beach.
Which is…a stretch, given it is in fact CROYDON HOSPITAL. READ MORE: ‘I stayed at hotel on former prison boat in East London where you either get amazing views of London – or Tesco Express’
My lunch looked like it needed it needed to be checked in at A&E (Image: Lucy Williamson)
Nonetheless, I rated the effort, grabbed a tray and queued up behind a gaggle of staff in scrubs that blended them into the wall. Given its Christmas, on the festive menu today was a choice of breaded plaice, roast turkey or a vegetarian tart.
As a vegetarian, this was my first mistake. The ‘tart’ was more like a quiche, which unsurprisingly does not go well with gravy. If you want to call it gravy.
If gravy is translucent, then I’m sorry but it’s a no from me.
Tart and gravy combo was a big red flag
As for some nutrition, the only options were parsnips, carrots and Brussels sprouts. Classically not a fan of sprouts, I went for sides of roast potatoes and carrots. But this left my meal looking…yellow.
For some unknown reason, I was given the ‘tart’ upside down. It made my plate look like it had jaundice and needed to be checked into hospital. At least I was in the right place.
I carried my tray over to what I thought was an empty table, only to find a woman grab a chair and claim the table as her own. But instead of shooing me away, she invited me to eat with her. Me and, let’s called her Barbara, sat and ate together like it was a family meal around the dinner table.
Many an option at the Oasis Restuarant
Amid chat of life in Croydon with ‘Barbara’, I tucked in to my “roast”.
The carrots were like those tasteless rubbery ones that remind you of school lunches, and wouldn’t have looked out of place next to some turkey dinosaurs. But the roast potatoes were actually pretty nice. There was a fully stocked fridge of drinks option and even a GBP1.95 chocolate fudge cake I regrettably only spotted on my way out.
That would have been just what the doctor ordered. To sum up, Croydon hospital’s restaurant is well, as you’d expect Croydon hospital restaurant to be. My meal was not exactly gourmet, but then nor was I expecting it to be.
The presentation was extremely questionable but it was very reasonably priced. My whole meal (A main and an extra side) came to GBP7.20. so if you’re looking for a cost-of-living hack that no one else has heard of – this could be a winner. It’s also open seven days a week for breakfast from 7am to 11am and lunch 12pm – 3pm.
No bookings required.
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