Catford area guide - tell us what it's like

'Good':
The giant cat. Ladywell fields. The extra-cheap saturday plant stall in Catford Broadway. The Broadway Theatre - a pretty art deco building, esp inside. The library: airy and one of the better stocked local libraries. LK Chinese Groceries, the bright yellow place on Catford Bridge - a really helpful owner who supplies recipes and advice; there's a good turkish food shop just down from it too. Gino's pizza. Sapporo, the Japanese restaurant. Appetito coffee shop -friendly and good coffee. Mekan's - the Turkish restaurant. There's a couple of good afro-caribbean fresh food stalls and one selling patties. The post office that also sells statues of Hindu Gods. Plenty of buses and two train stations to central London.
'Bad': the indoor market has closed. Too many tacky £1 shops - not necessarily good value.

Riva (next to Mekan) is good too - I had a fab seafood risotto there the other day.

Second vote for Sapporo which is fab.

Riva does deliveries too. Good pizzas. They gave us a free tiramasu last time as well!

Good: I would add "la pizzeria italiana", the good house stock and value, the easy access to Kent and the planned regeneration plan which will see the end of the horrible depressing towers and a good clean up of the place!
Bad: it's still scuffy and dirty, too many £ shops, lack of a good pub, gym and a deli.

The Good
Broadway Theatre - people come from all over London to see the shows and it's a lovely building.
Transport connections in Catford centre/Bromley Road
Pizzeria Italiana despite its grim location at the bottom of a brutalist 'masterpiece' Eros House.
Leonard's Electrical on Sandhurst Road - last of the half day closing, can't do enough for you kinda shop.
Broadway Cafe next to Age Concern does good value caff food including unfeasibly large jacket potatoes.
Appetito is a good place to meet and have coffee and a snack, despite the public art (see below)
Nice quiet streets and open spaces between Brownhill and Bromley Roads and Verdant Lane.
further afield (but still in SE6)
Caravello Cafe on Torridon Road
Torridon Library and Children's Centre - an amazing dome inside the library.
Goldsmiths Community Centre incorporating Limelight Family Learning Centre - lots of activities and services for all ages.
The bungalow (Excalibur) estate - a haven of peace and quiet. Watch Merlin and you will discover the origin of the obscure Arthurian road names, in the fullness of time.

The Bad
Transport connections elsewhere in Catford - poor to very poor indeed.
Parking in central Catford. Why is Catford Island so mean spirited and the public car park so expensive?
Lack of variety/shops, food 'deserts', run down parades, shops shut early.
Absence of places to socialise away from the centre. Blame it on the teetotal developers.
Vegetation growing up Laurence House - it does not look good. Strip it off to reveal the luncheon meat coloured cladding beneath.
Pointless public art outside Appetito

The Ugly
Catford precinct
Boarded up shops, pub and offices on Rushey Green
Ex-Age Concern building in Brownhill Road

Congestion on one way system
Pot holes everywhere on residential roads

Good:
Agree with all of the above mentioned 'goods'

Bad:
Council offices in a roundabout?! Chaos traffic due to poor traffic engineering at this roundabout.

Survey about improving Catford town centre:
https://lewisham-consult.limehouse.co.uk/public/regeneration/pm/catfordmarket