Following a refurbishment the Surprise now serves good quality food Wednesday to Sunday, including Sunday lunch and a mussels menu. The pub is situated between Shirley Hills and the Shirley Windmill on bus routes from Croydon and Addington. It is also adjacent to the London Loop. Old photographs on the walls show Shirley when it was a more rural area. A postcard of the pub shows it in Page & Overton livery; it later became a Charrington's house. Areas within the pub have different themes and the bar counter has a unique style, retained from before the refurbishment.