Every Pub in Brighton #46-51
TEN! Double figures bebeh!
This entry covers a final few festive frolics along with some early January jaunts including post-cocktail comedowns and a brand new boozer. Alliteration ahoy. Let’s gooooo!
#46 // The Gather Inn
Website // Instagram
Address: 330 Kingsway, Hove, BN3 4LW
Date visited: December 2022
Following a day-after-Boxing-Day stroll to Hove Lagoon to blow away the cobwebs, we were searching for a spot for lunch. The Gather Inn is the only pub next to Hove Lagoon. I think you know where this is headed.
The Gather Inn is not just a pub but also a B&B offering 5 guest rooms of varying sizes and configurations. The rooms seem popular as whenever I pass by, someone is always coming out of, or going into, the separate entrance next to the pub. It’s easy to see why as the location is ideal for an overnight stay - picturesque views of Hove Lagoon and the sea beyond it and only a short stroll into Hove or along the seafront to Brighton itself. It even has a small outside seating area that looks out towards the lagoon for those summer pints.
However, as we were here in the middle of winter, it wasn’t long before we sought refuge from the bracing weather. Being in the Christmas Gooch, there were still festive decorations aplenty and a vat of mulled wine on the bar that my pub compatriots opted for. I settled on Theakston’s Best Bitter - according to Untappd I’d last had it in Bath over six years ago and it was off so was happy to try it tasting as it should. The bar staff were on good form, with one jokingly cursing me for ordering mulled wine as he had to pour the big vat at a peculiar angle to get the liquid out. We had some decent pub grub (I think between us there was a curry, a pie, and a burger) too - although the kitchen is now run by Lobo’s Caribbean Cuisine offering up a variety of Caribbean dishes alongside the pub classics.
It’s a shame this pub isn’t on any of my usual routes home otherwise I’d likely visit it a little more often but it’s one worth popping into if you’re down by the lagoon for sure.
#47 // Ginger Pig
Website // Instagram // Facebook
Address: 3 Hove Street, Hove, BN3 2TR
Date visited: December 2022
I wasn’t sure if The Ginger Pig was a pub or a restaurant before I visited as it’s very much marketed as the latter, so was hesitant to include it in the list. However, it fits our definition of a pub (1. is open to the public without membership or residency, 2. serves draught beer or cider without requiring food be consumed, 3. has at least one indoor area not laid out for meals, 4. allows drinks to be bought at a bar) due to the front bar area that sits away from the restaurant part proper. The restaurant side dominates the building with the bar part only taking up a small area. I was pleasantly surprised to see several people in the bar just having drinks rather than a meal which made me think this was a pub worth visiting for the beer alone.
And it was. Lots of beer is on offer from local brewery, Gun, and the requisite tap dedicated to Harvey’s Best made me worry no more. However, we did come here for food and I’m glad we did because it was fantastic. Elevated pub fare is the order of the day - I had a great cheeseburger with caramelised onions, bread and butter pickles, chilli jam, mustard and baby gem with chips - the chips are cooked in dripping and are as indulgent as they sound.
Well overdue a return visit I think!
#48 // Charles Street Tap
Website // Instagram
Address: 8 - 9 Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1TA
Date visited: December 2022
A few days after our trip to The Ginger Pig we were in the mood for cocktails so hot-footed it to The Plotting Parlour for speak-easy, relaxed vibes. Many, many cocktails later (we somehow spent more on cocktails than we did on dinner and drinks at The Ginger Pig to put into perspective how much we drank) it dawned on us that we were a leetle beet drunk. We made the sensible call to get food to at least soak up some of the potent concoctions we had imbibed.
The only thing to eat to soak up that much alcohol is chips. I pulled up the EPIB map to locate the nearest pub and we settled on the Charles Street Tap. Part of the same chain as the George Street Tap (see entry #40) so I wasn’t expecting much. To be fair, I didn’t require much - just chips. And a pint, obviously.
This place has a completely different vibe compared to the George Street Tap. At first glance, it doesn't even feel like part of the same chain. There are no TV screens showing sports; instead, the space is filled with rainbow colours and posters for their cabaret and drag quiz nights.
The tap layout in these pubs always confuses me, especially after a few cocktails. While the standard keg and cask pumps are located along the front of the bar, as you'd expect, there's also a secondary section of keg options along the back wall. The beers available from these taps are listed on large, circular wooden signs above them. I’m doing a terrible job of explaining it but if you look at the photo in this article, you’ll see what I mean. Because I see the beers on the bar, I never look beyond them to the secondary options (which are usually a bit more interesting) until it is too late. Probably more an issue with me than the pub itself though.
Anyway, we absolutely inhaled two bowls of chips and supped a beer before sensibly hopping on the bus home. The hangover-reducing water before bed combined with the chips saved us from a nasty wake-up the following morning. Good skills.
#49 // The Brick
Instagram
Address: 45 Preston St, Brighton BN1 2HP
Date visited: January 2023
I’d heard murmurings of a new pub being open on Preston Street and when I realised it was being run by the folk behind The Evening Star (see entry #22), I moved it to the top of my list of pubs to visit.
The Brick is a pub that specialises in lagers, offering a wide variety mainly from Czechia and Germany. There are also lagers, pales and ciders from more local breweries too. A staggering 20 taps, including four Czech side-pour taps that allow for a proper Hladinka pour for your lager - roughly one-third foam to two-thirds liquid. There’s even a couple of cask pumps if you’re not into the fizzy stuff.
The pub frontage is now a dark green with vibrant orange window frames, benches and signage. This aesthetic continues inside with the dark green enveloping the seating areas upstairs and downstairs. I love the decor and not just because it’s a similar green to my own dining room. The bar area benefits from a back window that floods the space with light, making it glow and beckoning you in.
I’ve been here several times now - on my own, with my partner and with a group and have had an absolutely stellar time every time. The beer is always served exceptionally and the vibe is always super chilled out. It has captured the atmosphere of a European modern boozer perfectly. Czech it out (I’m so sorry).
#50 // The Robin Hood
Website // Instagram
Address: 1-3 Norfolk Place, Brighton BN1 2PF
Date visited: January 2023
I think this pub is pretty much on the border of Brighton and Hove. We wandered in here on a whim, expecting to tick off a pub and that’d be that. I did not expect to stumble upon such a lovely atmosphere. Just around the corner from Norfolk Square on a residential road is this striking pub - it’s bright green!
We entered on a Saturday lunchtime in January expecting a sleepy mid-afternoon pint. Instead, it was brimming with people of all ages (from babies to pensioners) with a lovely buzzy vibe and just felt right. It was no surprise to discover that this pub has won several Pub of the Year awards as it felt very much like a pub loved by its local community with loyal regulars.
I was pretty astonished at just how busy it was for the time of day and time of year. The beer offering was your usual cask and keg options but when a pub has such a welcoming feel to it, you can forgive it for not having a rotating list of more glamorous or sought-after options. We didn’t eat here but the pizzas smelt delicious and I’d love to go back with a group of friends and while away a few hours.
#51 // The Maris And Otter
Website // Instagram
Address: 113 - 114 Western Road, Brighton BN1 2AB
Date visited: January 2023
Presumably named after the Maris Otter malt, this pub is owned and operated by Harvey’s Brewery. Naturally, it has more cask pumps of Harvey’s Best than any other pub I’ve seen (FOUR!) and space for their other, less popular beers too (8 taps).
It’s a bit of a weird one - a traditional brewery attempt at a modern pub. The requisite exposed brick, ‘craft’ sign and lighting are all here. I much prefer their brewery pub in Lewes because it knows exactly what it is - a proper old-school boozer. The Maris & Otter is fine. Solid even but it just feels a bit by the numbers. There are two separate areas - a space by the bar with seating and behind a wall that divides the main room is more seating and tables. I think they are trying to divide it into ‘food’ and ‘drink’ spaces but it would work just as well as one big space. Unless that wall is load-bearing.
I’ve been in here a few times because it’s in a decent location and I know I can get a well-kept pint of Best. The food here is pretty decent pub grub too.
