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ONE PUB ONLY?
Evening Star
CRAWLING FROM RAILWAY STATION TO THE GROUND?
Lord Nelson, Basketmakers and Evening Star with perhaps the Trafalgar as an extra
SOMETHING A LITTLE DIFFERENT?
Evening Star
FAN WARNING Watch out for Steward 662. He appears to have a personal ego problem and is likely to refuse entry to anyone who finds it difficult to walk up the hill to the ground. A very rude steward who hopefully will not be employed at the club when you visit.
|  |  Basketmakers Arms
12 Gloucester Rd, BN1 4AD T 01273 689006 W www.fullers.co.uk
G Pete and Kate Dowd
F Good wholesome homemade and local menu, often organic with daily specials 12 to 3, 5.30 to 8.30 Mon - Fri, 12 to 7 Sat, 12 to 5 Sun
MP BM
O 11 to 11, Mon - Wed, 11 to 12 Thu - Sat, 12 to 11 Sun
The Basketmakers has been highly recommended by first time readers of the guide who were amazed it wasn’t in last year. I revisited and fell in love with it very quickly. This street corner pub is just perfect as the Brighton town local. It is full of quality features, most importantly being the ale selection and customer care.
I have to mention the décor. It is picture and postcard, antique and tobacco shop, waiting and living room all combined into a classic warm and friendly boozer. Then the food is both good quality and a good variation on the typical town pub fayre. There are some very special twists. Attached to the walls are hundreds of tobacco tins. Open them and you will find prophetic messages, often of the wise, or not so wise, to be read and or left. Don’t be shy, the locals love seeing your reaction as you read them. Those locals are very much in the ready - rub and pipe smoking variety. The place was busy mid - afternoon with small groups of friends, mixed in sex and to a man, and woman, drinking pints. Perhaps that is why I was so smitten. If I lived here this would be my local. If a Brighton fan, then this is the definite starting point for the station based crawl. It will be busy on matchdays with people like you and me, standing room only maybe so get there early.
BWV 8.3.06: Fuller’s London Pride, Gale’s Best, Butser, Festival Mild, HSB, Winter Brew
BWV 24.4.10 Fullers Discovery, Festival, HSB, London Pride, Seafarers | |  Evening Star
55 - 56 Surrey St, BN1 3PB T 01273 328931 W www.eveningstarbrighton.co.uk
G Matt and Karen Wickham
F Rolls,12 to 3
MP BM D
O 12 to 11 Sun - Thu, 12 to 12 Fri, 11.30 to 2 Sat - Sun
The Evening Star not only acts as the Dark Star Brewery tap but also champions local micro - brews This brick and wood panelled bar very soon fills up with locals and regulars who wander from the offices and station to sample the variety that makes this place renowned. On matchdays expect a difficult search for a seat as it is the first or last port of call for the discerning real ale head. Add in a large list of European ales, no music or TV and you get a perfect real ale retreat for those who love quality as well as variety. Somehow live music also squeezes in on a Sunday evening. I sat near the window gazing at the street life outside and ear - wigging on Brighton conversation that drifted around the room. This is a top notch relaxing town boozer if ever there was one, a village local in the heart of the new city.
UPDATE: The pub has a sister in Shoreham, The Duke of Wellington is five mins from the station.
BWV 5.4.05: Dark Star Hophead, Porter, APA (American Pale Ale) Rother Valley Hopper Ale, Special Edition, Ryeburn Luddite, White 1066 Country Bitter, Thatcher's Black Rat Cider, Weston’s Traditional Somerset Cider
BWV 8.3.06: Archers Fives and Threes, Dark Star American Pale Ale, Cathedral Stout, Hophead, Oatmeal Stout, . Everards All Black, Milestone Hoptimism, Thatcher’s Traditional, cider, Weston’s Traditional Scrumpy
Facebook page
BWV 27/2/10 Dark Star - Dark Star, Original, American Pale Ale, Hammerpot Meteor, Hophead, Golden Gate; Milton Pegasus, Ossett Warhorse, Thatchers Original Somerset Cider Two Trees Perry
Mick Escott
BWV 24.3.10 Dark Star Golden Gate, Hophead, India Pale Ale, The Original, Thornbridge Hopton, Jaipur IPA, Murmansk, Gwynt y ddraig Dog Dancer Cider, Thatchers Traditional Cider | |  Lord Nelson
36 Trafalgar St, BN1 4ED T 01273 695872 W www.thelordnelsoninn.co.uk
G Graham Boyd
F Specials board and snack menu, all home cooked and locally sourced 12 to 2.30 Mon - Sat
MP SK BM
O 11 to 11, 11 to 10.30
This was a first for me, a pub which served the full range of Harveys ales in a pub that has bags of interest beyond the beer. The cellar awards proclaim the quality of the ales as do the recommendations of beer drinkers beyond Brighton. The pub has been creatively extended to include a gallery that hosts bi - monthly art exhibitions of local artists’ work. The rest of the pub consists of three separate drinking areas one dominated by theatre and music posters, the front bar by memory - jerking photos related to the Albion. The best nook is the haunt of Seagulls echoing to the Goodbye Goldstone sentiment. This is a really friendly pub, instantly welcoming as you arrive and typically cosmopolitan in its outlook and clientele. As part of the Arts heritage trail and with fervent local CAMRA support, the Nelson holds a key place in the hearts of locals and visitors alike. This pub will get very busy on matchdays.
UPDATE: Sky TV is now a big screen in the bar that has had the carpets removed as part of an ongoing redecoration. Charity events and a Tuesday pub quiz now feature. The pub is still very good and still very busy.
BWV 5.4.05: Harveys Armada, Best, IPA, Porter, Sussex Mild, Addlestone's Cider
BWV 8.3.06: Harveys Armada, Best, IPA, Old Ale, Porter, Sussex Mild, Addlestone’s Cider
Facebook page
BWV 27/2/10 Harveys Sussex Best Bitter, Porter, Old Ale, Admiral's | |  Pull and Pump
1 Clarence Gardens, BN1 2EG T 01273 328263 W www.pleisure.com
G Helen Rudd
F Traditional home - cooked menu to suit all tastes 12 to 3, Mon - Sun
MP TV BM D
12 to 11 Sun - Thu, 12 to 12 Fri – Sat
The Pleisure group is an interesting additional to the pub groups of the South East, and a cursory glance at their website gives clues as to the atmosphere you would expect to find in their pubs. The emphasis is on good fun in proper pubs and the Pull and Pump is a great example of this. It also has a good choice of ales, in a location that is great, and being near the Regency makes it my choice for those who venture well away from the station. The fun is evident in the curious choice of special evenings. Geared up for the more youthful is the “Spelling Bee” held monthly. The alcohol offers are of the spiritual variety. You will now be imagining the worst of a fun pub. Would I do that to you? The pub is a proper pub with a relaxed and welcoming atmosphere. Helen has built up a great reputation with ale drinkers and encourages gentle humour and quiet conversation.
The pub is a single – roomed, timber - floored tavern, with the large windows I always imagined would be common - place in Brighton pubs. The view from the window is of a Regency street scene and, for wicked amusement, traffic wardens cruising for easy pickings. My afternoon visit found many younger couples enjoying a late lunch. The local characters were starting to arrive and start up bar - fly style chat. It was all very safe and cheerful, and what’s more there was HSB as guest ale.
BWV 8.3.06: Gale’s HSB, Harveys Best, Shepherd Neame Spitfire, Young’s Special
Facebook page | |  Regency Tavern
32 - 34 Russell Square, BN1 2EF T 01273 325652 W www.shepherdneame.co.uk
G James Brett
F All home - made menu with ever- changing specials 12 to 2.30 Mon - Sat, 12 to 3 Sun
MP BM D
O 11 to 11 Sun - Thu, 11 to 12 Fri - Sat
A trip to Brighton should include a walk on the seafront and a pint to follow. One should also admire the Regency architecture and then taste local ales. Therefore the Regency gets my vote as the perfect pub of this type. The Regency is the definition of anachronistic. Its fame among locals comes from the interior décor, all silhouettes, busts and swirling drapes. Then the pub has a disco theme to suggest a lively history and future. The pub is very comfortable, relaxing and a true treasure that the recent change of ownership will apparently cherish. This is a destination pub at weekends; people find it hard to leave once inside. The local urban architecture gives clues to its regulars, sixties apartments mix with the affluent Regency mansions. Between town and the sea the best time to visit is the hot summer day or early evening, when the calm of the shade it provides and the quality of the ale would make for heavenly refreshment.
UPDATE: The repainting of the exterior is complete and the plans to redecorate inside are still plans. The meals are likely to change to include two - course specials and home made desserts. The pub is essentially as it was last year.
BWV 5.4.05: Shepherd Neame Best, Bishops Finger, Early Bird, Spitfire
BWV 8.3.06: Shepherd Neame Bishop’s Finger, Early Bird, Kent’s Best, Spitfire | | GRAHAM PRIVETT WROTE:-
EVENING STAR
This was so good (pre & post match), that I didn't even make it to any other of the suggested pubs.
Excellent pasty shop a couple of door down if you don't fancy the rather good and large rolls and extensive range of snacks (including Biltong and Wasabi Nuts) on offer at the pub.
The ale on offer was:
Dark Star - Over the Moon, American Pale Ale, Mild for May, and Hophead (my personal favourite that day).
Traditional Somerset Cider.
Scatter Rock - Tom Cobley and Golden Valley.
Hammerpot - Martlet
All very well kept.
Also an extensive range of Belgian bottles.
The service was also excellent despite the place being hammered.
The home supporters who use the Evening Star are a great crowd and we were kept well entertained both pre & post match.
The "stadium" and match itself were so grim, that I really regretted not just staying at the Evening Star all afternoon.
That said, one thing Brighton have got right is transporting supporters to and from the ground. Matchday tickets (including those of away suporters) have little tear off vouchers entitling you to free train or bus. So, the best bet is to get yourself to Brighton, enjoy the pubs, and make use of the tickets. Bear in mind that you will need to be on the 14:07 train though, as there is a significant walk the other end, particularly now that the away supporters are housed in the furthest end.
This is without doubt the worst ground I have ever watched football at any level, and I've seen games in Lithuania!
One last piece of info. The Evening Star faces a sex shop, so when the weather is nice you can watch the punters going about their dirty business. The biggest cheer of the day by far (including Brighton's survival in League 1) was reserved for a rather embarrassed young lady exiting the sex shop fully-laden post-match. Somehow, she hadn't noticed the 50 odd rather oiled football supporters enjoying an end of season pint outside of the Evening Star.
Great trip. But next time, if there is one, I'm stopping in the boozer. | | | BRIGHTON CAMRA | | 
WITHDEAN STADIUM | | 
LOCALBREWERY
The Dark Star Brewing Co. Ltd
22 Star Road
Partridge Green
West Sussex
RH13 8RA
Tel: 01403 713085
www.darkstarbrewing.co.uk/ | | WETHERSPOONS
The Bright Helm 20-22a West Street Brighton BN1 2RE Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
The West Quay Brighton Marina Village Brighton BN2 5UT Opening Times: Sun-Thu 9am-midnight; Fri/Sat 9am-1am
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