Every Pub in Brighton #59-63
Entry twelve is here! This edition sees visits to more pubs, including a firm favourite and a redo of a pub I was too drunk to remember visiting the first time around.
#59 // The Fitz Regent
Address: 7-8 Castle Square, Brighton BN1 1FX
Date visited: February 2023
I visited The Fitz Regent after watching some semi-pro football as my pal and Friend of the Voyage, Chris, was in town and invited me to watch his beloved Beckenham Town do battle with local team Whitehawk FC at the brilliantly named The Enclosed Ground. We called into Brighton Bier’s taproom (#25) ahead of the game as the stadium is near(ish) and had a few pre-match beverages. Lower league football is great entertainment - the level of football varies from surprisingly decent to comical, and there is lots of friendly banter between players and fans during the game (and afterwards in the clubhouse). We (well, mainly Chris) had given Whitehawk’s goalkeeper a lot of stick during the game, and they laughed about it afterwards as Whitehawk ended up winning 1-0. Hilariously, that goalkeeper now plays for Beckenham.
Anyway, after the match, we headed back to the city centre. As our taxi dropped us at the bottom of North Street, it was inevitable that we would go to The Fitz Regent, as it was the closest pub and needed to be ticked off the list.
Upon entering the pub, I had a faint sense of deja vu but couldn’t put my finger on why at first. It felt oddly familiar, at least in its layout. After a quick Google, I realised why - this pub used to be called The Royal Pavilion Tavern (or Pav Tav as it’s known colloquially). I had been here many years ago for a friend’s birthday where we sank lots of cheap beer before heading upstairs to a club night. Back then, it was a standard Pub Co. pub (if you’d been to any Mitchell & Butler pub from 2000-2010, you’d know the decor), but after re-opening as The Fitz Regent, it’s been given a facelift - and seemingly all of the light fixtures in Brighton. I recall there being so much lighting in there with various ceiling lights, lamps along the walls, the back bar being lit up like a beacon, and even the bar had underlighting! It was a bit jarring coming from the football and also explained why I couldn’t recognise the place from before. It’s also been kitted out with new furniture, and the upper walls and ceiling have been colour drenched to give it a more modern and upmarket feel. I wasn’t feeling the faux opulence. It’s a perfectly serviceable pub, but it is on a road that straddles North Laine and The Lanes, which have an abundance of better pubs that don’t have Big Light energy.
I had a pretty middling pint of Punk IPA as some of Chris’s friends joined us before I had to head off and meet my wife for dinner (via a pub first, naturally).
#60 // Old Albion
Website // Instagram
Address: 110 Church Road, Hove, BN3 2EB
Date visited: February 2023
Located pretty much bang in the centre of Hove is Old Albion. It is another Laine pub, but this one heavily focuses on gin, calling itself a ‘gin palace’. An old gin is still in the corner helps remind you of that. They boast over 20 gins on offer alongside the usual Laine offerings, some macro beers and a few craft choices. I paid an eye-watering £7.35 for a pint of Everyday Pale by Jiddler’s Tipple. It’s a fine enough beer, but I probably would’ve chosen something else had I spotted the price before ordering.
The pub itself was refurbished several years ago (formerly The Albion Inn) and has that shabby chic thing going on with lots of gold paint used to maximise the palatial feel. The entire pub has been opened up, so it feels quite airy and welcoming when you first enter - it’s deceptively large with the back of the pub opening into a larger dining area with plenty of tables. In saying that, the beer garden is one of the smaller ones I’ve been to in Brighton.
The first time I visited, it was completely rammed, but the atmosphere was quite buzzy. We struggled to find a seat for a while before pitching up on a small table near the bar, so we were right in the middle of the action, enjoying the vibes.
The second time I visited was an early afternoon when it was the opposite and the bar was almost entirely empty. We sat in the beer garden as the sun was out and managed to sit at the one end still getting some sun action. A large group joined not long after and sort of took over the rest of the garden so it felt like we were intruding in a private gathering. We moved on not long after.
I didn’t see the food options, but checking their website, it looks like they are currently between food providers. I imagine it’s quite a fun place to have a meal and work your way through the gin menu for an evening.
#61 // The Roundhill
Website // Instagram
Address: 100 Ditchling Rd, Brighton, BN1 4SG
Date visited: February 2023
Located on Ditchling Road, not far from London Road station, is The Roundhill. This pub offers a 100% plant-based menu and the food is definitely the main attraction here.
We visited after a friend had run the Brighton Half Marathon (hi Maddie!) for some post-run scran. Said friend is also vegan, so it was a no-brainer to come to The Roundhill for a vegan Sunday roast. I had the seitan roast ‘beef’, which was delicious, and all the trimmings were equally as good. The only item I could tell was vegan was the Yorkshire pudding - it had a consistency closer to a doughnut than a yorkie; a little jarring at first, but not a complaint. The menu for the rest of the week looks just as good with plant-based burgers, curries and shawarma on offer.
The pub itself is small but very cosy and the staff were very welcoming and friendly. There are two bigger seating areas at the front and rear - the front offering lots of light from the large windows and a darker, more secluded spot at the rear for a more intimate feel. As well as this there is seating outside which must get heaps of sun in the summer. It was quite windy on our visit so we settled into the front of the pub for food.
Beer-wise is a rotating offering across 2 cask and 7 keg lines from both local and national craft breweries. I had a great pale from Gun Brewery that went incredibly well with a roast.
We don’t often venture up around London Road so I’m yet to revisit but am very keen to after reminding myself about this little charmer of a pub.
#62 // The Basketmakers Arms
Website // Instagram
Address: 12 Gloucester Rd, Brighton, BN1 4AD
Date visited: March 2023
You can probably guess where The Basketmakers gets its name from. The building was a basket making workshop in the 19th century before the owner started selling beer to subsidise the business until the demand for beer outweighed the demand for baskets and it became a pub in its own right. It still has has that backstreet, neighbourhood boozer vibe today despite being very close to the station and near to lots of other food and drink establishments in North Laine.
The pub’s bar sprawls across two rooms, one slightly larger meant for food. I really like the smaller section where you are often hemmed in and end up chatting to your table neighbours as seating is at a premium. The walls are adorned with lots of breweriana which is fun to read and admire but my favourite thing are the myriad of vintage tobacco tins affixed to the walls. Opening one up reveals a mixture of handwritten notes left by previous patrons ranging from the profound to profanity. You are encouraged to add your own musings as you see fit.
The pub is owned by Fuller’s but is tenanted by Good Times Pub Co. who manage the day-to-day. Part of the deal must involve still stocking Fuller’s beers which are here in abundance with your requisite London Pride found alongside HSB, ESB and Seafarer’s. The keg options are decent too with Lost & Grounded and Burning Sky often on offer. The food on offer is your pub classics - ham, egg & chips, fish & chips, burger, pie and sausage & mash to name a few. The bangers and mash come well recommended from me and my friends regularly rave about the Sunday roast.
I love this pub. I have several good memories of this place - my favourite is the time we were due to go to a beer festival that was cancelled last minute due to bad weather (These Hills 2024). Undeterred, my friends and I did a pub crawl around Brighton instead and ended up at The Basketmakers for a nightcap. Four more pints later and a(nother) shot of Tuaca meant that we left feeling extremely merry and had (almost) forgotten about the disappointment of the beer festival cancellation.
A great pub, well worth a visit!
#63 // The Walrus
Website // Instagram
Address: 10 Ship Street, Brighton, BN1 1AD
Date visited: March 2023
I had actually been to The Walrus several months prior to this (see EPIB #36-40) but I was too drunk to really take any real notice of what was going on. I vaguely recall there being multiple bars, multiple floors and being sat on a bench with some faux grass flooring but it was all a bit of a blur so I needed to revisit.
I righted the wrong a few months later when I visited The Walrus sober. No wonder I was confused - this pub boasts four floors and a rooftop garden!
The ground floor is where you’ll find the pub itself. Classic traditional pub vibes. Up some steps takes you to room called ‘The Hideaway’ that can be rented out for private events or you can hole up in there to escape the din from the main bar. The next floor holds a large dining room that can fit up to 70 people. I did not go here on either visit but it looks very spacious and welcoming. I did go to the Carpenters Lounge cocktail bar on this floor though. Shots were had. There’s also an entire club called ‘The Tusk Club’ on another floor that can host parties, DJ nights, cabaret and comedy.
Lastly there is a two-storey roof garden with the aforementioned faux grass flooring. I remembered! There is a bar and long benches in the main area with a balcony around the top offering additional seating. The roof is partly glass allowing the sun to shine into the roof garden which is probably very pleasant on a sunny day. We visited late at night so it was a bit of a different vibe.
This pub is owned by Portobello Brewery who also own Lion & Lobster (see EPIB #21-25) - maybe it’s a prerequisite that all of their Brighton pubs have quirky multi-floored layouts?
Beer options are decent with local cask options alongside Portobello’s own beers as well as some regional keg choices - I had a great pint of 360° Brewery’s Sussex Haze here on my 2nd visit. Who knows what I drank the first time.
The Walrus is a modern day city centre maze. Definitely a good option for large groups owing to all of the floors you can spread out over. Labyrinthian!
