Best Pubs in Brighton: Where to Drink by Area and Occasion

Start Here: The Basketmakers Arms, North Laine

If you only have time for one pub in central Brighton, make it The Basketmakers Arms on Gloucester Road in North Laine. It is a traditional corner pub with a genuinely cosy interior, an excellent range of cask ales kept well, and a menu that champions freshly caught seafood specials alongside proper Sunday roasts. It is family and dog friendly, which matters if you are in a group with mixed needs.

The room is small, so the atmosphere is the point rather than a drawback — but it does mean weekend evenings fill fast and you may be standing. Book a table if you want to eat, especially for Sunday lunch when roasts anchor the menu. Arrive earlier in the afternoon if you want a seat and a slower pint.

Best for a Proper Sunday Roast: The Better Half, Hove

The Better Half sits on Hove Place, a pebble's throw from Hove seafront, and it is the pick when the roast is the reason you are going out rather than an afterthought. The pub pushes its Sunday roast and takes reservations for it, serves local and seasonal food cooked in-house, and welcomes dogs of all sizes — useful if you have walked the promenade first. It is also the friendlier choice for anyone staying in Hove rather than central Brighton.

The catch is timing. The Better Half is closed on Mondays, opens at 5pm on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, from midday Thursday to Saturday, and midday to 8.30pm on Sunday, so a Monday roast plan falls flat. Book ahead for Sunday and check the kitchen times on the day, since last orders are not published on the site.

The Better Half rewards a walk-then-pint plan: promenade first, dog in tow, then a table booked for the afternoon. If you want to widen the roast search beyond Hove, compare the roasts across the city before committing, because the best Sunday roast in Brighton is a moving target depending on which kitchen is on form and whether you can get a table.

Best for a Booked Table Before a Match or a Train

The Mitre Tavern and The Lewes Road Inn both belong to the independent Good Times Pubs & Bars group, which runs community pubs across Brighton, Hove, Portslade and Worthing. Their appeal is practical: online table booking through the group's site, so you can reserve before a match or a train rather than gambling on a walk-in. The group also runs The Basketmakers Arms and The Constant Service in Brighton, so you can hop between them without changing operator.

Book through the group's online widget and you get a confirmed table instead of a hopeful queue at the bar. These are straightforward locals rather than destination dining, so treat them as the reliable pint stop around a fixture or a journey, not the centrepiece of an evening.

Weekend Crowds in North Laine

The trade-off in North Laine is weekend crowding. Saturday afternoon is lively but slow at the bar, and groups of six or more should book or split up rather than try to hold one table on a walk-in. If you want more space and a quieter start, look at the beer garden options first.

Best for an Away-From-the-Crowds Local: Hove and Portslade

When you want a seat, a conversation and no scrum, head west. The Good Times group runs The Poets Ale & Smokehouse and The Stirling Arms in Hove and The Railway Inn in Portslade, all community pubs rather than visitor magnets. The Stirling Arms also has modern guest rooms above the pub, which makes it a sensible base if you would rather sleep where you drink and take the bus or train into central Brighton.

Portslade is a short train hop or a longer bus ride from the centre, so this is a deliberate choice rather than a stroll. The payoff is quieter evenings and easier tables, and the guest rooms mean you can turn a pint into an overnight without moving. Book the room and the table separately and early if you are coming on a weekend.

Hove or Central Brighton: Choosing Where to Drink and Stay

Central Brighton puts you within walking distance of North Laine, and it is where the energy is at weekends. Hove is calmer, closer to the seafront, and better for a roast-led Sunday; the promenade walk to The Better Half is part of the appeal. The two are linked by frequent buses along the coast road and by trains between Brighton and Hove stations, so you are not stranded either way.

For a first visit, stay central and day-trip west; for a weekend built around food and a seafront walk, base yourself in Hove. For the named pubs and food stops with a guide of their own, see Brighton pubs and food landmarks.

Sunday Lunch and Kitchen Timing

Sunday is the day to book, not to wander. The Basketmakers Arms makes a point of traditional roasts on Sundays, and The Better Half takes reservations specifically for its Sunday roast — both reward a bit of forward planning. Roasts sell down through the afternoon, so an early sitting gives you the best choice.

Kitchen hours are the detail most people get wrong. Pubs that open all afternoon may still close the kitchen between lunch and dinner, and the only reliable source is the pub itself, so ring ahead or check the menu page on the day. If you want the fuller picture of where to eat a roast in the city, the best Sunday roast in Brighton guide goes deeper on the competition.

Dog-Friendly Pubs in Brighton and Hove

Two of the strongest options are openly dog friendly. The Better Half welcomes dogs of all shapes and sizes and even has its own golden retriever, Charlie, wandering the pub — fitting, given it is a short walk from Hove seafront and the promenade. The Basketmakers Arms also welcomes dogs, which makes it a good stop if you are crossing North Laine with a dog in tow.

Practical rules vary by pub, so keep the dog on a lead, ask before settling at a table, and avoid the busiest Saturday slots. Hove is the easier side of the city for a walk-and-pint day; North Laine is better for a quick stop between shops.

Budget and Occasion: Quick Pint, Long Lunch, Group Booking

For a quick pint, pick by location and skip the food: a Good Times pub booked online or The Basketmakers Arms at an off-peak hour both work. For a long lunch, The Better Half in Hove gives you a proper table, a seasonal menu and no rush. For a group, book and split across rooms — North Laine pubs are small, and a party of eight will not find an easy walk-in on a Saturday.

Prices are the one thing to check rather than assume. Menus and pricing change with the seasons, so look at each pub's own menu before you budget, and remember that a cask ale pint and a seafood main are two separate spends.

What to Order: Cask Ale and Seafood Specials

Brighton's pubs take cask ale seriously. The Basketmakers Arms keeps an excellent range of well-kept cask ales and also carries a small wine list and a broad selection of single malts, so there is something for the non-beer drinker in the group. Ask what is on and how fresh it is — a well-kept cask pint is the whole reason to choose a pub over a bar.

Food-wise, the seafood specials at The Basketmakers Arms are the signature, with the menu leaning on freshly caught fish; The Better Half goes for local and seasonal cooking with its own twist. If you want the food to be the main event rather than the accompaniment, the best pub food Brighton guide is the place to compare kitchens.

The Trade-Offs: Crowds, Quiet Evenings and Monday Closures

North Laine is rammed on Saturday nights and slow at the bar, which is fine if you are staying local and frustrating if you have one evening only. Hove is quieter in the evenings, and quieter still in Portslade, with the trade-off being a bus or train back into town. Plan the crawl around the quiet side if you are with people who hate crowds.

Monday is the trap: The Better Half is closed, and other pubs often run reduced hours at the start of the week, so check before you set out. On busy weekends, ringing ahead or booking online is the difference between a table and a doorway pint. For more options, best pubs in Cambridge and best pubs in Birmingham are covered separately.

Which Brighton Pub Should You Book First?

Book The Better Half for a Sunday roast if you are staying in Hove, and The Basketmakers Arms for a cask ale and seafood special if you are in North Laine. Book a Good Times pub online around your journey, and save Hove and Portslade for when you want a quieter evening.

Decide by the day you are going, not by a ranking: a Monday rules out one of the best options entirely, and a Saturday evening rules out walk-in seats in the smallest rooms. Check the pub's own site for the current menu and kitchen times before you travel, then book the table — the best pint in Brighton is the one you are not queuing for.