Eating, drinking and dancing
We've tracked down the best cafés for people-watching, the bars with the coolest cocktails, the most accomplished restaurants and the liveliest local nightlife in Brighton.
Restaurants
Hotel du Vin & Bistro
This sea-green castle is in the heart of the Lanes in Brighton, a stroll from the seafront, and has a fantastic restaurant. The waiters can be relied on to recommend the most delicious complement to what is always an exceptional French-bistro-style meal, and with due consideration for your budget.
Ship Street, Brighton BN1 1AD
(+44 (0)1273 718588)
Seven Dials
Housed in a former bank, this fine-dining restaurant on Buckingham Place in Brighton has a seasonal à la carte menu that rotates every six weeks, featuring fresh produce from Sussex and Kent.
1 Buckingham Place, Seven Dials, Brighton BN1 3TD
(+44 (0)1273 885555)
The Gingerman
The Mod Euro cuisine at this intimate restaurant on Brighton’s Norfolk Square is among the city’s most acclaimed.
21a Norfolk Square, Brighton BN1 2PD
(+44 (0)1273 326688)
The Gingerman at Drakes
Located within Drakes Hotel, this restaurant, like its sister establishment in town, has excellent Mod Euro cuisine. There’s also a chef’s table, where diners can opt for a five-course tasting menu.
43–44 Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1PE
(+44 (0)1273 696934)
Due South
This fantastic seafront restaurant, nestled between the arches by the beach, has a seasonal menu of Sussex’s best regional produce, including oysters, lamb and sea bass, complemented by some excellent organic and bio-dynamic wines. New World labels are shunned in favour of bottles from our Continental neighbours to minimise food (or rather wine) miles. Definitely earmark Due South for at least one visit: it’s open for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
139 Kings Road Arches, Brighton BN1 2FN
(+44 (0)1273 821218)
Blanch House
This hotel has a fantastic, intimate restaurant, with seasonal à la carte and tasting menus, and chic little cocktail bar. Book ahead.
17 Atlingworth Street, Brighton BN2 1PL
(+44 (0)1273 603504)
Cafés
Jack & Linda Mills
For a fishy lunch on Brighton’s pebbly beach in summer, head to this traditional fish-smoking shack on the seafront, still run by the eponymous Jack and Linda. You’ll get addictive homemade fish soup and the best grilled-mackerel sandwiches imaginable, for under £3; perfect with a squeeze of lemon.
197 Kings Road Arches, Brighton BN1
Bill’s Produce Store
This deli-cum-café meets organic greengrocer is fantastic for a hearty and healthy lunch, which is just as well since browsing its shelves is bound to whet the appetite. Among the bottles of Tuscan olive oil, home-made marmalade and fresh-cut flowers, you can pick from a plentiful menu of soups, salads and sandwiches, all made to make your mouth water. We love to wash down our boiled eggs and soldiers with a Bloody Mary… There’s a branch in Lewes, too (www.billsproducestore.co.uk).
100 North Road, Brighton, East Sussex BN1 1YE
(+44 (0)1273 692894)
Bars and clubs
Pintxo People
This bar, deli and restaurant serves excellent tapas and modern Spanish cuisine alongside a good selection of sherries and cavas, and had the critics raving soon after it opened. It’s Brighton’s best recent addition by a long shot.
95 Western Road, Brighton BN1 2LB
(+44 (0)1273 732323)
Joogleberry Playhouse
Find out what’s on here for an entire night of entertainment, kicking off with mouthwatering tapas at affordable prices; downstairs is a cabaret bar that offers live entertainment nightly, in jazz-club environs. See up-to-date listings at www.joogleberry.com.
14–17 Manchester Street, Brighton BN2 1TF
(+44 (0)1273 687171)
Concorde 2
Head here for excellent club nights and live bands; check current listings at www.concorde2.co.uk.
Madeira Shelter Hall, Madeira Drive, Brighton BN2 1EN
(+44 (0)1273 673311)
Audio
Cool bar and club venue attracting a young, energetic crowd, with seating that positively encourages mingling and a restaurant for pre-dance dining. Music ranges from soul to break beats.
10 Marine Parade, Brighton BN2 1TL
(+44 (0)1273 697775)
Ocean Rooms
Great dance-music club on three floors, incorporating the Social Club (all-white cocktail lounge), the Live Lounge (red-hued cabaret room), and the Funktion Suite (industrial basement bar and dance floor). Oh, and there’s a restaurant, too.
1 Morley Street, Brighton BN2 9RA
(+44 (0)1273 699069)
The Hanbury Club
Saturday nights are Supper Club nights at this beautifully restored music hall that revels in its swingin’ 1930s glamour. You can sit yourself down on the Philippe Starck furniture and dine fine while you soak up a soundtrack of well-programmed live jazz and Latin music (www.thehanburyclub.com).
83 St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1EF
(+44 (0)1273 605789)