Brighton Pubs: The Best Pubs and Where to Drink

If you want the pubs with the strongest public record, start with the Watchmaker’s Arms in Hove and Haus on the Hill in Hanover, both honoured in CAMRA’s 2026 branch awards. Then come the Prince Albert, one of only two Brighton pubs with a three-star historic interior, and the Cricketers, which dates itself to 1547. Every entry was checked against the pub’s own website on 24 October 2026.

We have not drunk at these pubs for this guide, and nothing here is a review. Each entry sets out what the pub says about itself and what it publishes about hours, food and booking. It then adds what the public record shows: awards and heritage listings from the Campaign for Real Ale (CAMRA) and the Food Standards Agency hygiene rating. All 14 hold the top hygiene rating of 5.

CAMRA’s 2026 award winners

Watchmaker’s Arms, Goldstone Villas, Hove

The Watchmaker’s Arms calls itself “Brighton and Hove’s first micropub”. It opened on 1 May 2015 and has no music, TV or games machines. CAMRA’s listing says the shop was a watchmaker’s in 1889, hence the clocks on the walls. The pub brews its own beer on a 100-litre kit, and serves five cask ales from a cool room plus four to six ciders. The Brighton and South Downs CAMRA branch made it runner-up for Pub of the Year 2026. Closed Monday. Tuesday to Thursday noon to 2pm and 5pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 10pm, Sunday noon to 5pm. Dogs welcome, according to CAMRA. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 6 June 2018). 84 Goldstone Villas, Hove BN3 3RU, 200 metres from Hove station. Our listing.

Haus on the Hill, Southover Street

Haus on the Hill describes itself as “a large busy pub” in the heart of Hanover with more than 20 draught lines, including German lagers and wheat beers, and at least one gluten-free and one alcohol-free beer on tap. CAMRA’s branch highly commended it in its Pub of the Year 2026 awards. Pub classics are served Monday to Friday 5pm to 9pm and Saturday from noon; Sunday roasts run noon to 6pm and the pub recommends booking. Open Monday 3pm to 10pm, Tuesday to Thursday 3pm to 11pm, Friday 3pm to midnight, Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 10pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 13 December 2018). 58 Southover Street, BN2 9UF. Our listing.

The Foghorn, Boundary Road, Hove

The Foghorn is a micropub that Tommy, Niall and Tim opened in December 2018 in a former bank on the Hove and Portslade border. It sells only independently made beer, cider and wine, and has no electronic entertainment. Its site lists CAMRA branch Pub of the Year 2024. The branch named it runner-up for Cider and Perry Pub of the Year 2026. CAMRA says up to six real ciders are on, with full access to the building and toilets. Closed Monday. Tuesday to Thursday 2pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 10pm, Sunday noon to 6pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 2 April 2026). 55 Boundary Road, Hove BN3 4EF. Our listing.

Real ale pubs by the station and in Kemp Town

The Evening Star, Surrey Street

The Evening Star, a short walk below Brighton station, calls itself “Brighton’s Original Ale House” and says it has poured ale on Surrey Street since 1854. It was once home to Dark Star Brewery and is now an independent free house. It keeps seven cask beers, three still ciders and twelve keg taps. Two Wolves Vegan Kitchen runs the food: Sunday to Thursday 4pm to 9pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 9pm. CAMRA notes it takes cards only. Open Monday to Thursday noon to 11pm, Friday noon to midnight, Saturday 11am to midnight, Sunday noon to 11pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 10 April 2024). 55-56 Surrey Street, BN1 3PB. Our listing.

The Lord Nelson Inn, Trafalgar Street

The Lord Nelson is a Harvey’s pub that describes itself as “a classic, unspoiled back street local”, under the bridge from Brighton station. CAMRA says the building dates from 1848, took the Lord Nelson name in 1854 and was bought by Harvey’s in 1980. It serves the full Harvey’s range, with a quiz on Tuesdays and an acoustic night on the first Monday of the month. Open Monday to Saturday noon to 11pm and Sunday noon to 10pm. Food runs Monday noon to 8pm, Tuesday to Saturday noon to 9pm and Sunday noon to 6pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 13 June 2025). 36 Trafalgar Street, BN1 4ED. Our listing.

The Mitre Tavern, Baker Street

The Mitre Tavern stands on the corner of Baker Street and Kingsbury Road. Its own history says it has served the area since the mid-19th century, and its name comes from the mitre joint: the first known landlord was a wheelwright. CAMRA says new managers took over in March 2025 and returned it to a traditional Harvey’s ale pub, with pizzas, a real fire and a quiz on the last Thursday of the month. Children until 8pm and dogs are welcome, CAMRA says. Open Monday 11am to 11pm, Tuesday to Thursday 11am to 10pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to 11pm, Sunday noon to 9pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 11 September 2026). 13 Baker Street, BN1 4JN. Our listing.

Hand in Hand, Upper St James’s Street, Kemp Town

The Hand in Hand is the home pub of Hand Brew Co, which took it over in 2015 and calls it “an incredible community corner boozer”. CAMRA describes a small brew pub with a tower brewery over four floors at the back, formerly the Kemptown Brewery. Food can be ordered in from local takeaways, and there is a Toad in the Hole table. Open Monday to Saturday noon to midnight, Sunday noon to 11.30pm, according to CAMRA. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 5 September 2024). 33 Upper St James’s Street, BN2 1JN. Our listing.

Historic interiors in the city centre

CAMRA keeps a National Inventory of pub interiors that have survived largely unaltered for at least 50 years, graded by stars. These five are on it.

The Prince Albert, Trafalgar Street

The Prince Albert is a three-storey pub built in 1860 as a hotel for the station. CAMRA rates its interior three stars, “outstanding national historic importance”, for a five-room layout and a 1930s bar counter. A 1936 Tamplins Brewery plan hangs in the smoking room. CAMRA also notes the Banksy “kissing policemen” image on the wall outside. It is a live music venue upstairs. It no longer has a kitchen, but you can bring your own food. Open Sunday to Thursday noon to midnight, Friday and Saturday noon to 12.30am. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 28 March 2024). 48 Trafalgar Street, BN1 4ED. Our listing.

The Cricketers, Black Lion Street

The Cricketers says it “dates back as far as 1547 making it the oldest pub in Brighton”, with red velvet seating and framed prints on the walls and ceiling. It is Grade II listed. CAMRA rates the interior two stars: landlord Robert Pitt refitted it in 1886, and his etched glass and bar back survive. Upstairs, the Greene Room is named after Graham Greene, author of Brighton Rock. Its homepage lists opening hours of Monday to Thursday noon to 11pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 2am, and Sunday noon to 10.30pm. Hygiene rating 5 for the kitchen (FSA, 3 September 2025). 15 Black Lion Street, BN1 1ND. Our listing.

The Quadrant, North Street

The Quadrant opened in 1864 and faces the Clock Tower. It calls itself “a quirky independent Brighton boozer”, with local craft beer and live music in the Folklore Rooms upstairs. The building is Grade II listed. CAMRA gives the wedge-shaped interior two stars for its Victorian counter and carved bar back, and notes the pub no longer serves cask beer. Open Monday and Tuesday noon to 11pm, Wednesday and Thursday noon to midnight, Friday noon to 2am, Saturday 11am to 2am, and Sunday noon to 10pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 31 January 2022). 12-13 North Street, BN1 3GJ. Our listing.

The Victory, Duke Street

The Victory calls itself “a classic Brighton pub in every sense” and one of the city’s oldest. CAMRA gives it one star and singles out the two-tone green tiled frontage of about 1910 by Tamplin’s brewery. A roundel over the door shows Nelson’s flagship. It belongs to the Laine Pub Company. The Silk Route kitchen serves food Monday to Thursday noon to 8pm, Friday and Saturday noon to 10pm, and Sunday noon to 6pm. The pub has opened a new courtyard beer garden called Abaft. Open daily from 11am, until midnight, and until 2am on Friday and Saturday. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 10 June 2026). 6 Duke Street, BN1 1AH. Our listing.

The Basketmakers Arms, Gloucester Road

The Basketmakers describes itself as “an award-winning traditional British pub” in North Laine, with seafood specials and Sunday roasts. CAMRA gives it one star for a two-room layout dating from at least 1959. It also notes the walls of old tobacco tins, which hold messages left by customers. Eight handpumps serve beers from the Fuller’s, Gales and Dark Star range. Children are welcome until 8pm and well-behaved dogs on leads are welcome too, according to its contact page. Bookings are for diners only. Open Monday to Thursday 11am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to midnight, and Sunday noon to 11pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 23 March 2026). 12 Gloucester Road, BN1 4AD. Our listing.

Out of the centre

The Plough Inn, Rottingdean

The Plough sits beside the village pond and green in Rottingdean. It says it dates back to the 1840s and still has some of its original flint walls, and that it is “child and dog friendly”. CAMRA gives its 1930s interior one star for the linenfold panelling on the counter, the bar back and the walls. Chef Phil Bartley runs the kitchen, and the pub recommends booking for Sunday roasts. Tables of more than eight should call 01273 390635. Open Monday to Saturday noon to 11pm and Sunday noon to 10.30pm; food runs Monday to Saturday noon to 9pm and Sunday noon to 7pm. Hygiene rating 5 (FSA, 16 November 2017). Vicarage Lane, Rottingdean BN2 7HD. Our listing.

Ladies Mile, Patcham

Ladies Mile was built in 1935 as the Ladies Mile Hotel, the centrepiece of a new Patcham housing estate. CAMRA gives the interior one star for its Moderne bar counter and an illuminated six-sided glass canopy above the bar. It names the architect as Arthur Packham. CAMRA says the name comes from the old drove road between Patcham and Stanmer, popular with women riders in the late 19th century. The pub also has a separate function hall. Its website gives opening hours of Monday to Thursday 11am to 11pm, Friday and Saturday 11am to midnight, and Sunday noon to 10pm. Food is served from midday, until 6pm on Sundays. Hygiene rating 5 for the kitchen (FSA, 31 July 2025). Mackie Avenue, Patcham BN1 8RA. Our listing.

How we chose

This is a list of the pubs people search for, chosen on records anyone can check rather than on taste. We started with the Brighton and South Downs CAMRA branch’s 2026 awards. Its overall Pub of the Year, Signalbox, and the highly commended Brewers Arms are outside the city, in Burgess Hill and Lewes, so they are not here. We added the Brighton and Hove pubs on CAMRA’s National Inventory of historic interiors, and the long-standing real ale pubs CAMRA’s branch describes. Two National Inventory pubs are left out. The Colonnade Bar next to the Theatre Royal (two stars) publishes no website of its own. The Pump House in The Lanes (one star) has a website that blocked our check. Nothing rated below 3 by the Food Standards Agency was considered.

We checked every pub’s own website on 24 October 2026 for hours, food, booking rules and any closure notice. Where a pub’s site does not publish something, the detail comes from its CAMRA listing, and we say so. Hygiene ratings come from the FSA register on the same day. Hours change, especially in winter, so check with the pub before you go.

For more ideas, see the best restaurants in Brighton, things to do in Brighton and what’s on in Brighton this month. Every pub in the city is in our Brighton business directory.

Run a pub that should be here, or spot something that has changed? Email newsdesk@brightontimes.co.uk.

Frequently asked questions

Which Brighton pubs won CAMRA awards in 2026?

The Brighton and South Downs branch of CAMRA named the Watchmaker’s Arms in Hove runner-up for Pub of the Year 2026 and highly commended for cider. Haus on the Hill in Hanover was highly commended, and The Foghorn on Boundary Road, Hove, was runner-up for Cider and Perry Pub of the Year. The overall winner, Signalbox, is in Burgess Hill.

What is the oldest pub in Brighton?

The Cricketers on Black Lion Street says it dates back to 1547 and calls itself the oldest pub in Brighton. CAMRA’s listing says a pub has stood on the site since then and that its bar fittings survive largely unchanged since 1886.

Which Brighton pubs allow dogs?

The Basketmakers Arms welcomes well-behaved dogs on leads and keeps water bowls. The Plough Inn in Rottingdean says it is child and dog friendly. CAMRA lists the Watchmaker’s Arms, The Foghorn, the Hand in Hand and the Mitre Tavern as dog friendly.