There’s nothing better than a sunny day spent in a beer garden. From elegant Italian terraces to classic pub lawns to arty, party gardens, here’s our pick of Brighton’s best boozy sun traps. (Click the headings to check out their websites!)
1. Hobgoblin
One of Brighton’s largest and most popular beer gardens featuring long banquet style tables, heated booths and a lively atmosphere. The Hobgoblin is a favourite for students, attracting a crowd comprised of all alternative scenes.
It’s an arty, homey, unpretentious haven with a not so secret weapon: it’s massive beer garden that’s adorned with alternative murals and graffiti. Sit out in the sun and enjoy street burgers, great music and a relaxed, refreshing vibe.
Inside, you’ll find a warm, inviting boozer, with that typical pub atmosphere. In the evening it gets even cosier, as the pub is dimly lit by candles upon each table, creating a warming ambience with just a hint of the gothic.
If you needed anymore convincing, the booths have a screen build into the table to play classic retro arcade games, so you can progressively get worse at Pac-man as the night goes on.
2. Sidewinder
Located in the heart of Kemptown, Sidewinder has not one but TWO gardens where you can bask in the sun, shelter under a heat lamp or curl up on a sofa. Offering a mean roast, it’s the dream week-end afternoon pub.
Animated, bohemian and most importantly, well stocked in the beer department, Sidewinder is a great choice for your Sunday afternoon. As you enter the building you’ll notice it’s striking décor, with numerous incredible art pieces; the interior exuding a real sense of individuality.
Miss-matched furniture, many curiosities and oddities on display and in-consistent wall paper all contribute to it’s avant-garde flair.
It has all the benefits of your typical pub and with a beer garden; the good food, including good roasts, a hefty selection of craft beers and ales, good service and friendly bar staff. Add on top it’s quirky atmosphere and you have the perfect Brightonian pub!
3. Neighbourhood
Neighbourhood may not be a pub, but it’s gorgeous 100 ft sun trap is a glorious space to soak up sun and enjoy a cold one with delicious vegan food.
Tucked away at the back of one of Brighton’s most colourful bars, it’s somehow a combination of vibrant and relaxing. From it’s neon furniture to it’s BBQ, this lush, green and spirited garden is the perfect place to eat drink and be merry.
The interior tips it’s hat to Brooklyn dive bars with an intriguing collection of customised vintage industrial pieces, and worn antiquities. Praised for their mouth-watering burgers and reasonable prices, it’s the epitome of the British Summer dream
4. Fortune of War
Fortune of War has an advantage in the beer garden stakes: it’s outdoors area extends on to the biggest beer garden of them all, Brighton Beach! The nautical themed Brighton icon opened it’s doors in 1882 and it’s garden attracts flocks of sun worshippers to it’s tables and to it’s signature frozen Margaritas. On summers days the unparalleled atmosphere epitomises Brighton Beach. It’s got to be on your Brighton bucket list.
Nothing beats ice cold drinks in the sun, and with the majesty of the sea at your doorstep, this entry on the list truly cant be beat.
5. Black Lion
In the heart of of The Lanes, sits the Black Lion; a small pub with a lot of energy. It’s well loved, dynamic garden boasts a great day time and late night atmosphere. Expect outdoor live music and top DJs spinning anything they can get their hands on as long as it’s keeping people happy and dancing.
This fun garden is adorned with fairy lights and brightly coloured benches. Go to sample the biggest selection of Bloody Mary’s in the City including their ‘Satan’s Breath’ and ‘Fluffy Clouds’. Not content to simply be another cosy gastro pub, The Black Lion’s inviting atmosphere changes as the evening creeps in on the weekends.
Transforming into a lively bar, this pub has it all catering to those that want to sit and drink in a relaxed space on the weekdays, and turning into a party haven come Saturday and Sunday. Their Roasts are highly regarded, often drawing waves of table bookings and their ample selection of craft ales and beers will sate even the pickiest of hipsters.
6. Bistro Pub & Gardens
A real hidden-gem, Bistro Pub & Gardens is something completely different. It’s a stylish Hove restaurant with an equally elegant pub garden. Having undergone a refurbishment ten years ago, it’s a beautifully presented space providing a slice of peace and tranquillity, owing to its serene atmosphere.
The Italian garden is expansive and mature and adds to the delightful terrace to the front of the pub. Picturesque gardens are ideal for whiling away an afternoon or for sampling some beautifully presented cuisine. Showcasing beautifully crafted meals, with Vegan, Vegetarian and Gluten free options a-plenty, this restaurant is a little piece of heaven on English soil.
With the option of dining in the restaurant, the titillating Flower Bar or the Garden, there’s no shortage of option of where to enjoy your meal. Each setting a different ambiance
7. The Connaught
The Connaught in Hove is a proper pub with a proper pub garden to boot. It’s a lush, green space, the perfect place to head for a long Sunday lunch. The menu is British inspired and made from the best organic meats, vegetables and the freshest locally landed fish they can get their hands on.
They even have Pie Thursday’s! You couldn’t appeal to us pie loving Brits more. Their garden is particularly cosy as the night draw in, with cosy, well-lit, wooden hutches to enjoy your drinks in.
The Connaught is child friendly with a special children’s menu which makes it an ideal family day out. Every weekend, weather permitting, the pub sets up a BBQ on it’s lawns.
8. The George Payne Pub
A warm spacious beer garden in an equally warm and welcoming pub. Widely praised for an amazing ambience which the positively gorgeous garden has a lot to do with. This friendly cider and ale house serves traditional British food as well as an extensive wine list.
It’s Front Terrace, makes for an equally relaxed vibe, echoing the quintessentially British platitude of a good evening. Sunny in the Summer, you’re only worry will be the classic British experience of keeping wasps away from your alcoholic beverage.
Its outside area has been lovingly put together to create charming space which strikes a perfect balance between grown up style and lush garden fantasy. Now featuring “a stretch-tent roof, festoon lighting and lovely, heated cabins for a cosy retreat in the evenings.” They’ve stopped nothing short of all out in providing the best outside space to drink imaginable.
It also has a delightful children’s area for the young’uns to romp and play, while the adults talk about adult things, such as that ludicrous display last night or the latest workplace/ family gossip.
9. Hare and Hounds
Brighton’s first brewery fresh pub is the latest jewel in London Road’s developing crown. It’s leafy, piney garden is full of heated booths and articulated by splashes of vibrant colour in the shape of the bar’s signature Mexican sugar skull motifs.
Get stuck into a Burrito bowl under a palm tree as The Hare and Hounds dishes up delicious servings of La Choza’s Mexican Street Food in a bar and beer garden that’s bursting with personality.
A devilishly cool interior, classy yet trendy awaits patrons. You’ll also find a truly overwhelming display of taps, you’ll certainly find yourself spoilt for choice when ordering a pint!
10. The Setting Sun
This cosy pub in Hanover is worth the uphill trek for the traditional food, the warm atmosphere and the real pull – the best view in Brighton. They aren’t shy about it either, their name very much making it known to all, they might just have an unbeatable beer garden, with it’s prime location for sun gazing.
With a beautiful decking area that enjoys sweeping views across Brighton and Hove, this is the perfect place to get away from the crowds and watch the sun go down over the city. A nostalgic hideaway where you can forget the trivialities of life and have a laugh with some close friends and family, and watch the always majestic setting of our sun.
the Lion and Lobster?
The Gladstone?
Fortune of war toilets haven’t been cleaned since 1882… Just sayin….