please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Put off by a group off numpties with a vicious Staffie which attacked our dog outside the pub. If they can't control drinkers outside then I won't use it. Shame because it is a nice pub.
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Clearly popular, busy on. Wednesday night. 4 pumps, 3 of which were local brewery Downlands. Best is a traditional Englishcopper bitter, no citrus overtones, which is a refreshing change nowadays, (as CAMRA intended all those years ago!). Pub is long and thin, candle lit in the evening and another Brighton pub worth a visit, again away from the high street, which is only for tourists. Must be about 4 or 5. Decent pubs within 5 minutes walk.
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Clearly popular, busy on. Wednesday night. 4 pumps, 3 of which were local brewery Downlands. Best is a traditional Englishcopper bitter, no citrus overtones, which is a refreshing change nowadays, (as CAMRA intended all those years ago!). Pub is long and thin, candle lit in the evening and another Brighton pub worth a visit, again away from the high street, which is only for tourists. Must be about 4 or 5. Decent pubs within 5 minutes walk.
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Very hard to be served in a Brighton pub by someone without dyed hair and multiple piercings and that's why I like the town. This is excellent and more evidence that hipsterdom need not preclude taking care of the ales. Highly impressive.
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An earthier alternative to the nearby Prince George, Hobgoblin and North Laine, amongst others, with its laid back service and grungy clientele. Beer-wise, the ales seem to constantly change and the fridge offers a number of interesting options, not least in American IPAs.
All in all, a terrific city centre pub which ought to be on every travelling drinker’s itinerary in Brighton.
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Fantastic little pub. Great choice of regularly changing real ales. Large selection of American whisky too if that's your thing. Good staff, nice clientèle. I think one of the best pubs in Brighton.
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Lovely little pub.
lovely drink and service.
Thanks marc for the invite.
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Brighton must have one of the best selections of pubs of any town/city in the country, and this little boozer is one of the best. If you went by exteriors you would probably visit the Prince George over the road, but once inside this place you feel you are really at home in a proper local. Add to that a good selection of beers, and it's definitely a pub I will head for whenever in Brighton.
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A cracking example of a town pub ,a little gloomy inside but that added to the atmosphere. I had a decent pint of otter ale served in a jug,the bluegrass music playing made it a little quirky but was alright by me. The pub was reasonably well attended and was my favorite pub of the day. A definate return visit is called for.
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Don't be put off by the outside of the pub. 'Well worn' would probably be an apt description. However the friendly casual staff and the excellent selection of beers and bourbons give this place a 5 star rating from me. Friendly regulars too make this pub well worth a visit.
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My second - and happily less brief - visit was made to this place on Saturday last. I found what I'd discovered the previous time to still be very much intact; that is a cosy, welcoming atmosphere enhanced by comfortable seating, candles and wooden panelling; a range of 4 well-kept local cask beers (my Hepworth's Pullman was crisp and palate-cleansing); pleasant service at the bar, and I daresay good grub - although that is purely based on the menu options as nobody of my party was interested in food at that stage so no samples were taken.
The exterior promises a smart and clean experience, which is fine although so often that can equate to anodyne and unappealing. The Great Eastern sidesteps these potential pitfalls with aplomb, although if I were to harbour one minor criticism it would be that they have perhaps taken the cleanliness aspect a little too far - there was a pervasive cleaning fluid malodour which did threaten to spoil things, especially I'd imagine for those intent on eating. One gets used to such a niggle quite quickly, but it would be better not to have to. Hopefully this was a one-off overzealous blitz with the bleach.
All told, a worthy pub in a town which majors on cracking hostelries. Just watch the obvious competition of the Prince George directly opposite.
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Nice little pub and excellent sunday roasts!
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what a lovely little pub, a gem
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As casual passerby I liked the look of this pub. It was a relaxed, sunny Saturday afternoon and there were a reasonable number of people in but the service was good. There were four bitters on and mine was very good. There was no bleach smell and the customers and staff, and a dog were all friendly. As one with no preconceptions about the place I thought it very nice.
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For over ten years I have been a regular at this pub. Unfortunately it has fallen from grace in recent times. The current landlord is arrogant and moody. The service shoddy (more interested in reading the newspapers than serving the customers) The strangest thing of all is the overpowering smell of bleach that hits you when you walk in... What's that about? Needs to pull it's socks up. It has already lost enough of it's regulars to the nearby Basketmakers and The Lord Nelson.
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I think this is quite a quaint pub. As simple and as a pub can be with good service and a nice selection of beers. Genuine and honest place.
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Fantastic pub. If this was Beerandachaserinthevening.com it would easily rate #1. A fantastic selection of bourbon is available here. There's only one other place I know with a bourbon menu that extensive, and it's The Cro-bar in London, slightly the other end of the sociable scale.
Decent beers are also available on the 4 handpulls for those not wanting to indulge in Kentucky's finest, and the atmosphere is inviting. My favourite pub in Brighton.
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Quite liked this place, a proper pub in an area with so many bars. Nice laid back atmosphere, a bit of jazz playing and a large bookcase running along the back wall. Four ales on and service was attentive.
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Quieter than I expected, with just two of Brighton's more 'exotic' residents flirting (rather unconvincingly) with the barmaid. Four real ales on, including the Nelson Brewery Shiver M' Timbers (at 4.7% ) which, whilst not exceptional, made a pleasant change.
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Small cosey pub. Had pint of Harveys Mild. Quite well kept. 7/10
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Just one pumpclip facing ysdty (of 4), pub was busy in a studenty-feel kind of way, but they did at least let us have a taster; wasn't keen, we left. It'll stay on my Brighton list, though, as I quite like the place, especially when quieter and with usually a decent ale selection, just bad timing last night.
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Enterprising youthful pub in the best part of town; promoting interesting local beers well if not quite delivering on quality.
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Nice pub. Busy with a young student-y crowd. Good selection of real ales.
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great atmosphere, visit it soon!
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Nice cosy atmosphere, hard to get seats at times. Clueless bar-staff though, mnore interested in chatting to their mates than serving customers, and totally ignorant regarding the drinks they serve.
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Great atmosphere and very friendly staff, although they may get chatted away with you and forget about serving other people.
I've been there twice and both time I was after Sunday roast, it was absolutely great! Tried beef/lamb/pork/nutloaf with friends, all were delicious (and not over-cooked which I hate!) It's a place I know I can rely on if I'm after a good Sunday roast.
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cracking boozer, shows just what a small corner pub should be about. atmosphere, lighting,ambience and good products. allways love a Pleisure pub as they have a top range of qulaity spirits and ales. last time here was quite recently, the '70's prog rock' night was too loud for conversation so we left and the cask beer was warm. wont stop visiting though, friendly crowd.
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A really splendid pub, great staff, brilliant selection of spirits (I never knew there were so many different types of bourbon!) and top ales. The barman was keen to tell me they were local guest ales which change weekly which I thought was a great idea.
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went in for a drink and also had a lovely sandwich. great atmosphere and will back back! :)
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Lovely atmosphere and cosy environment. Tried here for birthday drinks with work colleagues after reading reviews and had a most enjoyable evening. The blokes mentioned how nice the dark beer was.
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Top quality pub, atmosphere and staff are great. Always a few decent beers on, and a good selection of spirits. I have never tried the food. This place is pretty small, so finding a table isn't always easy. Overall one of the best pubs in Brighton.
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Love this ickle pub... they do great bowls of chilli & cheese! Very yummy!!
FiMcB - 28 Dec 2006 16:34 |
The best pub in town. I have never had a poor evening here in my visits to Brighton. Extremely friendly, fantastic harveys ale and good food. Highly recommended
anonymous - 29 Sep 2006 13:19 |
Visited the Great Eastern on a crawl with a friend on 18th August 2006.
Overall not too bad a pub. Long narrow intimate low-ceilinged pub with woodpanelling throughout and a wood floor. Deuchars IPA, Hopback Summer Lightning and Harveys Best Bitter were available that evening. I had the Deuchars IPA which was a bit below par and a touch warmer than it should be.
Attracts a young (18-40) crowd mainly, and locals were very friendly on our visit.
The rear wall of the pub serves as a "library" with plenty of "real" books - not plastic imitations. Food is served lunchtimes only. Modern background music is played at a comfortable level. Fairly subdued lighting, mainly by compact fluorescent lamps. Note the pub can get very smoky.
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What's happened to this pub???? I was really looking forward to a lovely Sunday Roast yesterday and got the worst Sunday Roast I think I have ever had, I know a big call but it was bad! I couldn't cut the beef it was fatty, chewy and tasteless, it was swimming in bisto, the carrots over cooked, soggy cabbage, tasteless potatoes, need I go on... and I haven't even started on my husbands meal. I remember going to this pub a few years ago and having an amazing Sunday Roast it was great and really memorable, I don't know whats has happened but it's not good... we will never go back to eat and will be informing my friends about this place.... Sort it out guys, get a new chef!
anonymous - 4 Sep 2006 11:36 |
best in the early evening because this cosy pub gets a bit cramped. a very cosy, comfy pub.
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Love this place, just what you would expect from a pub in the laine. You just feel that you are home and could stay for a week or two as soon as you walk in.
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One of the best pubs in the North laines. Cosy and friendly with a decent (and swiftly-served) sunday roast.
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Great pub with a great atmosphere. Practically lived here in 2001-2003. Real ales always taste great, usually have Youngs, Harveys. Used to have Waggledance which is definitely one of my favourite beers. Meet some interesting characters in here, A real variety of people. Service always good. Love it!
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Long overdue a revisit on my part. A smashing pub on Thursdays or any other day of the week. I can only endorse anonymous's comments about the HSB. As regards to the place being crowded in the evenings - is that a bad sign? Not in my book!
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This pub is good on a Thursday afternoon but its too damn crowded in the evenings and the ceilings a bit low for my liking.
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Would Our Lord Jesus Christ drink there, though? That's the burning question...
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The best pint of HSB in Brighton, and no mistake. I was in there the other day and a fine ale it is, in fact I had several. The barmaid was indeed stroking a young man in between pouring pints, but it was comprised entirely from loving caresses, and nothing dirty, sleazy, or 'underhand'. The look of true commitment in their eyes made it nothing less than a beautiful love scene. The used glasses were swiftly placed in stacks and cleaned, and the locals were both entertaining and engaging. I, in fact, helped two jovial regulars at the bar complete the Guardian crossword, a feat for which I swelled with pride.
My only gripe is the uneducated nature of the graffiti in the gentlemen's toilets, which results in the debasement of an interesting theological discussion into a self-righteous athiest getting on their high horse and making a fool out of themselves. Someone with such bitterness towards religion really needs a divine force in their life. A force like Our Lord Jesus Christ.
I stayed for no less than three pints of the splendid HSB, and left a happier and a wiser man.
anonymous - 14 Oct 2005 13:30 |
This has to be one of my favourite pubs in Brighton. Fantastic atmosphere and a great range of bourbons (now my favourite drink) and good ale. Definitely worth a visit, especially for Sunday roasts...
anonymous - 13 Sep 2005 00:39 |
It used to be charming, but this pub is now losing the plot. The barmaid looked furious that she had to stop stroking her boyfriend in order to get me a drink, several used glasses were lying around uncollected, and the atmosphere was dingy and gloomy. A great shame.
anonymous - 2 Sep 2005 08:33 |
Charming little pub, with an impressive range of drinks available. More welcoming than many Brighton pubs. Famous for having shelves of old books around the walls.
anonymous - 5 Feb 2005 15:28 |
