P - The Palmeria

An inoffensive local-ish pub.
A pub that can please everyone? Meet The Palmeria.
 

Price;                                                                               5/10

Bang on average!

Location;                                                                       6.5/10

It's a it out of the way from town but it is also fairly easy to find once you're on the right path. Unfortunately there is only one bus that goes by (the No.7) which makes it a little harder to get too then some  of our other out of the way pubs across Brighton.
 

Atmosphere;                                                                  8/10
Really friendly and comfortable. It has the feel of nice local pub, but not in a scary 'who are these new people, let's stare them out' kind of way. We went in to watch sport (yes, we enjoy a good Rugby match now and then), and we didn't feel at all intimidated, which was lovely.

Amenities;                                                                     8/10
Well obviously they show sports, they also have a weekly quiz, live music nights and have just started comedy nights. At the bar you are treated to an array of drink options and the food at The Palmeria looks pretty good too. We managed to book tables there for the Rugby, which is fantastic and we need to give a mention to their website, which in doing this research is one of the nicest and easiest to navigate we've seen!
Toilets;                                                                           7/10 
Clean and they smelt nice! The only real issue we had was the hand-dryer being a bit rubbish, oh, and they are a bit hidden away but as toilets go, these are alright.

Find it; 70-71 Cromwell Road
            Hove,
            BN3 3ES

Click to find it on our map.

I - The Iron Duke

The Iron Duke of Hove, it had... just 6 men?

A small and very, very, quiet pub jut a stones throw from the beach.

Price;                                                                             7/10

A solid 7. Not really really cheap but reasonable prices that brought our round down to slightly under average

Location;                                                                       7/10

Another solid 7 because its fairly near town, totally walkable from Churchill Square and it's in a really nice location.We also liked that it's right by the sea

Atmosphere;                                                                  4/10
So we headed to the Iron Duke on  Friday night, at about 8.45pm, and by 9pm there were 6 other people (plus the staff) inside. There were points when it was only us and the staff (awkward) and there was the odd person who popped in for one drink at the bar then went on their merry way. However, we didn't ever feel unwelcome and the staff were friendly and the music was good and we could have a proper chat and catch up without needing to shout over the noise.

Amenities;                                                                     4/10
The pub is part of a 3* guesthouse and there is also The Dukebox theater which hosts a variety of small shows and workshops but there is no outside area or any signs of quizzes or music in the pub at other times.

Toilets;                                                                           8/10 
Not very well signposted and they were located it felt like the Arctic because they are pretty much outside and it still feels like the middle of winter!! However once you have aclimatised to the tundra the it's not too bad. One cubical didn't have any loo roll, but it was clean and painted a lovely shade of blue. We particularly noted the nice sink and for had drying purposes there was a basket of paper towels

All in all an ok place, that probably picks up in the Summer months when there is more going on in the area and when the guesthouses are busier. We will be back for some festival fun-times but whether we would make an effort to go back is debatable but for a drink if we were just in the area then we would happily pop back in.


Find it;  3 Waterloo Road,
            Hove,
            BN3 1AQ

Click to find it on our map.

C - Chequers

A nice 'stop spot' en route to the city centre.

Nice pub....

Price; £12 something                                                    7.5/10

Cheapest round of the night, and considering the location thats pretty gosh darn good.

Location;                                                                       8/10

A short walk from the center but not too far away. It's an ideal stopping point if you're on your coming into town from Hove.

Atmosphere;                                                                  7/10

For a Saturday night it didn't seem very busy, however since its a pretty small place so atmosphere wasn't lacking. there was a DJ which was a bit too loud (and not great). There was that one moment that felt like all eyes on us as we walked in, which was a little awkward, but not enough for us feel uncomfortable.

Amenities:                                                                     7/10
Pretty good regular DJ's, live music and open mic nights, however the DJ that was there on this particular night the DJ wasn't very good (and we mean technically, not the music).


Toilets;                                                                        6.5/10 
Super easy to find and lovely and clean. There is only 1 cubicle, which is very small and there was a lack of hand drying equipment.

It was nice, we liked the price but there was nothing we loved, nothing we hated, and we would go back, maybe for a quick drink if we are headed to town although we are more likely to pop back in on a school night.


Find it;  45 Preston Street,
           Brighton,
           BN1 2HP

Click to find it on our map.

A - The Ancient Mariner.

An out the way treasure to spend a long night.

The first and furthest away on our list we trekked our way to Aldrington to be pleasantly surprised by this lively, welcoming pub.

Price;                                                5/10

(1 single rum and Coke, 1 double rum and coke and 1 glass of wine)
Just over our average, which considering where it is we thought it might be a bit cheaper, however we liked this place so decided that its a fair price.

Location;                                           3/10

Not nearly as far as we thought, about 15-20min on the bus then a few minutes walk from the bus stop on Portland Road. Totally do able in heels!

Atmosphere;                                      7/10
Busy and lively but still with plenty of breathing room. Despite being a bit out of the way (in the suburbs of Aldrington) we didn't feel uncomfortable (none of this 'local pub stop and stare and the newcomers' malarky) and the bar staff were friendly.

Amenities;                                         7/10
Normally live music or DJ's at the weekend, (and week nights) we really enjoyed the band that were playing when we were there. Quiz nights are every Monday and they have lovely looking food menu and Sunday roasts.

Toilets;                                               8/10 
Clean, they locked, there was soap and plenty of toilet roll. Splendid!!


We loved the look of the place "rustic but modern" and "is that a seagull?" were words about the decor and art work, and there is a fair amount of outside space.
It's not somewhere we would go to a part of a night out (we can go somewhere nearer to town for pretty much the same thing) we will definitely be back to spend the evening.


Find it;  59 Rutland Road,
            Hove,
            BN3 5FE

Click to find it on our map.