The Hop Poles, Brighton

A thriving pub with very personable staff, the place has few pretentions and a wide cross section of customers. Lots of real ale to choose from, including bottles from The Kernal microbrewery, and should therefore be part of any good Brighton ale trail.

Tucked away in Middle Street just off the main drag The Spotted Dog serves great hearty wholesome food in a nice atmosphere. I have only been the once but thoroughly enjoyed it and look forward to my next visit – well worth checking out!

This pub is now called The Spotted Dog, which the owners probably need to update on Qype. My husband and I wandered in here to get out of the wind and ended up staying half the afternoon. The food is absolutely delicious with a cool Meditteranean flair and they have an excellent selection of ales, which the staff will encourage you to taste. The staff are super fun and friendly and I would recommend it to anyone.

Def worth a visit, I have been visiting since about 1995 when I was a student, and im still visiting, foods great, especially the roasts!!!

It's a proper pub serving proper food.

Does it do the best pub Sunday roasts in Brighton? Well, it is probably up there.

They actually seem to care about the food at The Hop Poles rather than looking at it as just another revenue stream.

One of the reviewers described this place as "out of the way" I don't quite get this idea, nowhere is out of the way in Brighton. Brighton is tiny.

The Hop poles is also kinda tiny, so gets crowded. But that's coz it is good.

Defiantly go and try the food on a Sunday.

I absolutely adore The Hop Poles, it’s easily one of my favourite pubs in Brighton. The only downside is that so many other people feel the same way it’s near-on impossible to get a seat unless you get there about an hour before you want to eat or queue at the door as it opens.

The first thing that hits you when you walk in (provided, of course, that you look upwards) is the enormous octopus made of hubcaps on the ceiling. Absolutely brilliant. There’s also an alligator made of various car parts outside in the trellis-covered beer garden. The rest of the decor, in stark contrast, is very traditional and homely – chunky rough-hewn tables and a huge wooden bar with gleaming brass pumps. I’ve also been told that they have a fabulous selection of real ales, although I never touch the stuff so quite honestly I wouldn’t know one from another. I’m very happy with my pear cider thank you.

The best thing about The Hop Poles though is their food. They have a menu which changes on a daily basis and is sourced entirely from local produce. Their menu is a great mix of traditional pub fare (like sausage and mash, roast lamb and steak) as well as slightly more restaurant-style dishes (like risottos, roasted Mediterranean vegetable dishes and lasagnes). But the BEST bit is that on their menus they print fantastic (and often hilarious) descriptions of all the dishes detailing things like which of their chefs came up with the recipe and how and where they discovered it, how they think you’ll feel when you’re eating it or what the staff members think of the dish.

Among the dishes I’ve sampled are their sausage and mash, wild mushroom risotto, sweet potato with roasted Mediterranean vegetables and, the pièce de résistance, their Sunday roasts – beautifully presented, flavoursome locally-sourced meat and wonderfully al dente vegetables. Just get there early to secure a table!

Easily one of my favourite pubs in Brighton. I come from a dying breed of original Brightonians, and I can confirm that this pub has remained full of character for at least as long as my 10 year drinking career.
If I have friends visiting, I always take them here for some of the best pub grub I've come across in the city. Massive portions (I'm yet to finish the chilli con carne) and unique interesting food, at a reasonable price. The place is often packed on weekends, but this is a reflection of its popularity. During the week it has a slightly more laid back atmosphere, and you can usually find a seat. This pub perfectly represents the qwirky style of Brighton.

Love this pub, in my top 3 in Brighton. Read reviews above saying "disappointing soup" and "a bit chainy" which really surprised me because in my experience and dozens of visits I couldn't agree less.

I had a really disapointing soup. Not really worth the huge wait for food. Really nice staff though

Good pub in heart of Brighton - but a bit off the main drag. Good atmosphere, small outside area and nice food. Feels a bit chainy and the seating isn’t that comfortable - but definitely worth a look-in.

If you’re looking for a place that still feels like a pub (as opposed to the many 'bars’ Brighton seems to have) that has authentic, home cooked food which uses high quality ingredients combined with very friendly people, then it’s certainly worth coming here. It’s certainly no secret, and this place is very popular amongst Brightonians, and on the downside it can sometimes be hard to find a table, but that does refect the overall quality of this place.

This is a really nice pub with fantastic food, especially the Sunday roast. Great outside seating area and good music too. I could waste a lot of time here…

This is undeniably one of my favourite pubs in Brighton for a Sunday roast. It fills up pretty quickly so if you want a good spot for Sunday lunch you’ll need to get there for 12.30pm or go later (but risk some food choices being sold out). There is a really wide selection of Sunday roasts, chicken, beef, pork, lamb and a couple of vege choices which always excited me! Prices are pretty reasonable too. There’s always a really laid back vibe here and the staff are all young and friendly. There is an outside part with heaters for chillier days and interesting crocodile art pieces made from large sheets of metal! It’s a nice place to visit on a wet cold day as well as it gets really cosy inside! A definite thumbs up from me!

Great Sunday roast at reasonable prices, good music, lovely outside seating area, nice staff. I highly recommend.

Fab pub. I used to go here loads when I lived in Brighton and it is one of the once I miss. I went back a few weeks ago to find it was as good as ever. The food is all homemade and is as good as mum used to make! They used to sell cigarette behind the bar at reasonable prices (i.e. not the inflated machine prices) but I have given up smoking now so I didn’t check if they still do it.

They have got a little outside area that is covered over, so you don’t have to worry about getting wet in the summer showers.