This is my last orders pub. It can be very lively and noisy. The menu of sausage and mash is the best pub menu I have ever come across! It hits the nail on the head. One chooses a sauages,meat or veg, then mash then gravy. I bring friends to this venue because the food never fails to entertain.
Sadly the smokers ruin the outside seating area. For a non-smoker there is no escape from the awful cig smell.

Known as the Shakespeare or just ‘the shaky’, this is a very, very popular pub just a short walk down the hill from Seven Dials towards Preston Circus.

They do the range of Hall & Woodhouse beers, which are well-kept. The staff are young and very friendly, and the pub has lots of loyal regulars. The interior is trendy/scruffy in a nice sort of way, with a large L-shaped main bar, and a smaller snug at the rear with its own serving hatch. There is a also large seating area at the front (usually inhabited by smokers), and a smaller area at the rear as well, although this is shut off in the late evening in deference to their neighbours.

It’s famous for its food, too: sausages in the week, and roasts on Sundays. The sausages are excellent value, and come in a dizzying range of choices, with a similar choice of mash and sides. Nice puddings too, if you have room.

Strongly recommended.

The Shakies as some might know it was one of Brightons biggest pub chain Zels first pubs and having not modernised it since it first opened has maintaned all of its charm.
The food is good serving sausage and mash but with so many variations it's never boring.
It's a lovely place to sit outside in the summer and I recently had a great evening with my daughter asleep in the buggy enjoying a few vinos on one of the rare hot days we had this year. It's equally your perfect winter pub with it's cosy surroundings and comfort food.

30/07/2007 Update: as predicted, much nicer since the smoking ban, especially to eat!

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The Shakespeare's Head is a popular, laid-back, funky pub just down the road from Seven Dials in Brighton.

The interior has a slightly worn appearance, with non-matching old chairs and tables, and portraits of various Elizabethan and Shakespearean characters on the walls. There's a large room at the front, a cosy snug at the rear, and an outdoor area in front of the pub, next to the road.

The clientele range from students to 30- and 40-somethings, who like the laid-back, amiable atmosphere. It can get a bit smoky* for my liking when it's crowded, and the music can be a tad loud, but lots seem to like it that way. Staff are efficient, affable and friendly.

There's a good range of Hall & Woodhouse beers (Badger, Tanglefoot and seasonal brews) and Hofbrau lager, as well as the usual wines and spirits.

Many go there for the food: available on week-day evenings, the menu focuses on high-quality sausages and mash: with a dozen varieties each of sausage, flavoured mash, and gravies and side orders, you have literally hundreds of permutations to choose from. It's reasonably priced, with generous portions and veggie options too. (If you have room after all that, they also do classic English puddings). On Sundays, there's a more traditional selections of roasts - lunchtimes only.

A nice choice for a sunny, summer afternoon in the city.

* Smoking inside pubs/restaurants in England will be banned from 1 July 2007, and in Wales from 2 April 2007.