The Howard, Brighton

This pub is pretty well hidden away in a mid-terrace location deep in the hilly Hanover backstreets. In many ways, this is a typical single room, backstreet boozer, with exposed floorboards and bare brick walls but it also feels a bit quirky, perhaps due to the room's irregular shape. The bar runs along the left hand wall and has a nice marble topped counter, a smart mirrored bar back and a highly annoying pillar positioned midway along just in front of the bar, making it awkward to view the full length of the bar. Dated wallpaper covers some of the walls, giving the pub a slight feel of being long overdue a refurbishment, but then other parts of the room look like they have been recently done up, so there is a mixed feel depending on which direction you're facing. Hard bench and pew seating can be found to the front and right sides of the room, with low stools serving small tables through the centre of the room, with the half panelled pillar breaking things up midway along. Old breweriana, military themed pictures, blackboards and bookshelves stacked with dusty old tomes provide the main items of visual distraction in a room that can feel a bit bare. There is a pew both of sorts to the rear with a raised kitchen area beyond in an unusual space at the back. Stairs leads down to a function room which looks like it might double as an overflow area on busier nights, but I didn't get round to taking a proper look. Two Sharps beers - Atlantic and Sea Fury - were supplemented by a more interesting guest in the shape of Firebird Citra. Like most of the other crawlers, I dodged the Sharps' beers and opted for the Citra which I thought was probably past its best but still went down well enough. I found this to be the sot of pub that doesn't really stick in the memory for to long, thanks to a relatively nondescript interior and some indifferent beer. I think Steve summed it up best when referring to his 2012 review, in which he highlights the fact that the tables can be moved as one of the pub's more notable features (they can still be moved in 2018 you'll be glad to hear)! Not a bad pub per se, but not somewhere I'd earmark for a return visit, especially with a number of other good pubs not too far away.

A slightly sleepy and quirky pub in hilly Hanover, a short walk from the superior Geese. Décor is quite simple with a little patterned or paisley wallpaper, a wood floor and bare brick. There are Britannia tables and pew seats to some of the periphery with low t ‘n’ g panelling painted blue/grey. Furnished with Chesterfields, a lower bar is to the rear with access to a covered, decked garden. Another tiny raised part of the rear is reserved for a minuscule open kitchen from which Thai food is prepared, though none can have been on order as we didn’t get nam pla’d in the red rose. Customers were a mix of ‘characters’, as promised on the pub’s website and dogs – reservoir dogs? – were on the prowl. Ales: as listed below, I went for the Firebird Citra at a pricey £2.20 a half and found it to be ok though the Sharp’s selection is something of a Hobson’s choice, but at least we were spared Doom Bar. I found this pub to be a fine, despite ales from Sharp’s, but it was an early visit so perhaps things perk up later in the evening.

A small pub ,open plan but with a lot of exposed brick and a lack of original features.There is a lower rear lounge and a beer garden .My visit was part of an extensive crawl,so I will leave details to other scribes.Despite having 5 handpumps,only three were operations with Sharps Sea Fury and Atlantic (yawn ) and a tired Fire Bird Citra.Not sure this would make the cut for a revisit,despite it's local boozer feel.