Gladstone Arms, Hanover, Brighton

Facebook page of Gladstone Arms - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of Gladstone Arms - www.facebook.com

I wasn’t expecting much from the Gladstone as there were a couple of unwashed cave dwellers with a sabre tooth tiger in tow sitting outside the pub on one of the picnic tables. The beast barked at people walking past as the Palaeolithic men grinned at each other whilst slurping on their emphysema sticks. The young and infirm hurried by with their eyes averted to the floor as if it was hunting season on the savannah. With bated breath I passed the boneheads and pulled back the door to the dimly lit pub to find a half decent boozer. On the bar opposite the entrance are four hand pumps that were drawing Arundel Castle and Sussex Gold alongside Ballards Best. The forth pump had run out, but there is plenty of standard draught as well as Amstel. The pub grub is priced at around £10 for a main and is served from midday until 21:00 during the week and all day at the weekends. Live music is advertised for every Friday and Saturday night and behind the bar there is an ideally sized room for a band to set up with plenty of grooving space. I didn’t get to explore this area as there was a private buffet in progress when I visited on Tuesday evening. There is a quiz advertised for every Tuesday and I didn’t visit the advertised garden. It’s a shame about the snarling gargoyles, but this is not really the fault of the pub. I’d have no problem returning for another jar or two.