The Great Eastern, Brighton

Official site of The Great Eastern - www.greatukpubs.co.uk

This is a cosy traditional pub at the top end of the Laines, a five or so minute walk down the hill from the station. inside, you find a remarkably narrow but deep interior with lots of dark tongue and groove panelling on the ceiling and a long servery down the right hand wall. the bar has a smart counter and attractive mirrored bar back with a promising collection of pump clips lining the dark wood beams around the whole bar area. Some fixed benches and low stools have been squeezed in along the left hand wall opposite the bar, but during busy times, such as on this particular visit, things can get very cramped quickly and I found it very tricky to navigate my way around the bar area. Thankfully, the room opens out a little to the rear once you've passed the end of the bar, and some more benches and chairs can be found back here in a cosy space dominated by impressive dark wood wall panels, dusty bookcases and a quality old grandfather clock. Despite visiting during daylight hours, the small windows, dark wood and muted lighting (including plenty of fairy lights) combines to make this a pretty dark pub which adds to the cosy feel and reminded me a bit of a rural pub rather than a popular city centre venue. there are a few interesting decorative features to look out for, the most impressive of which is arguably the fine etched glass panes in the entrance doors, which are well worth looking out for. I timed my visit here pretty poorly, as I arrived alongside during the post-work exodus and accordingly found the place packed which meant I had to endure an uncomfortably long wait for service, which would normally have seen me walk out, but with other PuG crawlers waiting for me, I persevered and finally got served by one of the remarkably unobservant, inattentive bar staff. I think there were four ales on the go, in the shape of Franklins Mama Knows Best and North Shore, Adnams Lighthouse and Downlands New Zealand Session IPA. I spent so long queuing that I think I changed my mind about which drink to order about a dozen times, before eventually coming away with a decent drop of the Session IPA. This struck me as a nice pub that probably works best during quieter periods when it's easier for everyone to move around and you're able to appreciate the pleasant traditional decor in a more relaxed frame of mind. As it was, I found this a pretty stressful experience that I wouldn't really want to repeat and feel I need a return visit to give the place a second chance.

This is a smashing pub with low ceiling.Friendly staff and customers.Three cask beers Franklins north shore ipa and mama knows best.My Downlands -nz session was very good