Royal Oak, Brighton

Popped in here as a wild card because we heard that the people from the Basketmakers had literally just taken this over. The exterior was covered in scaffolding so it was difficult to make much out. The large interior is spread over two rooms, front and back, which have clearly just been subjected decoration and maintenance so were rather bland and lacking character though the wooden flooring and half-wall wood panelling bodes well. We were here for the beer and seven of the eight ales were on, a good range and my Otter was tidy. Rolling Stones Best Of on the stereo. Very oversold beer garden, which is just a perfunctory paved area. Maybe there are plans for it. A bit bare at the moment but I think this could be a real destination pub in Brighton over the next few years. Worth dropping in.

At the rear of the Royal Oak there is a seating area with an open fire place and the garden out the back was closed during my visit on Wednesday night. The more important bar area is at the front and supports eight hand pumps that were drawing Pride, ESB, HSB, Castle Rock Brewery’s Harvest Pale, Harveys Best, Welton’s Stout, Landlord and Otter Bitter. I think one can forgive the heavy advertising of food that is available between noon and 21:00. I didn’t spot any TVs, but there was some background music playing and the service was very friendly. I noted normal opening hours except for an hour extension until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. This pub is well worth a visit and should be included on any crawl of Brighton.