The Urchin, Hove

Backstreet pub which appears to be the brewery tap for the Larrikin Brewery. There are a couple of rooms and a pleasant garden area to the left-hand side. On the bar, there are 3 handpulls. The regular cask ale is Long Man Best Bitter. The other 2 remain unoccupied. The Larrkin beers are all keg - Iso Hazy Pale, Skank-a-Dank, Tang Tang Bang, Boozy Belgian Blonde & Oyster Stout. I tried the Tang Tang Bang, which was fairly nice for a keg beer. Food appears to be mainly seafood, but it appears that it has a fairly good reputation. This isn't quite what I was expecting to find in a Hove backstreet, but I would say it's worth a try.

Despite having a desire to be seen as more gastro than pub, there's no problem turning up just for an ale, with the busy bar and garden both doing well on my recent visit. In addition, they brew their own Larrikin beers. The 2 handpumps offered up Long Man Best and the house Earl Grey IPA, while the 4 mainstream keg beers were fortunately supplemented by a full half-dozen from the Larrikin range - the hazy pale I opted for being a fine example of the style. With prices more competitive than The Stirling round the corner, I'd happily return for one or two.

Official site of The Urchin - www.urchinpub.co.uk

Official site of The Urchin - www.urchinpub.co.uk