The West Quay (JD Wetherspoon), Brighton

This is a huge, two storey Wetherspoons pub located in Brighton's drab and depressing marina complex. The pub clearly occupies a relatively new building but the place has been designed to kind of feel like an old, historic pub. Lots of dark wood, old beams, decorative pillars and unfinished walls add up to quite an effective look, although it threatens to tip into an olde world, theme park style at times. The servery is split across two sides of the ground floor area, with different handpull options on each side, and has a very nice decorative dark wood counter front and some unusual features on the bar back, with carved animals incorporated into a design which includes an Arabic style arched top section. Lots of seating fills the bright space to the left, but there's not so much through the very dark space to the right, which eventually opens out into a space dominated by slot machines. An arm of the building then heads off towards the front again, offering a few more seats and views across the square outside. Stairs take you up to the first floor bar - a bare boarded space with a similar servery along the back wall. There's a raised seating area to the left which has access to a balcony with views over the marina, but inclement weather saw this space closed during my visit. Bench booths stand opposite the bar and to the right, whilst there was a rare sighting of a 'Spoons dartboard at far right end. The three regular cask options were available alongside three guest ales, with a fourth just taken off as I arrived. I tried the Hogs Back Tea, which is a pretty reliable beer and was kept in good nick. The pub was doing some decent Saturday early evening trade, despite the obvious lack of other things to do in this part of town. Brighton is home to two of the worst Wetherspoons I've ever had the misfortune of setting foot in, so my expectations for this place couldn't have been much lower, but I left feeling pleasantly surprised, as this is a quirky venue with some good seating areas, unusual features and a decent ale range. If you ever have the misfortune to find yourself in the Marina area, you could do a lot worse than calling in here. Date of visit - 18th May 2024