The Fountain Head, Brighton

This is a spacious single room pub in the heart of the popular North Laine area of Brighton. The pub has bare floorboards throughout and a lot of exposed brickwork on show. The servery is sited on the back wall with a smart counter, broken midway by a large pillar, and mirrored bar back. Rows of short benches serve simple tables opposite the bar and there are some comfier sofas and armchairs around the periphery of the room. The place has a very relaxed feel, with a varied customer base notable on this visit, including football fans, family groups with children and the inevitable handful of hipsters. A decent soundtrack played throughout our visit and there is also some limited outdoor seating which was proving popular on a warm Saturday afternoon. Two ales were available - Laine Brewery Laines Best and Dark Star American Pale Ale - plus one real cider. The APA was in excellent condition and my companion tried the Best which was also in great shape. The staff seemed like a very friendly bunch, coping well with a crowded bar area and engaging in idle chit-chat with their customers. This place initially felt like it might be trying to hard to cater for all comers without actually proving satisfying for any, but after a short while the place started to grow on me and I left feeling that this was a well run pub that offers an ideal meeting point in the heart of town. The limited ale range might mean that a longer stay is unlikely, but I'd certainly call in again in passing.

2 real ales and food served.

The Fountain Head is an open plan pub full of conventional tables and chairs along with a couple of sofas that are placed by a fireplace on the right hand wall. The bar is stocked with standard draught products along with Sagres and Amstel and one of the three hand pumps was unused leaving Hepworth’s Prospect as the ale option and Thatchers Heritage as the cask cider. Food is served and the mains are priced around the £9 mark. Children are welcome until 19:00, but only until 18:00 on Fridays and Saturdays when Brighton starts to liven up. The crowd during my Tuesday evening visit were in their late twenties/early thirties and there is a bit of a gastro feel. The service was very polite and I was able to get comfortable quite quickly. I’m not a massive fan of open plan gastro pubs as I find them dull, but I thought the Fountain Head was a nice friendly pub and I would have no problem returning.