Garden Bar, Sovereign Harbour, Eastbourne

One of the various bars and restaurants in the centre of Sovereign Harbour, but this one benefits from being at first-floor level with a view over the quayside. Apart from that, it's quite a basic sports bar so it was a surprise to find Long Man cask ales on both of the handpumps: the usual Best Bitter plus the 'small batch' Golden Tipple (£4.40) in fine shape.

Official site of Garden Bar - garden-bar.co.uk

Official site of Garden Bar - garden-bar.co.uk

An awful moron magnet on the first floor of the marina commercial complex, reached by staggering up fag-end paved metal stairs to a balcony entrance. Bouncers on door make it feel less than welcoming and foretell what you will find inside. Traipsing across broken glass and spilled beer, you approach the bar to find Holt's Two Hoots on draft plus some exotic lagers. The ale was in very poor condition, barely drinkable. There is a pool table in an area fenced off from children. The bar staff were nearly as unpleasant as the bouncers. Conversation was almost impossible due to the profane din from the sound system and the Neanderthal grunting of the drunken louts wasting the oxygen in here while waiting for Jeremy Kyle to call them. Every garden has a compost heap.