Xuma, Seven Dials, Brighton

I was expecting Xuma to be full of grave robbers, but when I visited at 21:00 on Saturday evening there was a splattering of students listening to a very good musical trio that were singing and playing guitars to the right of the entrance. The bar is on the right hand wall of this long and thin establishment and is stocked with Amstel and a standard draught range. There are also two hand pumps, one of which was unused leaving W J King’s Brighton Best as the ale of choice. There is also a cocktail menu and deals are available at certain times of the week. The toilets are located downstairs where there are some tatty old sofas in a small seating area that I would have probably left as empty space as it’s not the nicest place to loiter. I found the barman to be very friendly and he informed me that there is regular music at the weekends. I wouldn’t plan a lunchtime drink here as it doesn’t open until 16:00, but it does shut late at 1am every day except Fridays and Saturdays when it is open until an eye watering 3am. The lighting was rationed making it difficult to read my Nicholson’s ale trail map, but I could have stayed longer as it was very relaxing. My wife would like it in here and if I’m ever at a loose end in Brighton with her I may consider a revisit, but this is less likely than Gus Poyet sticking my wheezing frame between the posts for a Seagulls play-off final at Wembley.