Vine Street Tap, Brighton

Blue Scrumpy left this review about Vine Street Tap

Visit 31/1/26:

Just over a year after our attempted visit to Vine Street Tap & Bottle, we gave it another go. We got through the door this time but were soon informed that there were not enough seats for all 5 of us to sit down. They could accommodate 2 on stools at the bar and standing was not allowed.

I decided to stay to at least say I'd have a drink here this time. The all keg selection was Black Isle Goldfinch, Zinnebir Belgian Pale, Bellwoods Jelly King & Kerisac Cidre Breton. I wasn't overly impressed with the Goldfinch but that was probably just the beer.

The bar is just a single room, seemingly favoured by couples and small groups of women. As I was about to polish off my drink, two women returned to the stools we had been invited to sit on, one of which I was occupying, only to discover that their drinks and bar snack had been removed when I had been offered seating. I did wonder why a handbag was on one of the stools but where they had been and what they had been doing for 15 minutes, who knows? But then, this is Brighton!

A bit of a pretentious place this. If I'm ever passing again at a quieter time and I see an available table, I may pop in to see what beers they have, assuming there is no private party but I won't make a special trip here again.


Previous Attempted Visit 25/1/25:

Not wishing to stray too far from Brighton station, we tried visiting this bar late on our Saturday evening. We were concerned as we approached, as there were no visible lights. However, we soon found the pub to be open and quite busy. Unfortunately, their Facebook account invites people to book the place for a private party and sure enough it was booked out on a Saturday night!

It seems strange to me that places can book themselves out completely, especially on the busiest night of the week. Maybe we'll get back here one day, but we won't hold out much hope that it will be open to the general public. It was off to the more reliable Prince Albert instead.

On 2^nd February 2026 - rating: 3
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