The Dyke, Brighton

This is the de facto tap for the Veterans Brewing outfit, situated on a prominent junction on the road leading up to the Devil’s Dyke. You enter into a large L-shaped room with bare floorboards, half panelled walls featuring some nice lighter panels with decorative woodwork, and pastel shaded uppers. The bar occupies the right-hand side of the room and has white versions of the wall panels on its counter front, which also boasts coat hooks and a number of plug and USB sockets. The bare brick bar back was covered for the most part by lovely traditional dark wood shelving with detailed woodworking, etched glass mirrors and a large bell, whilst above is a modern, two-tier gantry lined with hops, which looked great. High tables along the front walls are supported by comfy stools, and banquettes run down the left-hand wall, broken by a fireplace with a large plain mirror above. Further back, the banquettes have been formed into booths, but the space is otherwise relatively featureless compared to the bar area, with the notable exception of one giant mirror. Lots of local interest photos line the walls, a TV was showing muted live football and there is a great row of etched glass panes along the top of the front windows. The ceiling is also highly decorative and has been lined with large cloth lamp shades. A pavement side seating area stands alongside the busy main road and didn’t look too appealing as a result. A drab lounge-style soundtrack plodded away in the background and most customers appeared to be eating from a pie and burger based menu, with most mains around the £15 mark. Sadly, there was no home brew to be found on the bar and the two handpulls could only muster Long Man Best Bitter between them, whilst the keg options got no more exciting than Beavertown and Orchard Thieves Cider. The barmaid was very nice and friendly, suffering a series of unnecessarily complex orders from other customers with good humour, and the Best Bitter was in good nick. I quite liked this place, which had a good mix of retained traditional features incorporated into a modern bar and kitchen. The beer choice may have been limited, but it was well kept as a result and the cheery service was an added bonus. Not really one for the traditionalist and by no means a destination pub, but I liked this one nonetheless and was glad I randomly added it to my crawl at the last minute.

Facebook page of The Dyke - www.facebook.com

Facebook page of The Dyke - www.facebook.com

Official site of The Dyke Alehouse - www.dykealehouse.co.uk

Official site of The Dyke Alehouse - www.dykealehouse.co.uk

The Dyke was previously known as the Dyke Tavern before being turned into a gastro pub. The interior is L shaped with some seating and the toilets along with a seldom used plasma screen to the left of the bar. There is lots more seating to the right of the bar and the management have gone for a standard beige colour scheme. The draught products available from the bar are all premium and there are four hand pumps that were drawing Harvey’s Best, Forty-Niner, Doom Bar and Ringwood’s Boon Doggle. There were a few people eating on Saturday evening when the pub was pretty busy and the mains that I saw advertised on the specials menu both cost £13. A few posters on the wall advertise stone baked pizzas that will be available by the end of the month due to popular demand. I’m sure that these will be far more reasonably priced for those that want a quick bite. One of the barmaids was a bit abrupt, but she was one of many who all seemed polite and helpful. There was some low background music playing and a beer garden is advertised, but I did not visit due to the cold weather. Happy hour is from 17:00 until 19:00 during the week, but I’m not sure what is discounted. This is a popular pub with a decent atmosphere and although not my sort of place I would still pop back in for another decent pint of Doom Bar.