The Hampton, Brighton

Nothing much to look at from the street, but the entrance leads to an unexpectedly old-fashioned wood-panelled corridor. The bar has been extended into a side room and refurbished in a slightly more modern style than expected. Also has a small sun-trap patio at the back. Three of six handpumps in operation, dispensing Brighton Bier West Pier pale ale (£4.10), Hepworth's Pullman and Dark Star Festival.

My visit to the Brighton branch of the Craft Beer Co was annoyingly premature as I turned up there only to find there was still another week to go until it opened. Determined not to have strolled over to this side of town for nothing, I ventured further along Upper North Street to the Hampton – a pub currently listed in the Good Beer Guide. Unusually you enter to a corridor running the length of the left hand side of the building which is decorated with all manner of beer related adverts and pictures. Two doors give entry to the bar which is on the opposite side of the wooden floored room. Seating is in the form of benches and standard tables and chairs whilst the walls have been painted red and cream and some sections have been covered with some natty retro wallpaper. A strange mix of framed photographs, adverts and paintings hang on the ceiling around a skylight towards the rear of the room where a door leads out to a nice patio area. Food is served and seems to be towards the top end of the pub food price bracket which may reflect the sort of customers they are hoping to attract. Some terrible lounge music was playing throughout my stay and I spotted what looked like a coal scuttle full of board games. If the interior was unspectacular, the ale range was thankfully a little more inspired. I was faced with a choice of Dark Star Old Chestnut and Revelation, Hepworth Sussex, Laines Brewery Best and Anchor Springs Riptide (£3.60). For once I passed up on the Revelation and went for the Riptide which was an inoffensive pint. Whilst there was nothing I particularly objected to, the interior did strike me as a bit pretentious and I never really felt all that comfortable sat here. The beer would be the main reason for me to return but with the Craft Beer Co now up and running, I can’t see me making it this far down the road again.

A quick walk up the corridor from the left hand entrance gains access to a U shaped bar that has a separate seating area to the right to complement the seating in the bar area. To the left of the bar there is access to an outside seating area that I did not visit. A limited selection of premium and standard draught is available and two of the six hand pumps were unused leaving Dark Star’s Old Chestnut, Hepworth’s Prospect, W J King’s Brighton Best and Arundel’s Trident as the ale options. My visit was just after 22:15 on Tuesday night last week when there was a handful of customers. The woman behind the bar rang last orders early at 22:30 so I think that she wanted everyone out by 23:00. I didn’t spot any menus due to my late visit, but food is served and prospective diners are advised to use the booking number to avoid disappointment. I did see the Sunday roasts advertised that came in at around £11. There was no background music and I spotted no televisions. The Old Chestnut was on good form, but this place didn’t do it for me so I do not plan a return visit any time soon.