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Poll for date of Halifax crawl. with ROBCamra
on the Pub Forum
Image posted by Will Larter
Submitted on Wednesday, 14th February 2024
With picture contributions to 11567 other pubs
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Detail Pages
The Great Eastern, Brighton
Brighton
BN1 4ER
Served areas
Reviews of The Great Eastern (Average Rating: 6½ of 10) see review guidelines
Blue Scrumpy left this review about The Great Eastern
Corner pub which was very busy on our Saturday evening visit. There is a long-thin interior, with a guy playing vinyl records near the entrance. Luckily we managed to bag a small table at the rear of the pub.
It was quite dark inside with candles on the tables. The music being played was a bit too loud to be enjoyed. The crowd gathered seemed a fairly trendy one. A dog on the table next to us was still managing to make him/herself heard above the din.
5 cask ales were on - Long Man Old Man & Rising Giant, Dorking Black Noise, Only With Love The OG & Firebird Two Horses. In fact, this pub now finds itself in the Good Beer Guide, which was the reason for my visit.
I may come back here. But as with the previous reviewer, I found it a bit too packed to be too enjoyable.
On 25th February 2024
- rating: 6
[User has posted 2452 recommendations about 2451 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
Pub SignMan left this review about The Great Eastern
This is a cosy traditional pub at the top end of the Laines, a five or so minute walk down the hill from the station. inside, you find a remarkably narrow but deep interior with lots of dark tongue and groove panelling on the ceiling and a long servery down the right hand wall. the bar has a smart counter and attractive mirrored bar back with a promising collection of pump clips lining the dark wood beams around the whole bar area. Some fixed benches and low stools have been squeezed in along the left hand wall opposite the bar, but during busy times, such as on this particular visit, things can get very cramped quickly and I found it very tricky to navigate my way around the bar area. Thankfully, the room opens out a little to the rear once you've passed the end of the bar, and some more benches and chairs can be found back here in a cosy space dominated by impressive dark wood wall panels, dusty bookcases and a quality old grandfather clock. Despite visiting during daylight hours, the small windows, dark wood and muted lighting (including plenty of fairy lights) combines to make this a pretty dark pub which adds to the cosy feel and reminded me a bit of a rural pub rather than a popular city centre venue. there are a few interesting decorative features to look out for, the most impressive of which is arguably the fine etched glass panes in the entrance doors, which are well worth looking out for.
I timed my visit here pretty poorly, as I arrived alongside during the post-work exodus and accordingly found the place packed which meant I had to endure an uncomfortably long wait for service, which would normally have seen me walk out, but with other PuG crawlers waiting for me, I persevered and finally got served by one of the remarkably unobservant, inattentive bar staff. I think there were four ales on the go, in the shape of Franklins Mama Knows Best and North Shore, Adnams Lighthouse and Downlands New Zealand Session IPA. I spent so long queuing that I think I changed my mind about which drink to order about a dozen times, before eventually coming away with a decent drop of the Session IPA.
This struck me as a nice pub that probably works best during quieter periods when it's easier for everyone to move around and you're able to appreciate the pleasant traditional decor in a more relaxed frame of mind. As it was, I found this a pretty stressful experience that I wouldn't really want to repeat and feel I need a return visit to give the place a second chance.
On 24th July 2018
- rating: 6
[User has posted 3114 recommendations about 3114 pubs]
Please Note: This review is over a year old.
john gray left this review about The Great Eastern
This is a smashing pub with low ceiling.Friendly staff and customers.Three cask beers Franklins north shore ipa and mama knows best.My Downlands -nz session was very good
On 13th April 2018
- rating: 8
[User has posted 1023 recommendations about 1009 pubs]
View more reviews of The Great Eastern (12)
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- Official site of The Great Eastern - www.greatukpubs.co.uk
- Facebook - The Great Eastern
- CAMRA WhatPub :: The Great Eastern - whatpub.com
Brighton, 0.75 miles, 14 min walk (show)
Moulsecoomb, 1.85 miles, 35 min walk (show)
Pub Details
Pub details supplied by members of this site to the best of their knowledge. Please check with pub directly before making a special trip.
- Accommodation : No last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
- Bar Billiards : No last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
- Beer Garden : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- CAMRA Discount : No last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
- Car Park : No last updated 07 August 2013 by paulof horsham
- Darts : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Hot Food : Yes last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Jukebox : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Karaoke : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Live Music : Yes last updated 01 April 2014 by hondo .
- Live TV Sports : Yes last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Micropub : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- Pinball : No last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
- Pool Table : No last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
- Real Ale : Yes last updated 01 April 2014 by hondo .
- Real Cider : No last updated 24 July 2018 by Pub SignMan
- WiFi : Yes - Cloud - last updated 20 September 2013 by Clive Thompson
