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Pubs in Hove Guide
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Pubs in Hove – Your Guide to the Best Local Spots
Hove is one of the finest neighbourhoods in England for a proper pub. Not just good pubs, but great ones; the kind that become the beating heart of a community, that run street parties and annual seafood festivals, that host sea shanty evenings and Thursday Margarita nights, that tuck themselves down unsuspecting side streets and reveal themselves as exactly the local you have been looking for all your life. Pubs in Hove East Sussex have a character all of their own, distinct from the busier Brighton city centre scene and all the more rewarding for it. Whether you are looking for the best Hove pubs for food, a dog-friendly pub in Hove after a beach walk, a Hove pub with a garden for a summer evening, or simply a well-kept pint in a room full of people who clearly love where they live, this guide covers all of it. These are the best pubs in Hove, chosen by the people who drink in them.
Pubs in Hove
On Portland Road, The Westbourne is a neighbourhood pub with real destination appeal. Known for its welcoming atmosphere, stylish interiors and strong sense of community, it’s a favourite spot for locals and visitors alike. The kitchen serves comforting pub classics, from burgers and small plates to much-loved Sunday roasts, while the bar champions independent breweries with a rotating craft beer selection. Whether you’re popping in for a quick pint or settling in for dinner with friends, The Westbourne captures everything people love about pubs in Hove.
The first in our Pubs in Hove Guide and a great place to start. The Better Half, offers a sophisticated menu of both food and drinks whilst refusing to grow up fully. Sunday roasts are a big deal at The Better Half, but evening and weekday meals are not to be overlooked, with homemade and seasonal produce at their heart. The décor is a clever mash-up of traditional and modern design, you are in a ‘proper pub’, but not an ‘ordinary pub’, regular entertainment and live music keep things lively and fun.
The name itself may be a reference to ‘The Better Half of Hove’, one of the oldest pubs in Hove, or a friendly jibe at that sibling rivalry that exists with Brighton, most likely both. Close to the sea, with a heated rear garden, The Better Half is also a dog-friendly pub in Hove. In 2023, the Better Half Pub unveiled an exciting new addition to their offerings – a delightful cocktail menu.
As far as pubs in Hove go, Hove Place ticks a lot of boxes. The front terrace and Italian themed beer garden at the rear are heated to enjoy year-round. Just a few minutes from the seafront, Hove Place is a great spot to punctuate a summer’s day. With a modern bistro menu available for lunch and dinner every day and a thoroughly raved about Sunday roast at the weekend, the pub’s food serving is well known for its innovation and quality. The pub itself retains a friendly local feel with a changing menu of cask beers from local breweries as well as popular lead brands, a healthy selection of spirits and, as is to be expected from a Bistro pub, an extensive and well thought out wine list.
A pub at Rockwater – yes you have read correctly. The lounge at the back has been transformed into a pub, a place where everybody knows your name. The Pub at Rockwater is a proper pub with an old school feel in a cracking location on the seafront along Hove Beach Park (Kingsway to the OG’s). Pool table, pints, Guiness on tap, and a vast beer garden makes it the perfect stop for a post work pint or two, a dog walk drop in or a Sunday afternoon session. Family friendly, dog friendly with a great community feel ,The Pub at Rockwater is shaping up to be your new favourite local. Cheers to that.
BRAVO 2018 “Best Pub Grub” winner, The Urchin is about two things, craft beer and shellfish. Whilst it’s conceivably a brave move to pair back so much, the concept itself is not a new one since both ingredients have long been major components of Sussex’s produce. So, before shellfish became the prerogative of City businessmen and local ale got expensive it was simply the standard fare of those who lived nearby, something standard to pubs in Hove. The secret of The Urchin’s success, other than its indefatigable ability to do a simple thing very well, is perhaps in its cashing in on this collective Sussex memory.
Head to The Farm Tavern for lashings of traditional pub comforts, oodles of charm and a jolly neighbourhood atmosphere. Serving a delicious European small plates menu and scrumptious Sunday roasts, featuring a vegan and children’s option. You can expect a roaring open fire throughout the colder months and a Margarita deal every Thursday. Head to our events page to see what’s happening at The Farm Tavern, from sea shanty evenings to DJ nights and summer BBQ’s.
Tapestry is a welcoming neighbourhood bar. Their drink offerings include expertly crafted cocktails, a thoughtful wine list, and a selection of draught beers, along with no and low alcohol options. Indulge in delicious small plates that complement your drink perfectly, and don’t miss out on their brunch and Sunday lunch menus available over the weekend. With its east-facing, lush terrace, it’s the ideal setting for a summer evening cocktail.
Paris Wine Bar on Church Road is an intimate yet spacious bar and restaurant that is perfectly suited for relaxed social gatherings. Everything about Paris Wine Bar is designed around a sense of conviviality, deep comfy seating, dark wood interiors and a large secluded outside space that provides plenty of opportunities for taking time out for congenial socialising. The food menu is modern British small plates, ideal for sharing and the wine menu is extensive but accessible. There are also great options on cocktails, beers, ales and spirits.
Nestled on the outskirts of Hove, The Gather Inn is a delightful pub restaurant offering panoramic views of Hove lagoon. If you choose to dine their menu is packed with fresh and flavoursome pub classics like fish and chips, succulent burgers, and hunters chicken— perfect for anyone craving that nostalgic comfort food. They offer a traditional Sunday Roast which is great for a pre or post meal stroll along the seaside. The bar is well stocked with loved brands and local brews for all tipples. This friendly neighbourhood pub has all you need to gather together, eat and drink well, and watch the world go by in comfort.
More Hove pubs
A stylish gastropub with a glowing reputation amongst pubs in Hove, The Ginger Pig, part of the Ginger man Group, has a smart bar serving excellent classic cocktails and Fine Sussex sparkling wines. The restaurant is open 7 days a week serving seasonal quality meals from breakfast to dinner, with roasts on Sundays.
Located just off Palmeira Square, with dark green tiling, a dark wood central bar and tinted windows this is one of the old school pubs in Hove that has had an injection of life into it, often with a lively bustling crowd. Head upstairs of a Friday or Saturday evening for a speakeasy-themed bar, intimate and hush with post-war jazz, flowing liquor and an exclusive feel.
The Old Albion
Extensively remodelled after being run for 36 years by a previous landlord, The (new) Old Albion, is one of the growing number of pubs in Hove to undergo a new burst of life, offering fun and quality. Here you will benefit from a list of 40 gins and an ever changing repertoire of guest ales and beers, consistently good roasts and cheery staff.
The Watchmakers Arms
One of a growing number of micropubs to appear in a new trend for simple venues for real beer lovers, although the first of its kind for pubs in Hove. The Watchmaker’s Arms serves its own in-house keg and cask beers under their Beercraft brand as well as a changing selection of reputable, local and independent brewers.
The Southern Belle
Winner of BRAVO 2018 “Best Sunday Roast” award, top 3 for “Dog-Friendly” and making top 20 for “Best Pub Grub”, the people of Hove (and Brighton for that matter) were keen to speak up about the Southern Belle. With a mini theatre, boutique guest rooms and weekday vegan and vegetarian pop up by Jaldee Jaldee, Indian street food, there’s a lot to make a noise about.
Bottom's Rest
Making an appearance in yet more pubs in Hove Jaldee Jaldee will also be popping up in the Bottom’s Rest from August 2018. A tucked away gem of pub with a wonderful local and friendly atmosphere, keeps it simple and traditional with pub quizzes and local ales.
The Gin Tub
With over 100 gins on their menu, The Gin Tub is Hove’s number one destination for lover’s of the UK’s number one spirit. As a neat twist to go with your gin the Gin Tub has a novel take on table service, simply use the vintage phones on each table to dial in your order.
More good pubs
Hanover will always be the best neighbourhood for a pub crawl. This list might help you organise yours.
If it is a walk in the countryside followed by a refreshing pint, we hope these Sussex pubs will be able to help you out.
Pubs in Hove by Area
Hove stretches from the seafront up through a series of residential neighbourhoods, each with its own distinct character and its own pub culture. The best pubs in Hove are spread across this geography in a way that rewards exploration; some are on the main roads, many are down side streets you would never think to turn into, and a few are so well embedded in their communities that they feel like they have always been there, which in several cases they have.
Pubs near the Hove Seafront
The Hove seafront and the streets immediately behind it are home to some of the most distinctive pubs in Hove East Sussex, each with a different take on what a seafront local can and should be.
The Better Half sits just off the seafront and carries the claim of being one of the oldest pubs in Hove with genuine pride. Recently revamped with care and intelligence, it retains everything that made it beloved while adding a cocktail menu, regular live music and a heated rear beer garden that makes it a year-round destination. The name itself is thought to reference the better half of Hove, a friendly nod to that long-standing sibling rivalry with Brighton. Dog friendly, community spirited and consistently warm, The Better Half is the kind of pub that gets under your skin. It appeared in the BRAVO Best Pubs in Brighton top 20 at fifteenth, and its following among Hove locals is as loyal as any in the city.
The Pub at Rockwater has transformed the seafront pub offer in Hove entirely. Sitting right on Kingsway at Hove Beach Park, it brings an old school pub sensibility to one of the most enviable settings on the south coast. Pool table, Guinness on tap, a vast beer garden and a genuinely community-minded atmosphere make it the natural choice for a post-walk pint, a dog-friendly drop-in or a long Sunday afternoon session with the sea in front of you. Family friendly and refreshingly unpretentious, The Pub at Rockwater is shaping up to be exactly the kind of local Hove has always deserved on its seafront.
The Gather Inn sits further along the seafront near Hove Lagoon, offering panoramic lagoon views alongside a menu of comforting pub classics including fish and chips, burgers, hunters chicken and a traditional Sunday roast. It is a friendly, unhurried neighbourhood pub at the western edge of the Hove seafront strip, perfect for anyone spending a day near the lagoon or arriving by bike along the coastal path.
Pubs on Church Road Hove
Church Road is Hove’s main commercial artery and one of the most rewarding pub streets in East Sussex, with a cluster of excellent venues spread along its length and the streets feeding off it.
Paris Wine Bar on Church Road is the kind of venue that defies easy categorisation, sitting comfortably between a neighbourhood bar, a wine bar and a proper pub. Dark wood interiors, deep comfortable seating, a large secluded outside space and a modern British small plates menu make it an ideal spot for relaxed social evenings, while the wine list, cocktail selection and rotating ales keep every kind of drinker happy. The conviviality of the place is the whole point; Paris Wine Bar is designed around people spending time together, and it succeeds entirely.
The Farm Tavern sits just off the Church Road corridor and is one of the best Hove pubs for food, with a European small plates menu, a Sunday roast with vegan and children’s options, a roaring open fire through winter and Margarita Thursdays that have built a devoted weekly following. The events calendar at The Farm Tavern is one of the most lively of any pub in Hove, running sea shanty evenings, DJ nights and summer barbecues that reflect the genuine community energy this pub generates.
Pubs near Palmeira Square and Blatchington Road Hove
The streets around Palmeira Square and Blatchington Road contain some of the most interesting and unexpected pubs in Hove, the sort of places you discover by turning down a street you had never tried before and finding something genuinely worth knowing about.
The Westbourne on Portland Road is a neighbourhood pub with real destination appeal, combining stylish interiors, comforting pub classics, rotating craft beers from independent breweries and a warm community atmosphere that keeps the room reliably full. It is the kind of pub that feels simultaneously like a proper local and somewhere you would actively travel to, and it placed sixteenth in the BRAVO Best Pubs in Brighton rankings this year.
The Wick Inn, just off Palmeira Square, is one of those pubs in Hove that rewards curiosity. Dark green tiling, a dark wood central bar and tinted windows give it a pleasantly old school feel at street level, but head upstairs on a Friday or Saturday evening and you find a speakeasy-themed bar of real intimacy; post-war jazz, carefully poured drinks and an exclusive atmosphere that feels like a genuine discovery. The Gin Tub, also in this area, takes gin as seriously as anywhere in Hove, with over 100 gins on the menu and a delightful system of vintage table phones through which to place your order.
The Watchmakers Arms represents a different kind of Hove pub entirely; a micropub pioneering the simple pleasures of real beer in a focused, no-frills environment. Serving its own Beercraft keg and cask beers alongside a changing selection of local and independent brewers, it is a destination for serious ale drinkers and one of the most singular craft beer experiences in Hove East Sussex. The Old Albion, with its 40 gins, rotating guest ales and consistently strong roasts, adds further character to this part of Hove, a pub that has reinvented itself with energy and quality after many years under a single landlord.
Best Hove Pubs for Food
Several pubs in Hove have built strong reputations specifically as destinations for food, and the best of them compete comfortably with standalone restaurants in terms of quality, sourcing and kitchen ambition.
The Ginger Pig on Sackville Road is the standard bearer for the best Hove pubs for food, a three-time winner of Best Food Pub in the Brighton and Hove Food Awards with a seasonal menu of locally sourced dishes, a wine list of genuine quality and, with rooms recently added, one of the most complete pub experiences in the city. Breakfast through to dinner seven days a week, Sunday roasts that consistently rank among the best in the area, and a kitchen that treats its ingredients with real respect make this the most ambitious food pub in Hove by some distance.
Hove Place on First Avenue is a bistro pub of consistent quality, with a modern menu available for lunch and dinner daily and a Sunday roast that locals book well in advance. The front terrace and the Italian-themed heated rear garden, which is Hove’s largest pub garden, make it a compelling option in any season. The wine list is well considered and the cask beers rotate to reflect the best of what local Sussex breweries are producing.
The Urchin occupies a category entirely its own within the best Hove pubs for food. Its dedication to shellfish and craft beer, with supplies from Brighton and Newhaven Fish Sales and its own onsite Larrikin Brewery, has earned it a national reputation built on doing two things extraordinarily well. The annual Seafood and Craft Beer Festival that The Urchin hosts has become one of the most anticipated events on the Hove food and drink calendar, drawing visitors from well beyond the immediate neighbourhood and cementing its status as one of the most distinctive food pubs in the whole of East Sussex.
Tapestry brings a more contemporary neighbourhood bar feel to the Hove food pub scene, with small plates that complement a thoughtful drinks list of cocktails, draught beers and no and low alcohol options, and a weekend brunch and Sunday lunch menu that has built a loyal following. The east-facing terrace is a particularly appealing spot in the early evening.
Hove Pubs and their Annual Events
One of the things that sets the best pubs in Hove apart from simply good ones is the way they anchor their communities through events and annual traditions that people plan their calendars around.
The Urchin’s annual Seafood and Craft Beer Festival is the most celebrated of these, a full-scale outdoor event that takes over the pub and its surrounding space each summer and brings together the finest shellfish and independently brewed beer the county can offer. It has become a genuine fixture on the Brighton and Hove food calendar and sells out every year.
The Robin Hood runs an annual street party that has taken on a life of its own, closing the street outside the pub to traffic and filling it with music, food and the kind of communal energy that reminds you what a neighbourhood pub can mean to the people around it. The Lion and Lobster runs its own street party with similar spirit, and the Farm Tavern’s calendar of sea shanty nights, DJ evenings and summer barbecues keeps it consistently busy throughout the year. These are not pubs that open their doors and wait; they are active participants in the life of their neighbourhoods, and that quality runs through the best of the Hove pub scene from top to bottom.
Best Pubs in Hove East Sussex: What Makes Them Different
Pubs in Hove East Sussex have a distinct character that is worth understanding before you visit. They are, as a rule, more neighbourhood-focused than their Brighton city centre counterparts. They sit on quieter roads, down side streets you would not automatically turn into, tucked behind the main shopping streets in spots that local residents know and visitors have to discover. That sense of discovery is part of what makes exploring the best Hove pubs so enjoyable. You are not following a tourist trail; you are finding the places that the people who actually live here have chosen as their own.
The pub culture in Hove also skews towards food and community in equal measure. Many of the best pubs in Hove are also among the best food pubs in Brighton and Hove, producing kitchen output that rivals dedicated restaurants while retaining the warmth and informality that makes a pub feel different to a restaurant. The Sunday roast is taken particularly seriously across the Hove pub scene, and the beer gardens in Hove are among the finest in the city.
Whether you are looking for the best Hove pubs for food, a craft beer micropub, a wine bar with a secluded garden, a seafront session with a pool table or a proper neighbourhood local with a roaring fire, pubs in Hove East Sussex cover all of it and do so with a warmth and quality that justifies every visit.
Q
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According to the 2026 BRAVO awards which is an annual public vote with almost 70,000 votes cast. The Better Half and The Urchin from Hove are voted as some of the best Hove pubs in the ‘Best Local’ category. The Robin Hood Brighton won best pub in Brighton in 2025. Here are the Top 20 best pubs in Brighton and Hove.
Hove has plenty of welcoming neighbourhood pubs, including The Better Half, tucked away just off Hove seafront. Known for its friendly atmosphere, live music, quiz nights and cocktail menu, it’s a true hidden gem among Hove pubs.
If you’re looking for a spacious beer garden in Hove, Hove Place has the largest in the area. It’s the perfect spot for a sunny afternoon pint, making it one of the most popular Hove pubs for outdoor drinking and dining.
Yes, The Better Half is one of Hove’s most welcoming pubs, regularly hosting live music and quiz nights. It’s a great choice if you’re looking for a lively evening in a traditional Hove pub setting.
The Urchin is a standout Hove pub with its own brewery, The Larrikin Brewery, and a menu specialising in seafood and shellfish. From crab and lobster to fresh mussels, it’s a must-visit for food and drink lovers.
For unbeatable seafront views, head to Rockwater, a stylish pub and restaurant right on Hove seafront. Its terrace and rooftop bar make it one of the best pubs in Hove to enjoy a drink overlooking the sea.
Yes, the Fram Tavern is a classic example of a traditional Hove pub, offering a cosy setting for a pint with friends. With its warm atmosphere, it’s a great spot for a relaxed pub lunch.
If you’re after something unique, Paris Wine Bar & Gardens combines a relaxed pub atmosphere with a focus on wines and cocktails. Its garden space makes it a fantastic option for those who want a change from the typical pub scene.
The Gather Inn is perfectly placed near Hove Lagoon, offering great food, drinks and a relaxed pub vibe. It’s ideal if you’re spending the day by the lagoon and want a nearby pub to unwind in.
Yes, The Better Half and Paris Wine Bar & Gardens both offer well-curated cocktail menus alongside pints and wines, making them popular choices for groups looking for more than just the usual beer or wine.
Hove is full of hidden gems when it comes to pubs. The Better Half is tucked away just off the seafront, The Urchin surprises with its own brewery and seafood menu, while Tapestry brings a relaxed, neighbourhood charm that locals love.
