Was staying round the corner in Elms Ave and we went out for a meal and a drink and ended up having…read morea look in here. Bit out of our league, but everyone seemed to having a good time, and the surroundings were nice. We went on somewhere else.Guess!

Growing up in Eastbourne, I've spent many nights in here - we even used to have our college parties…read moreat TJs. There are two rooms - downstairs which is usually dance music, and upstairs which is for the indie kids.The downstairs is dark and dingy - useful if you're on the pull but not looking your best by the end of the night!

Tom's bar doesn't exactly jump out if you are trying to find it... instead it blends in with its…read moresurrounding walls, making finding the place rather tricky... Once you have conquered that particular hurdle, you'll find a modern style cosy pub that pumps out crazy videos and pumping music at non obtrusive volumes, allowing you to have a conversation bellow shouting volume. Drinks are a little expensive, but are probably representative of the trendy atmosphere. Though not exactly my "thing" Tom's bar is bound may well be up your street, and offer an evening and atmosphere that you'll fall in love with

The walls of Tom's Bar are covered in graffiti art, which gives this bar quite a cool, gritty,…read moreurban feel. The basement smells like damp, and is very darkly lit. Apparently one time my friend came downstairs and their was some kind of sex-dungeon party going on with loads of naked people, although when I went in it was empty. It's quite grimy, and there is just one small bar. It's not really the sort of place you would go for a nice quiet drink, but it's got a lot of character. Plus, in spite of the aggressive décor, the barman was very sweet.

The Buckingham Arms is a traditional pub, located adjacent to Shoreham railway station, and thus a…read moregreat favourite with those wanting a quick pint before running for the train (on which, see more later). The main draw for outsiders is the choice of ales. As you enter, you are confronted with 11 - yes, eleven - handpumps, featuring 6 regular ales and up to five guests. It's like having an ale festival every day. Regulars include Harvey's Best, Abbott and Greene King IPA. On my last visit the guests included Hop Back Summer Lightning, Morland Original and Harvey's Christmas Ale (served in halves, as it's 8.1%). The beer has always been well-kept, and well served, and the staff are generally friendly and efficient, although a few times when it has been busy we've had to wait longer than I felt was reasonable. The interior is very traditional - dark wallpaper, prints, patterned carpets and lots of wood; but there's also a TV showing Sky Sports. If I'm honest, the interior is not the most atmospheric, but it's the beer that you come for. In the summer, there's a small beer garden at the front and a garden space at the rear. A note on catching trains: if you are heading towards London, Hove or Brighton, the platform is on the other side of the tracks from the pub. It can be accessed via a subway from the nearest platform, or by crossing the level crossing and walking straight on. But be warned: the barriers come down three minutes before the trains arrive, so you can't leave it to the last minute and saunter across the tracks. Many a drinker has been seen running like crazy along the platform, under the subway and back up again, only to miss the train. Not recommended after a few pints...

Real ale heaven, and only a short stagger from the station to get home. What more could you want?…read more The regulars are Harvey's, Green King IPA and Abbot, which you can get easily in other places, but the guest ales are much more interesting: it features regularly in the CAMRA Good Beer Guide. There's a nice beer garden at the front for use in good weather, although it gets busy pretty quickly in summer. A must-visit venue on any visit to Shoreham. PS Adhere to dmj1962's advice about leaving enough time to get the train, if you going toward London or Brighton, unless you want some frantic exercise going via the subway.

In the summertime, Brighton Coalition is an ideal place to go for a drink and something to eat…read more There's dozens of tables with umbrellas outside and comfy armchairs and sofas inside where you can look out at the beach and the hundreds of people sunbathing. Unfortunately, both times I ate there I was appalled by the service and the standard of food. The first time I ordered a superfood salad that was limp and lacking most of the good ingredients and the second time I ordered a burger and fries. The latter was delivered cold and wasn't that tasty either - a double whammy of disappointment. I would have sent them back but the staff were so rushed off their feet both time, it was impossible to get their attention. When I did complain they simply looked at me stoney-facey and shrugged 'Sorry about that' or something to that effect. Suffice to say, I won't be going back to eat there unless they employ a new team of chefs and some well mannered staff! I would however, go back to The Coalition in the evening to try one of their gigs or club nights like Club NME. The drinks are reasonable and they have an intreguing roster of guest deejays and bands from Boy George to Bloc Party.

The great thing about having a better half that tours the country skilfully strumming a guitar or…read morean artsy brother who lives by the sea is that you get to visit Brighton. Ah, Brighton, the trendier beach-based city. With a thriving gay community and a row of artists' studios on the waterfront you literally couldn't get more boho. Music venues of course are a must in a town like this, and the Coalition is a great example. While the BF insisted that the acoustics weren't spot on, we mere mortals and Average Joes enjoyed what we heard and saw. The atmospheric lighting and original features lent themselves well to an intimate space where the band is literally only a few feet away, the bar's always within reach and there are squishy sofas aplenty to appease your behind. I do have a scruple though, and it's a big one. After the bands played, we were kicked out. And I do mean harshly for a sweet, sensitive and soulful place like Brighton. Heck, this would have been harsh even in Manchester. No messing around with these bouncers. And why were they kicking us out, pray tell? Oh, they weren't closing. No, far from it. After the live music they re-open as a club and boot you out so you have to pay AGAIN to get in. Coalition, you were so close. I'd definitely see a band there again, but I'd make sure my Bulmers was supped and my coat was well and truly got by the time the closing few bars were played. Shame.

This is somewhere to go for underground beats and vibes, with none of the pretension of many of the…read morecity's seafront clubs. It is fairly small, but generally feels about the right size for the nights that are held here. The bar is separate from the main dancefloor, which is a definite bonus, meaning that no-one is walking through the thronging masses to get to the bar. The main room is upstairs, but downstairs is another smaller room, generally with a more chilled out atmosphere than the main section. In summer, in common with most seafront clubs, it is a cafe/bar in the daytime, serving takeaway drinks and basic food. It's not plush or fancy, and could even be described as grimy, but it's also a hell of a lot of fun.

Back when they used to have Dub Pressure in here it was amazing, but as the music has blown up the…read moreclub has been left in the dust in my opinion. They still have decent nights on but none that captured the grime and filth that came with GRAMPS HI-FI soundsystem when installed for said night. The club has a good layout and if it's packed out the main room is loads of fun, the downstairs room is smaller (main one isn't that big though) and can be quite annoying but at least another option.

Busy food orientated pub serving well presented modern global food. I chose the pan fried Hake…read morewhich was very flavorful, with saffron fondant potato, asparagus, spinach that was rather in the salty side, and a shellfish sauce. Would have preferred the skin on the Hake to be crispy as not doing seems to lose the point of keeping the skin on the fish IMO. My fellow diner chose the braised beef feather blade which was fork tender. We both left a clean plate.

This is a wonderful pub that dates back to around 1613 and is located in the beautiful village of…read moreBolney. The village pub trade, according to a lot of red-top newspapers is dying off but you wouldn't think that once you walk in here as its always buzzing with locals and passing trade after some good pub grub. Beer wise the guest ales are always changing which I think is great as you never know what you might be missing out on. They have Harvey's on as their regular though so at least you won't go thirsty. We had a great Sunday roast here. Luckily we arrived early and managed to get a table - the staff didn't seemed bothered with the amount of hungry people to serve and as far as I could tell, no one complained about slow service. The roast beef was amazing! Really nice and rare.

If you have got Gin on the mind, this is where you need to be, turning up with tasty tipples…read more I'm not a massive Ginaholic however I walked by and the ambience grabs you from the street and entices you to come inside. The decor is sublime and each table has a telephone to call your order through to the bar or call another table. The menu is extensive to say the least, I had Bathtub Gin and Fevertree Toinic. It was divine. Gin served in a double measure. When in Rome! I will defiantly be back soon for a flight board 3 Gins, 3 Toincs and 3 nibbles to choose from. I'm G'n'T-ing it!

Went here recently for a quick drink before dinner, and was seriously impressed. Having recently…read morediscovered a liking for gin I thought this would be the perfect place to go to and I was not disappointed. This bar works in a different way to most bars in the sense you do not go to the bar and order your drinks. Placed on each table is a an old retro phone. Once you have browsed the menu of gins and various tonics you dial "0" on the phone and speak to the helpful bar staff who will take your order. You can even call other tables if you so desire, although they wont take your order! The venue itself is beautifully designed and made me think I was in Moulin Rouge! There are a couple of downsides to this bar though, they have a signal blocker therefore preventing people using their phones inside. Whilst it can be annoying going out and seeing everyone on their phone, that is up to the group of people and not the venue to decide and I also felt everything was on the expensive side. If you order 2 G&T's you won't get change from £20! And if you are not a fan of gin then beer is over £6 for a pint. I would go back here again as I think it's a quirky venue but it won't be a regular jaunt.

Stopped in for a pint while visiting Brighton on a day trip. We didn't get food, but I was really…read moreimpressed with the ale selection. They had many of the usual suspects but also a handful of harder to find and unique pours on hand. Service was quick and friendly. Prices seemed fair. Seating is a little tight inside, but they also have outdoor seating on their mini patio, so just keep your head on a swivel and grab a seat when you can.

I love walking through the streets of Brighton, you'll always come across a cute place. I wanted to…read moregrab a quick bite and decided to have some BAO at the pond. You obviously have to order at the bar and seat yourself which is fine, however I just didn't enjoy the vibes of the place. I ordered the Fried Chicken BAO from Baby BAO - topped with Miso Mayo, pineapple relish, gem lettuce, sriracha & coriander. It was about 5 pounds which isn't too bad because it was the largest BAO I had ever eaten. It looked pretty but wasn't the greatest. The actual BAO wasn't soft and fluffy, it was very chewy. The chicken was perfectly crisp but didn't have a lot of flavour, and it could have used way more of the toppings. I took a few bites and had to move on. They have loads of other BAO so give those a try! Keep Eating, Angela