please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Gets very busy and the beer is so so. Not a fan of this place and there are so many better pubs.
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Better visited on an afternoon rather than an evening when it gets quite busy and service dramatically slowed down. During the day, however, nice pub but quite pricey.
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Popped in for a drink one random weekday afternoon after finishing early visiting a client. The young staff were friendly and welcoming, even happy to allow me to ditch a lot of small change when paying. D�cor was a rather dark (prefer light and airy) but wouldn't hold that against them. There's both front and rear outside areas, both pretty small. Didn't eat but the food looked just fine and being enjoyed by others. Toilets (gents) need refurbishment though.
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Been in and out over the last 8 yrs, but only at lunchtime/afternoon. Pricy drinks but charming staff. Always had good food which is more reasonably priced. (Would like to see the loos refurbished ,though there are many worse in the city, it's not going to put us off, we remember the 70s)
Sweet barmaid gave us complimentary coffees as the cashews & sunflower seeds were missing from my lunch. Old Rosie cider for both of us today.
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So, went here on the Bank holiday Saturday night with a couple of friends and it was ok, music playing, reasonable bar service - a generally ok evening. Saw the food blackboard and decided to return the following day.....big mistake.
I'm a comedian and had to be at a fringe event around the corner at 3pm. We ordered our food at 2.15pm, I went for Moroccan Lamb, and my partner decided on a jacket potato with chilli. We ordered a drink each too. And then we waited, and waited, and waited. At 2.45pm my partner asked a waitress what was going on with our food, and was told that it would be with us in a second. At 3pm we had to leave so that I could be at my gig. We asked the waitress to get the manager.
The duty manager Geoff? Jack?, said "This isn't the waitresses fault." We agreed, we hadn't blamed the waitress. He then said, "It's not my fault." Well Geoff/Jack, actually if you're the manager then you should be taking responsibility - or should we go down into your kitchens to complain? Geoff/Jack said that the pub was busy, as if that would excuse such a long wait, the fact that at least four other tables that had ordered after us had been served before us was never explained. He then told us that he was going to refund us for the meals - wow - a full refund for two meals that we hadn't been given - you're sooooo generous. My partner then said that she thought he should refund our whole bill, including the drinks (a glass of orange, and a pint of shandy). He told her that he couldn't do that and that she shouldn't be so aggressive! Geoff/Jack, being upset about terrible service isn't being aggressive; being upset about a manager who frankly couldn't give a toss about what his customers' think isn't being aggressive; asking for a gesture to appease people whom you have let down isn't aggressive - it's called customer relations.
So I can't tell you what the food's like, as they didn't bother serving us with it. I can tell you that the management is rubbish and couldn't care two hoots about how crap their service is. I'd suggest that there are a lot of places in Brighton which will take more care of their customers, go to those places instead.
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Eaten here a few times now and always found the food tasty and of good value and quality. It's a comfotable pub in a more modern open way and the beer is generally pretty good although not exciting. On theis occasion the Arundel Gold was quite welcome.
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A bit of an impersonal, atmosphere-lacking pub. The Cricketers next door is a better bet.
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It's a real shame that, on a site that comes up at the top of the listings on Google, such a friendly and lively pub has such mixed reviews over the last few years and no comments for almost 12 months.
Having had a recent new floor and fresh lick of paint (the toilets we re-furbished before Christmas as well - which were not great beforehand), the Black Lion is now looking fantastic - clean, good lighting, nicely laid out and carefully selected music to set the tone.
The food is the equal of any pub in town (far better than most) and is served by enthusiastic and attentive staff who are as happy for you to order from the bar as they are to do table service, which is no mean feat considering how busy this pub can be at lunch time and weekends. By day, customers are a mix of about 80% locals, 20% tourists and range from students and young professionals, through local business people to retired couples. This creates a busy, friendly buzz and a great atmosphere for lunch or an early evening meal.
By night, the pub transforms into a cosy, dimly-lit space, with a cavern-like feel. Early in the week, you can expect to find live music and staff with great taste in what to play and when. From Thursday onwards, some of the best DJs in Brighton play rare vinyl spanning from '60s Motown and Northern Soul, Funk, Ska, Mod Revival, '80s Anthems, Hip Hop, Breaks, Electronica, Punk, Rock and classic and modern Indie.
The Black Lion is a fine example of a pub that manages to constantly and seemingly effortlessly transform itself from busy day to busy night, almost without you noticing.
There is also a front terrace for seating (it doesn't look much like the above pic any more) and a good sized beer garden, which can be covered and heated in the colder months.
Well worth a visit if you haven't been for a while.
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Totally overrated. No idea why it's so popular, evidence that some people (mainly tourists down for the weekend rather than Brighton locals) have no taste. With so many genuinely good pubs nearby (The Victory on Middle St for one) it's a wonder it hasn't been forced to up its game.
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not really sure where this fits, food is NOT cheap but fairly tasty, although seems to be the sum total of budget ingredients (mushroom burger on a McDonalds bun @ �8.50?!), drinks are priced at just above brighton average but served by people too busy checking how they look. must be busy at weekends to stay open i suppose? lovely decor but too cool for school springs to mind....
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probably one of my favourite pubs in Brighton. If you are walking past and blink you might miss it. The decor inside is modern (although the toilets were yuk!) and the feel is just right.
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We were on a mid-week break in Brighton and wandered into this pub from The Lanes after a hard day being tourists (we loved Brighton - cute place with heaps of character).
The Black Lion looks quite traditional and cosy from the outside, so we thought it might be a bit small and 'Olde Worlde' on the inside - the light and airy interior came as a nice surprise.
I'd definitely recommend it - there was a good atmosphere, the staff were very friendly and helpful and the drinks were great.
We didn't get to try the food this time, but what we saw being served looked lovely - hopefully we'll get back soon and give it a try.
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The food here is absolutely incredible. I believe it was taken under new management as of march 08 and the new chef "Gil" was employed - The Pork Belly here is unquestionably the best I have ever had, and a genuinely friendly mix of staff is refreshing. The music here is mixed with an acoustic night on wednesdays or thursdays and a mix of djs on friday and saturday. Some better than others, but considering the clientelle on weekend nights is considerably younger and significantly more intoxicated I think the music caters adequately for the crowd.
My experience of the beer here is good, I enjoy a pint here two maybe three times a week and have never had a bad experience. They change their range of ales about once every two months.
All in all I enjoy food and a pint in this pub relatively frequently and would reccommend it.
Those of you who have experienced the rather louder crowd and not so amazing music on friday or saturday nights. Give it another chance.
And try the pork belly.
Garwy - 14 Jul 2008 06:00 |
Well. They gave it an overhaul as far as the decor goes about 2 years ago. It now kind've looks like a 'ye olde worlde' pub of sorts... and it is actually one of the oldest pubs in Brighton, goes back to 1680 or something, but none of this excuses its music policy ( bad House Anthems- DJ or Stereo ), shit beer and horrendous pre-club crowd.
Absolutely awful bar in a pub shell.
It gets rammed on a weekend, and i guess if you wanted to try and pull an airhead from Burgess Hill then it could be perfect. If however you want a decent pint you'd be better off going to The Cricketers next door, which in contrast is theatrical, antique laden and old fashioned, but it always manages to serve one.
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Went down to Brighton on the weekend and decided to try and grab a beer. Foudn the place just outside the Lanes in Brighton.
This place confuses me. Aesthetically, the place is reasonably pleasing and looks like a nice old boozer. No Harveys (why don't you ever have this, Sussex pubs?) so went for Broadside. Poor move, poor off beer and terible staff who ddin't know or care either way about such things.
The evidence is clear here that this pub could be good. It ahs the feel of a nice pub, and yet insists on filling its lines with Heineken Export. Even the people inside are a confused mix of young and old not sure whether they're too cool for the pub, or whether it's their spiritual home.
All I can say is decide what this pub is about, get some decent staff who not only pay attention but are also in some way knowledgable about beer generally and even cleaning and running a pub, and who knows, you may get a higher grading than what I've given?
A missed opportunity.
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My friends and i went there last saturday. we had such a good time. The food was great (thai mussel)and we received a really good table service (polish girl). We end up staying all night! Brilliant!
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We visited the Black Lion for sunday lunch yesterday my wife and I as I heard their food is brilliant, unfortunately, we had to wait more than 20 minutes to order, and half an hour to get our table cleared after we finished, it just seems they're is only one member of staff for the whole place ( french and quite rude.... :-( )....... Will give it a 5 out of 10, one of the best sunday roast in Brighton, but probably the worst service.... Shame
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Jaysus - one of the worst pubs in Brighton. Avoid it like the plague unless you are a casual who enjoys the odd spot of agro.
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An ok pub. A little bit agro on the weekends and not a great atmosphere. The beer 'garden' is like having a pint in an alleyway behind a woolworths.
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Doesn't seem any more expensive than anywhere else in Brighton to me!
Food is pretty good too - honest portion sizes of decent grub. Not cheap, but not over priced either.
anonymous - 13 Sep 2006 16:52 |
Bloody expensive and I dont like the decor, wont be rushing back myself but it does always seem quite busy so it must have something going for it..
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this place is cool, saturday 19th is red tie night
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It was playing the Pet Shop Boys when me and my mate went there.
Nearly three quid for a Guinness..
Won't be rushing back.
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Looks small from the outside (but then again so many shops do in Brighton) but is quite big inside!
Tradional on the outside, Modern on the inside. Had no problems with this place, but nothing outstanding about it either. Was in on a quiet day, so don't know what this place is like during peak hours.
Interesting seating and nice bar, nothing spectacular on tap but good if your passing and fancy a good British Pint!
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Quite an expensive pub. All decked out with stone and wood, which does make it pleasing to the eye, but sadly, not the pocket. Not overly keen on the beer they did have on pump at the time of my visit, so stuck to my fallback (Guinness) at �2.90 a pint.
Only reason why I was there really was to check out their free WiFi access, which rocks. And rocks hard.
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One of the curious lion chain of pubs in brighton. not bad at all, but doesn't quite fit into its surroundings. to be honest I usually go next door to the Cricketers'.
Ant - 24 Sep 2003 18:07 |
Once arranged to meet a girl here but was blown out ignominiously. At least I saw Chelsea stuff Man U 5-0 which was some compensation.
Loser - 12 Jun 2003 18:57 |
