please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Closed all day today.
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Never been in at 5pm on a June Summer evening but I have been in before 12 AM and before 4 PM. And the same applies. Never enough staff, slow service and young persons not really sure what they are doing. Having said that there was 6 real ales on when i visited.. They all looked good..
I was the designated driver so cannot comment . However two beer drinkers and two lager drinkers did not complain.
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I went in this "pub" last summer !
It was a lovely hot summer afternoon in June, and at 5pm there was
ONE barperson.
Suffice it to say there was a queue nearly out the door.
The queue was organised by the customers not the staff.
I wonder if Tim the Aussie ever goes in here wearing a false beard to get some
customer feedback.
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Went there last Wednesday to try their Chicken Club menu. Wish I had not bothered. Went the chicken breast came, tit was with an apology for a salad. You would not serve the lettuce to a tortoise! As for atmosphere, it was non-existent.
Suggest try Yates or the other Spoons Pub - The Post & Telegraph.
They appear to have changed the appearance of the upper level to make it look like a student canteen. At least the Post & Telegraph in North Street looks like a traditional pub
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Light, airy and fairly spacious. The service is bog standard and just about everything else about the place is as well. There are definitely much more inspired pubs near by that are better in most respects. I personally much prefer the other main Weatherspoons in Brighton centre, The Post and Telegraph being a traditionalist.
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Lovely pint of cider.
All my friends are here.
The sun is out,time for pride.
Shake it baby.
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I dont know why I go in to Wetherspoons................... probably for the cheap food, such as on this visit. The atmosphere is dire and the beer poor......... that is if you can get served.
Cheap they may be but they are not 'pubs'.
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Lovely guinness in here last night.
Nice and friendly staff.
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Popped in early for a pint. As I got to the bar the Manager mumbled to the colleague who was nattering with a friend over the bar that he had to change a barrel. 5 minutes later there were 6 people at the bar waiting to be served and the conversation didn't seem to be ending any time soon. No idea what happened to the manager as I walked out. Avoid.
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Nice spoons,and guinness lovely.
Very busy,but service was prompt.
Lovely mix of people in here.
Do love a clean place.
Staff are fit,yes please.
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This is one of the better Wetherspoon run pubs. It has been refurbished in the last year. Don't go Friday and Saturday nights - too busy. With a Wetherspoon pub, my advice with the food is to have a curry and a drink on a Thursday, or a beer/burger deal on other days.
Staff are polite, but seem slow in clearing plates and glasses off the tables.
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Basic. Didn't go upstairs but judging from the noise there were plenty in. Poor beer choice although did have 3 ciders on. Being a spoons fan this place was a disappointment.
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One of JDW's worst and sadly to be avoided.
I called in twice today. At early lunch time (before 12) waited to be served at the downstairs bar as only one person on.
This evening - early tea time, about 1815, waited ages. The only guest ale went so left with just Ruddles or Abbot cask ales (compared with some 'Spoons that have about 6 guest ales). Was told the food would be 15 to 20 minutes. It arrived 30-35 minutes later and most was cold - how can that be, unless they cooked it when we ordered then just left it standing there???!
Most JDW pubs do a decent jobs but a few like this sadly let them all down by association. Not sure whether it's poor management of this particular pub or what, but as a customer I will definitely head elsewhere tomorrow!
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Went in recently just to have a soft drink and bite to eat , It was a midweek afternoon and although it was'nt that busy there was quite a wait to be served .
2 of the meals were unavailable, the table and high chairs for babies were dirty and sticky. They had no orange jucie and the coke was flat. Toilets were clean though.
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Visited this Spoon as we were in Brighton recently. Quite bright ands spacious, although seemed to be heaving the lunchtime we went in there with families and some healthcare type conference going on round the corner. The following afternoon early evening almost like a different place, although you can't fault the prices, I agree that the staffing was erratic and the real ale choice poor for a flagship branch.
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agree with skippybn21 , except its the worst wetherspoon i've ever beeen to . beer choice limited ,quality diabolical, food even worse.
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This is one of the worst 'Spoons pubs I've ever been to. What people expect is decent food nd drink, clean tables and efficient staff with decent surroundings. This has none of those. Applling service, scummy people, waited 40 minutes for cold food and totally indifferent staff. A disgrace.
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This is one of the worst Wetherspoons I've ever been to and unfortunately it happens to be my local one. However, would agree with previous posters that the food is good, but also that the real ale selection is a dissappointment. I would also add that I've always found the lower bar to be understaffed, so be prepared to wait for service.
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I was working long hours for a week round the corner at the Brighton Centre and needed somewhere I could get a halfway edible cheap meal at 7 o'clock: in and out in 45 minutes. On the first night I tried the Bright Helm, perfectly prepared to be disappointed because I've had some awful 'Spoons experiences with food.
I was pleasantly surprised. For 5 consecutive nights I got an edible if not gourmet meal served in a timely manner and on a couple of occasions with a glass of house red that didn't strip the lining off my tongue. It wasn't noticeably dirty or conspicuously full of smelly alcoholics (maybe one or two) and I mostly got served efficiently if not effusively politely
I wouldn't take my girlfriend here for an anniversary meal and I wouldn't choose it for a Saturday night out on the real ale. (I didn't try it; like I said, I was working) but that's not what 'Spoons are for. It was, in the vernacular, fit for purpose.
There are, believe me, worse 'Spoons.
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I don't know what people expect from this place. A cheap chain on the grottiest street in Brighton. Good if you want Polish beers that will knock you out or anything cheap. Otherwise, desperately avoid.
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Should carry a Government health warning. Wetherspoon's seem to have tried to improve the quality of their pubs in recent years but obviously this one dropped under their radar.
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Reliable Wetherspoons. Looking rather tired and in need of a refurb though. Gents loo was awful apparently. However, decent varied range of beer. Usual food menu. Pleasant enough on a Thursday lunchtime.
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Always hard to rate a Wetherspoons pub - they all seem the same to me and this one is typical of the rest. Rather limited selection of ales compared to others, and seems a little more raucous than others due to its location.
Floyd - 23 Nov 2008 19:04 |
Most people using this site know what to expect of Wetherspoons and even more so of a city centre one in a place as popular as Brighton..so even the biggest real ale fans (e.g me) wouldn't go for a nice pint at ten o'clock on a Friday night...however 1845 on a Thursday and the first day of the Wetherspoon beer festival was perfectly adequate! And the Curry Club offerings smelled tempting too...
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A tourist trap on tourist trap street. Horrible dive full of drunks from about 9am. By the evening it's jammed full of stags, hens and homeless. Go here if you want to be a) mugged, b) bottled or c) puked on by a slapper
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This pub seems to have staff problems, I listened - while waiting the usual ten minutes to be served - to two of them talking the gist of the chat seemed to be that a member of the staff had not turned up and that was likely to cause problems. The impression is that Spoons don't employ enough staff and certainly don't train them. Ask one their opinion of an ale and watch the blank look.
Last time I was there (last month) no one had had time to unpack the wines they were advertising as a promotion. Two of the meal were sold out. The ale I wanted was off...
Best avoided. But its cheap and will therefore always do well.
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After eating at the very nice wetherspoons at the marina and talking to the very lovely barmaid there and mentioning that it was a shame they were so far away from the town, she mentioned that we could always try this place , although she said "its not as nice".
I can only say that i wish i had believed her and not bothered going - the place didnt look that busy but there were didnt plates and glasses on most of the tables (perhaps just after a rush?) which would be understandable - but there were 3 staff behind the bar just chatting! We were served by the rudest barmaid - she seemed very annoyed that we were interrupting her chat!
Didnt bother staying for the food - we went back to the West quay instead!
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Typical of so many big-town Spoons � useless transient staff, hopelessly trained and badly managed. Thought we�d pop in here on the way back to the minibus �for a quick one�. I campaigned to stay the ES for that �quick one� but seeing as we�d drunk our way through most of the beers I was outvoted.
My gripe is thus: it had an array of handpulls downstairs so we queued up and waited for 5 minutes. Finally got served only to be told that there was �no ale whatsoever� even though all the clips were on display! Grumbled about that but to avail so went in a huff upstairs (I�d decided to boycott the tills at this stage, but some of my pals had gritted their teeth and got a Kopperburg), only to find that they had a token Abbot available up there!! Arrggh!
The amount of times people have complained about clips not being turned on Wetherspoons leading to frustration at the counter is vast. Mullet Man says it shouldn�t happen and it�s something to do with staff training. My hairy @rse, this must be Spoons policy, I�ve only ever been in a couple where they follow normal publicans convention on unavailable/rancid ale. The fact that the t*t who served me couldn�t even summon up the mental capacity to advise me to try upstairs is truly depressing.
As for the pub itself � it�s a bit snazzier than the usual Spoons and the door staff are big on ID�ing everyone that enters. But as they clearly don�t know what they�re doing, I won�t be back and I advise you all not go either if you like your beer � Evening Star (and others with great beer and professional service) only 5 minutes walk away from this joke!
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Last Saturday me and the Girlies came to Brighton on a Hen party from Chasetown to which we had a wild time!
Reason im writing this is to warn all you girls of a barman who works here who goes by the name of Frunk...Frunk was serving me when he became very flirty and as the evening went on things got rather steamy. Everytime i ordered a drink Frunk kept putting Double Plymouth Gins into my Speckled Hen's which made me rather tipsy! Come the end of the night i had legs like jelly and couldnt see no more than 3 foot infront of me this is where Frunk finished his shift and sort of took advantage of me by inviting me back to his place in Hanover! Things got very heated in his place (which i won't go into detail) but i woke up with a rather big hangover and the hamdams and left while Frunk was still asleep!
I'm writing this to worn other girls of this barman and to say i bet he gets upto things like this everynight of the week!
If anyone knows Frunk or if your reading this get in touch because i think i maybe pregnant with your baby!
Beware
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On my first visit managed to get a reasonable beer. Went back next day for one of their breakfasts, and found so big a queue at the bar we gave up. Not the best Wetherspoons I have been in.
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Big pub used to be McKluskys now wetherspoons change for the worse really - but beer is cheap just a pity it's on the dreaded West Street run, steer well clear of West street in general unless you want to be brawling with Sherman wearing chavs - unfortunately due to location this Wethersppons suffers these types as it's clientele.
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I couldn't find this pub on this sites listings and had to trawl through every JDW listing!
No longer just a Wetherspoons - this pub has been named after its revamp of the other year.
Now named The Brighthelm or something similar.... Strangely all the other venues with Brighthelm in their title tend to be religous venues or services!!!!!!!!
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This is a pretty appalling pub even by Wetherspoons standards. Visited once and would never go again.
anonymous - 20 Sep 2006 19:46 |
One redeeming feature = cheap.
However, I would rather lick turds than spend an afternoon in here.
You can't take it with you, so spend the money on going somewhere even half decent rather than waste your life in here! If you haven't got the money to spend, then go to an offy and sit on the beach/Hove lawns instead!
anonymous - 13 Sep 2006 16:56 |
Wasnt too bad when I was in there a week ago. Yes there were an above average number of one eyed tramps in there and a slightly better looking group of women on a hen day but the pear cider went down a treat!
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I believed that i had truly seen the worst that wetherspoons could throw at me after visiting the dump on the concourse at Victoria station, alas this was not so, i have now experienced an even worse place here in Brighton.
The staff have been beaten down and look totally demoralized,and have taken on that "i could not give monkeys bollock" attitude.
After waiting for ten minutes watching the ale being poured up and chucked over the bar as water would be at a third world holding center i thought i had a brain-wave and because this place is split over two levels i would be clever and try the upper floor.
on climbing the stairs i realized that the world and his brother had had the same idea as me only twenty minutes earlier.
Upstairs there was one poor tortured female taking drinks orders,taking food orders, taking abuse over the time it was taking to get served, taking food complaints over wrong orders and inedible food...!
I waited patiently for my turn and attempted to produce a sympathetic sort of uneasy smile and ordered eventually my pint of Abbott, only to be told the abbot was off upstairs,and that i would get a pint downstairs..! i felt myself joining in with the frenzy of complainers and i am sure at this point i observed this destroyed female place her hand in her pocket and attempted to give me a monkeys bollock..!
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Appalling... but what do you expect... after all it is a new generation Wetherspoons on the main route from the station to the seafront.Compare this to their pub in George Street Hove and it is hard to believe it is run by the same company.
Do yourself a favour. If you have to drink in this particular part of tourist central Brighton.. come out of the front door, go down the narrow street opposite and drink in The Fiddlers Elbow.. You will soon forget the misery you have left behind.
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Want to get stabbed? Well here is the place to go!
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The clientelle aren't any advertisment for Brighton: it is
directly on the route from the station to the seafront and therefore traps whatever grockles have piled off the train. But is there any other pub near the seafront you can take children into ? (I'd like to know!)
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If you are an aged beer drinker, do not enter, as you may expire by the time you get served in here. I have been in here probably a dozen times, and been swiftly served once. Bar staff all vacant. Food nice enough, again, if you can get served. Roomy seating area, exotic downstairs lavs, although foul smelling and cold. An acceptable place to stop off for a pee and a meal on the way back to the station.
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Good and cheap food! Well, it is the pub's only selling point, which can get overlooked amongst all the horror. So I thought I'd mention it.
But the main purpose of any pub is to sell drink, and this Wetherspoons fails miserably. The barstaff don't even understand that beer can 'go off' and the barrel needs changing; the young girl serving me INSISTED that I drink up my pint of vinegar and stop complaining. I departed swiftly. Other people (below) have given the best advice: avoid this place like the plague.
By the way, during last year's Labour Party conference there was a policeman standing in the door of this pub, as early as 1145am! Whether that was to keep the already-pissed punters inside, or to stop Cabinet ministers from entering, I don't know.
anonymous - 15 Feb 2006 08:15 |
I went to Brighton on a stag weekend recently (novel idea I know) and we walked around for bloody ages trying to decide on what pub to go into. For some hellish unknown reason some bright spark decided that we would start the night in here! This is without a doubt the worst pub I have ever had the misfortune to frequent. Now, I've got nothing against Wetherspoon pubs in general. In fact I've spent some memorable afternoons/evenings having a sup and a chinwag in some of them (the one in Shepherd's Bush for example). But this cess pit should be flattered that it's current rating is a massive 2.7/10. It's brighter than Steven Hawking (which only helps you see how dirty it is), the bouncers are nazi's (ie you cant take glasses on any part of the pub that isn't a totally flat surface (ie not stairs of any kind) and certainly not if you don't have any proof of ID with you) and the clientel really are not a good advert for the population of Brighton. The toilets were pretty clean though and the cublicles had locking floor to celing doors. And some of the girls in there that night had some of the biggest hooters I've ever experinced with my naked eye (altough unfortunately not my naked hands) Small mercies. Big tits, but small mercies.
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Its kind of like drinking in a box factory, being served by robots who obviously dont get paid anywhere near enough to give a toss about the state of the place and surrounded by people who look like they have spent the best part of their lives working in a box factory.
Depressing and rubbish, avoid.
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A disaster of a pub.
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The worst Wetherspoons I have ever been in. Filthy tables, very tatty decor, virtually no choice of ales. I know it is West Street, but even so there is no excuse for this
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Horrible pub, worst street for going out in Brighton and the busiest, says nothing about Brighton, soulless pub, yes cheap drinks so what spend 50p more and there are plenty of better places within reach, avoid like the plaque.
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I agree with the last poster - I didn't think Wetherspoons got this bad. Filthy dirty, feet stick to the floor, bad beer - only one real ale on the other day, bogs smelling of puke, all this at 1PM on a Saturday lunch.
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Quite frankly..........disgusting! I popped in there en route to somewhere else today, at 10.30. Staff kept themselves up to the usual JDW standard (i.e. couldn't give a shit) then , after having been served, had a barmaid lean across from the EPOS terminal to dump my change in my hand whilst, at the same time, depositing MY pint in front of the guy standing a good three feet away!!! When I politely asked if I could have my pint, it was unceremoniously plonked down on the bar (just) within arms reach.
Okay, got my pint: turn around to play the fruit machine to find its frontage ENCASED (and, believe me, I do not exaggerate here) in cigarette ash. I am a smoker, btw, but to also find that the nearest ashtray was swimming in some sort of inderterminate liquid was too much.
I drank half of my pint and left:
I WOULD HEARTILY ADVISE ANY VISITORS TO BRIGHTON TO AVOID THIS PLACE LIKE THE PLAGUE!
I am, in fact, toying with the idea of contacting the local EHO to enquire how a pub could be in such an unsavoury condition within such a short time of opening.
Any representatives of the Wetherspoons chain who might happen upon this site might bear my last paragraph in mind.
As an ex-publican myself, take my advice: you REALLY need to sort this place out, or leave yourselves liable to spending many a month in the Small Claims Court (or worse!)
If it was within my power to give this place a minus rating, I would.
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A few years ago... I entered this pub by the corner door, stood for a mo to get my bearings then started towards the bar. But, before I could do so, a pimply bouncer leapt into my path to tell me I wasn't allowed to come through the door which I'd just walked through. I politely mentioned that it was hardly important as I was already well inside. The poor lad looked close to tears but refused to budge so I took pity and went out of 'that' door and re-entered by another.
I'd hate to think which government dept the pimply one is now running.
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As far as pubs go it's not the best, yet we regularly end up there. The drinks are very cheap, but this does mean it takes quite a while to get served. Some of the staff are nice, some not so nice....It's always busy, so if you want a quiet drink go elsewhere! But it's main selling point is the cheap drinks!
anonymous - 9 Feb 2005 19:40 |
Execpt for the cheap booze deals, (and they are cheap), stay as far away from this place as possible, unless you're a Ben Shermen, drain-pipe trouser wearing sheep. Sorry
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Functional and modernist style pub with cloudy, slightly vinegary and excessively chilled Batemans Spring Breeze guest beer. (Spring 2004)
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As weatherspoons go this is an excellent one! The atmosphere is great as is the location. The staff are very helpful and friendly. The food is also of excellent quality. With an bar upstairs and downstairs there plenty of room.
ALISON - 22 Apr 2004 13:38 |
Outside of prime time boozing hours this place is great if you're skint (and have some skint mates with you) plus the foods cheap and good as well. There are some real booze bargains (eg. Kronenbourg at about �1.50 some weekdays). the downside is its a big modern cold barn frequented by pensioners during the week. Avoid at all cost on Friday/Saturday night, West Street is the Mecca for suited 'n booted lads and the female equivilent (unless you like that kind of thing, then Bingo).
Paddy - 4 Feb 2004 04:14 |
Get some mates you lot and you can make of it what you like. Anywhere is good if you have mates to enjoy it with.
In otherwords... Mates - GET SOME!
J - 13 Jan 2004 16:08 |
This is a hell hole, inhabited by the under 18s and down and out 40 plus.
The Bear - 22 Dec 2003 14:35 |
There are better pubs around (e.g. Nelson) but at least they serve reasonable, cheap beer.
Young crowd - needs bouncers.
Adrian - 30 Oct 2003 13:56 |
Dull, impersonal place.
Ian - 8 Oct 2003 23:39 |
start there for a few cheap ones and maybe a jug of 'blue lagoon' and of course the 'sorry ronnie' which is a burger and chips along with a pint for �3.50...then head out the door to somewhere a little more stimulating which shouldn't be too hard to find in comparison
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Remember going in here with a mate. After about 30 minutes he had turned from a normal human being into a manic depressive. Read into that what you will. Follow Lee Newton's advise. (In fact, I'd go as far to say, go to any pub recommended by Lee Newton).
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Stuart's comment of 28/04/2003 is one that typifies Wetherspoons. Customers wanting to visit the pub and have a drink are a nuissance. Full Stop. The Evening Star or the Basketmakers or the Lord Nelson would not have treated you like that. Read the great comments people seem to be makin about these three pubs, visit them, and make up your own mind.
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Nice enough pub, with a no smoking area (if you're into that!) - they turned away me and my mates on a Saturday morning saying "No more that groups of 4 blokes". Your loss, not ours.
stuart - 28 Apr 2003 12:28 |
