please note - reviews on this site are purely the opinion of site visitors, so don't take them too seriously.
Really this is practically a restaurant, although the bar area to the left as you go in is more of a pub. Food was good but this isn't a food reviewing website. Beer was good also. Gastro style inside, cream and pale green walls and light wood, that kind of thing.
|
Tried to eat here last Sunday, despite three empty tables, we were told they had no space.... It was getting on for 2pm, so presumably some people were about to leave.....
Member of staff was quite rude, so it will be a while before we return.
Loads of kids in this one bar pub
|
Definitely a food pub rather than a true pub. Mind you the food was very good. Some nice ales on tap.
|
Went to the Connaught to meet some friends back in May. Although the pub clearly looks a lot better since it has been refurbished I found there to be a distict lack of atmosphere. It has something of the wanky wine-bar feel to. The whole place seemed geared much more towards food than drinks and when I asked for a taste of one of the ales they had on I was reluctantly given a tiny thimble-full by the barmaid. The ale I ended up buying cost �4 a pint.......obscene by anyone's standards. We didn't try the food although judging by how busy it was in there it must be pretty good. However we will not be back here for drinks even though it's just down the road.
|
I went there for a pre-meal drink and enjoyed the atmosphere and the drinks. No problem with the service at all and it was a busy weekend evening. It's not a locals pub, its a gastro pub and a place to meet before moving on to town. I would definitely go back when in the area but wouldn't make it my local if I lived there.
|
So many people grumbling about price and the class of people in this pub as if it isn't always packed. There is an appeal in this place that extends beyong real ale and a nice bunch of locals. I am a beer man but am just as enthusiastic about locally sourced, high quality food and this place provides that brilliantly. It is a bit noisy and does attract a few pretentious folk but you are drinking in Hove! There are still dark places with sticky carpets nearby should that be your thing.
|
The Connaught has reinvented itself as a food-led Gatropub. It also has real ales. I quite like it, however I my enthusiasm is tempered by:
(1) it's the usual generic, tasteful varnished wooden floor with the space opened out, this means that there's nothing to absorb the sound which gets pretty cacophonous and makes relaxed conversation difficult
(2) the beer and the food is expensive
(3) the service is satisfactory but not great
(4) the air conditioning unit outside (in the pleasant garden) is incredibly noisy making the garden far less attractive than it should be
(5) there's a fire in the winter and after Winter visits my clothes smelt of bonfires
All in all a nice pub, but not a great pub, and for this local the negatives put me off going in there more regularly.
|
Back in having saved up as it's still a pretty expensive place. Thought it would suit Peroni drinkers though? Ringwood 49er one of my favourites still on with Boondoggle and Brakspear Oxford. Have to say the food was really superb!! Probably explains why it's always surprisingly busy? Ah well - off to save up all over again?
|
Nice looking pub inside, but once your in there you will find thats all it has going for it. Pint or Perroni was �4.50 that is daylight robbery and it wasnt very nice. Also I dont get these pubs they expect you to pay a fortune for the food and drink then all they supply you with is crummy old school tables and chairs to sit on...very poor. Also it seems to be full of terrible pretend middle class from the poets corner area. I would give it a wide birth.
|
used to be great. now taken over by hoards of hove's buggy people. there will be no proper pubs left in hove soon. and what happened to the old locals - used to get great rock n roll DJs and the like. Have they all been swept away like new york tramps. i despair. first the pedestrian becomes the terrible forager, now this.
|
A bit winebar - ish and expensive, but had a nice pint of 49er. The sort of place where you expect people to go speed-dating.
|
After a recent change of owners finally got round to visiting this one. Layout of the pub can be offputting- the tables being jammed together to maximise how many they can squeeze in. This means that large groups of people can dominate and couples or smaller groups are left feeling rather squeezed in and may spend the evening listening to other peoples conversations. Even getting in and out from tables seemed to be a challeng- saw some people climbing under tables to escape! Taking out a few tables would solve the problems.
A decent beer selection- Harvey's best, Darkstar Hophead, a Ringwood and one other. Food was very good, not cheap- �10-�14 for a main course turned out to be good value with high quality meals and generous portions.
Best kept secret is the rear garden- huge with lots of new tables and chairs, decent planting and a raised lawn which should be a real afternoon / evening suntrap when (if??) the summer arrives. Looks like the best pub garden in Hove.
|
As a "sort of" local - a good comfortable pub for the area and they generally have a decent ale (recently Hepworth Classic Old Ale). On my last visit the barmaid hadn't quite worked out that you are supposed to fill the glasses but another barman spotted this and quickly came over to make ammends. The food is very good (but a little pricey and maybe avoid Sunday lunchtime?) and make sure you try the olives - great value!
|
Oh goodness, what a disappontment. We had heard good things about this pub recently and thought we would try lunch there. As we walked in the door the decor was great and the pub warm and welcoming. My companion and I both decdied to have a main course salad. Both were listed as being available as a starter or main - one being listed under starters and the other under mains. But I have to say that the only difference must have been the amount of salad leaves. It was hard to find anything else amongst them. I think I might be exaggerating to say we had half a tomato each finely chopped. I guess as a starter you had less leaves but even then the rest would have been a very small portion. When my companion said this to the waitress after the meal , whilst she wasn't rude, she said she thought the portions were large enough!!! We followed with coffee - we didn't get one of the ameretti biscuits that we had seen at the servery although other coffees had one placed in the saucer and my coffee cup had been put onto the wrong saucer and wobbled precariously on one side of the saucer.
Overall very poor value for money and we won't be going back
|
A gorgeous pub in a lovely location. Couple of points that i think need mentioning. Firstly the bar staff do not have a clue how to pour a pint, the beer was lovely but it was shocking to see how much beer was wasted and how little care was put into the pour. One barman seemed to be racing him self to see how quickly he could pull the pump. Also such a shame to walk into a brakespear pub and have 2 of the 4 ales off and to have one of the ales as a Harveys best which i can get anywhere else. i went there because of the brewery and couldnt get any of their product. shame. Otherwise lovely oub with real fire and food looked good.
|
We stayed in Hove a few weeks ago and popped into the Connaught as a last place to visit on the way back to the B&B. We ended up doing this for four nights! What a lovely friendly pub! Wells 'Courage' Directors, and Flowers IPA were two of the cask ales available. We were made welcome on all or visits, a great pity we live over 300 miles away and that we understand the pub is to be blinged up by the owners (Greene King?) This part of Hove needs a locals pub not another anonymous wine bar! Good Luck to the licensees and regulars that any changes are small ones!
|
The connaught is a very friendly pub.Terri is very nice and friendly as is tom .
But the hidden jewel in the crown has to be maxine.A ray of sunshine and the prettiest little barmaid this side of hadrians wall.Good food and a welcoming atmosphere make this a pub well worth a visit.
anonymous - 23 Jul 2007 02:40 |
This popular pub is now under new ownership and has had a bit of a facelift. Some of the same staff are still there, with the added attraction of one of the best looking barmaids in Sussex. Terri is absolutely gorgeous, and very friendly and chatty.
The beer is good, and the food is to be recommended. Ask for the specials list as it varies each day.
anonymous - 30 May 2007 16:48 |
Good old fashioned boozer. Friendly staff and good beer. Nothing to wrtite home about apart from that but a good quality proper pub.
|
The bar staff are some of the best I've ever come accross, they did everything they could to make us welcome and couldn't have been more attentive. Ash trays were regularly cleaned, you never had to wait long at the bar and the beer was good. This pub won't be for everyone, it isn't trendy and the decor in one of the rooms is a bit tired, but it is a great example of a proper local pub and we'll definitely be back.
Good for watching the sport in a family friendly place rather than the usual 'lads sport bar' atmosphere.
|
