Stag-Do City Guides: Brighton

Brighton is like an Aladdin’s Cave of joy, booze, food and drunk people trying to do the nasty with each other – didn’t see that in the Disney version of Aladdin did you? Head to North Laine for starters. Full of proper pubs, selling proper ale, with a good atmosphere, and a proper mix of weirdos. The Ship Street area is crammed full of funky restaurants, and you shouldn’t have to work too hard to find a strip bar or two.

NIGHT CLUBS

Oceana, West Street – Loads of different rooms, five bars and there’s even a hot-dog stand, should you wish to soak up a bit of ale. www.urmusicnetwork.com/oceana/brighton

The Ocean Rooms, 1 Morley Street – Brilliant sound system and probably one of the best clubs in the whole of Brighton. www.oceanrooms.co.uk/oceanrooms.html

The Honey Club, Kings Road Arches – One of the biggest clubs in the town, with mainly Hardcore  house and techno, INCREDIBLY LOUD. www.thehoneyclub.co.uk

Coalition, Kings Road Arches – Impressive club with varied music (trance, house, standard club fare) some extremely nice women and a good night out. www.drinkinbrighton.co.uk/brightoncoalition/

Tru, West Street – Recommendation from a reader – “no frills fun nightclub, with music, girls, booze. What more could you want?” http://trubrighton.com/

DECENT PLACES TO GET A BEER

Impossible to whittle it down for Brighton. The best idea is to start at North Laine – an interesting area full of unique shops, bars and pubs – and go on from there. Any of these will see you right though:

The Great Eastern, Trafalgar Street. Tel 01273 685 681 A decent traditional pub, with good beers. It’s standard fare in here, and as a good early evening starter, or seconder you can’t go wrong, seating is limited but I’m guessing you wont be staying long, worth a go though.

The Shakespeares Head, Chatham Place. Tel 01273 329 444 They serve good ale, and proper sausage and mash of all sorts of flavours and varieties, and immense gravy. A good pit stop if you want to fill up on food before the beer. Highly recommended.

St James Tavern, Madeira Place, Kemp Town. Tel 01273 626 696 It’s an old fashion pub, that serves again, good local ales, with a menu of Thai Food. This pub, if you like your rum, sells 69 different types, so if that’s your thing, then pull up a chair, you’ll be there for a while.

The Mash Tun, Church Street. Tel 01273 684951 Full of young chilled-out types this pub is the hub of the town, and is a good stop off point.  Over the road you’ve got the…

Wagon & Horses, Church Street. Tel 01273 602752 A bikers’ haunt and again a really good pit stop. The bonus with these two pubs is that they are in the heart of the North Laines, and have plenty of seating outside so ideal if the weather is fine.

The Lion & Lobster, Sillwood Street. Tel 01273 327 299 This bright pink pub is more towards Hove but the ale is superb and atmosphere is friendly and relaxed.

Basket Makers Arms on Gloucester Road. Tel 01273 689 006 – The walls of full of tin boxes, where people over the years have written notes, and secreted them in the boxes, if your mates are boring you, take them there, hours of good reading in those walls.

Other top pubs:

Hop Poles, Middle Street – Tel 01273 710 444

The Cricketers, Black Lion Street. Tel 01273 329 472

The Bees Mouth, Western Road. Tel 01273 770 083

The Eagle, Gloucester Road (opp Basket Makers). Tel 01273 607 765

Earth & Stars, Windsor Street. Tel 01273 722 879

STRIP CLUBS

Grace of Brighton, North Street. Tel: 01273 733 212 £10 for week nights and Fridays, £20 for Saturdays. This place offers full nudity, and you can even pay for the Stag to be dragged up on stage with two of the dancers for £70. www.graceofbrighton.com

The Pussy Cat Club, Grand Parade. Tel : 01273 680 886 They offer a Stag-do package also, if you pre book you can get in for £10, and have a couple of dancers do a special, “wedding” dance for the groom.www.pussycatclub.co.uk

Spearmint Rhino Rouge, East Street. Tel: 01273 205 206 Standard Spearmint Rhino club. www.rougegentlemensclub.co.uk

Reader recommendation: If you want to get your stag a little souvenir of his trip, and maybe a treat for his Mrs, then take him to the Brighton Body Casting. You can get his old chap cast for as little as £15, depending on size. A new twist on the traditional brighton rock. www.brightonbodycasting.com

DECENT RESTAURANTS

BomBanes, George Street, Kemp Town. Tel: 01273 606 400 Weird, eccentric Belgium-inspired restaurant. The owner Jane has mechanical hats and the tables all have something odd about them, they either move or make a noise. Not great for massive parties but if you’re looking for something different, this is it. www.bom-banes.co.uk

Harry’s, Church Road. Tel: 01273 727 410 Good English grub which does a breakfast that goes on till 4pm. www.harrysrestaurant.co.uk

Chilli Pickle, Meeting House Lane, Tel: 01273 323824 Semi-posh Indian food, that is served in a relaxed atmosphere. They serve an IPA that is 7.5%. www.thechillipicklebistro.co.uk

Blue Man, Little East Street. Tel: 01273 325 529 North African food with incredibly welcoming owners. Opt for the banquet meal, for £20 which is a mixture of all things Morrocan, and a few things you wont know what they are. www.bluemanrestaurant.co.uk

The Regency, Kings Road. Tel: 01273 325 014 Old-school proper fish and chip restaurant, over looking the sea. Prices are steep, but the food is quality. www.theregencyrestaurant.co.uk

TRAVEL:

The taxi system in Brighton is really reliable. Try these first.

Streamline 01273 20 20 20

Radio Cabs 01273 20 40 60

Carcabs - 01273 41 41 41.

Tourist information:

Tourist Information – www.visitbrighton.com – 03003 000088 (calls charged at standard rate).

ESSENTIAL TRIVIA

Brighton is home to the world’s oldest aquarium – Sealife dates back to 1872.

Brighton was voted one of the happiest cities in the UK.

In the Domesday Book, Brighton was called Bristelmestune and a rent of 4,000 herring was given.