Ali Cats

Oh dear oh dear, won’t someone please rescue this terrible dive bar. Whilst pretty groovy six years ago it has fallen into utter disrepair — I only went in out of a sense of morbid curiosity for a Brighton Live gig. The first thing that hits you as you enter is the powerful smell of damp, the second is that all the draught beers are off except for Fosters (no ta), the third is that most of the furniture is broken, and should you dare to venture into the gents you’ll find a Doctor Who-​esque selection of fungal creatures evolving into new species on the walls, pipes and sanitary ware. On the upside, they’ve repaired the huge hole in the door of one of the two cubicles. On the downside they’ve removed the door from the other cubicle entirely.
My advice — try not to touch anything unless you’re well equipped with anti-​bacterial wipes or happen to be wearing a hazmat suit. Better still, wear a hazmat suit.

Ali Cats is an odd one. It’s an underground venue that looks more like a middle class college student’s large garage basement with low ceilings and random art graffiti painted on the birck walls. One word to describe this place would be grimy. It’s full of grime. and it’s very dark, however there is something a little quirky and originol about it. It fits in very nicely in Brighton — it’s got that ‘cool’ sort of vibe about it.
It’s extremely cheap with £1.50 drinks on selected nights, this makes it very popular with students and they usually have DJ sets going on and occasionally gigs. It can also be hired out for private functions and parties. Overall you can have a pretty fun night here and it has a friendly, lively atmosphere, but it’s not somewhere I’d choose to go that pften/​regularly. It’s worth checking out if you want some cheap drinks and somewhere a little grimy!