Black Lion

The beer garden is really nice and if you manage to get a table close to the heaters you can sit outside no matter how cold and rainy the weather is.

Always busy on a weekend, The Black Lion is one of those places where you know there will be a good atmosphere and decent music if you can’t decide where to go on a night out (basically me and my friends last night)
It does get a little bit rammed which makes it quite hot in there, but it’s not a major issue. Nice vibes, good mix of people and friendly staff.
It seemed a lot more packed than usual last night, but then I noticed the large smoking area out the back was closed off for some reason, so maybe that made a difference.
They do food here during the day and early evenings, it’s been a few years since I have eaten here so can’t really say what the food is like. I’ll just use that as an excuse to eat out yet again :)

Well supposedly oldest pub in Brighton. Looks a bit abused with time and substantially is a classic boozer without any interesting features other than being cosy with a few real ales.

Tolle/​r pub/​Gaststätte mit interessantem Mix: Außen traditionelle, uralte Fassade und semi-​gemütlicher kleiner Außenbereich. Drinnen total urig, schön und gepflegt und links daneben der bunte, alternativ daherkommende Biergarten mit großflächiger Che Guevara-​Wandbemalung.
Wir waren Nachmittags da, so dass ich zu Live Music nichts sagen kann. Aber die 32(!) Stunden geschmorte Ochsenbacke war ein echter Genuss.
Getränke im self-​service find ich völlig okay, was aber nicht geht sind die winzigen-​Austretmöglichkeiten.

Particularly on a Friday night the Black Lion is a great night out. As the night goes on — a dance floor appears and you could spend the night dancing and drinking the evening away!
They’ve recently done up the garden & smoking area and it’s much much better now — lots of heaters and making the most of the outside space.
If you want a lively night out but want to stay in a pub — this is for you.

This is a great Brighton pub. I’ve been in here a few times and will most certainly be back!
There’s a great atmosphere about this place. It is, essentially, an ‘old man pub’, but it’s by no means dingy or intimidating and is a great balance between casual and well-​done. There was football on, for example, last night and though there was the occasional rowdy cheer (which you’ve gotta expect during the World Cup) the atmosphere remained pretty civilised and my friends and I were still perfectly able to sit and have a nice dinner amongst the buzz.
The food here is really great. I’ve eaten here several times and always been impressed. They do you usual suspects — burgers, salads and the likes — but they do them well. I had a chorizo & haloumi salad, which was really tasty and my friends had some fantastic looking burgers! They serve a range of drinks too, beers, wines, cider and they also do some incredible cocktails for a very reasonable prices, which is always a great find in my books!
The staff are great in here too — very friendly and helpful — and the service in general was slick and fast. A great place for dinner or a drink with friends. Oh, and I guess the football, if that’s your thing!!! :)

Great beer selection and great ambiance! I have been lured into this great location 2 nights in a row. Both Wednesday and Thursday evenings they had lots of patrons and the Beer on tap is the main reason I went back. Great little area in The Lanes!

UPDATE:
Black Lion’s response below. The bouncer told the people behind us over capacity as we were staring straight at him. As he saw us walk away, he didn’t realize I turned around and saw him motion the guys behind us in. Hope that helps clarify my thoughts about your establishment. You have somewhat of a back-​handed insult towards the end of your letter. First impressions do matter but who knows, if I ever visit Brighton again, I’ll see if I’m treated any differently. Btw you can find me on Tripadvisor and Unilocal.Feel free to read my reviews. You’ll find them fair and justified. There are more positive reviews than negative and none about racism. Response from the pub:
There are many reasons why someone may be turned away from the Black Lion on any given night. As the licencee for this pub, I can state quite categorically that race has never been one of them. We are often at capacity on a Friday or Saturday night, so this would certainly not be out of the ordinary. I would suggest that it’s more likely that the people behind you were: staff members; on the guest list and, therefore, accounted for in capacity calculations; had been in the smoking area; had already been in the pub and returned; a myriad other reasons more likely than your (I won’t go as far as to say libellous) assumption of racism. The Black Lion is a great place to be of an evening, precisely because of the wide and diverse range of clientele we have due to our policy of preferring friendly people to non-​friendly. I would urge you to come back, possibly earlier in the night, and experience the place from the inside before making a judgement such as this and then continuing to make sweeping comments and accusations about a whole nation like the ones you have made above. Pot, kettle, (any colour you’d like to insert here).

I’ve been in the Black Lion before, on a Friday and Saturday, and it has always been so rammed that I’ve never stayed too long. Just recently, I popped in on a Wednesday night and kind of fell in love with the place.
Busy for a school night, but with plenty of seating options. A live band playing at the back, but not so loud that you couldn’t have a conversation at the front. Friendly and helpful bar staff, good red wine, and a few random clientele that always make for an interesting night — card tricks and magic anyone?
I’m not sure what time they officially close but I vaguely remember leaving around 2 ish (not so good on a school night!!)
They do food but I haven’t tried it yet.
I had a fab night here and will definitely be back for more… however, I may have to leave instructions with the staff to kick me out earlier than 2am!

The black Lion is one of those great pubs that borders between a place to sit and drink and a place to dance your feet off.
I have not yet had the chance to eat here, but have been here to drink several times. From the outside, ti looks like your usual town center pub, but once you get inside you start to see just how big it is! The bar is very long, and there is not usually a very long wait to be served. There is a DJ on the dancefloor, so you are always dancing to live music, and I have even seen people make requests.
The beer garden is HUGE, and is a great place for people to go for both a smoke and to hangout. There are big chairs with cushions, as well as rows of park benches, and it is always busy. You can also enter the beer garden from the street, without having to go through the bar.

It’s OK overall. Live music was kind of boring, they called it Jazz. Drinks were good but the kitchen closed at 8pm.

I have only eaten at the Black Lion twice, but from my few experiences the food rivals that of most pubs in Brighton (I had the Seafood Salad once and the Chorizo & Haloumi Salad the other time). The staff are enthusiastic and attentive and as happy for you to order from the bar as they are to do table service, which is no mean feat considering how busy the Black Lion can become at the 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.
The Black Lion is a great example of a pub that manages to constantly and seemingly effortlessly transform itself from busy day to busy night with a good sized beer garden, which can be covered and heated in the colder months.

The South Laines is a very mixed bag that often fails to offer the charm of its more intimate sibling over to the North. Places like Old Orleans and Jamie’s Italian make it a bit predictable. However, Black Lion goes some way to restoring parity in the battle of Brighton.
Once inside, the Black Lion is surprisingly large and spacious, yet you’ll still find a good atmosphere for either a drink or meal. Selling a mix of Gastropub type foods, you can find a range of things here that will suit your tastes. Duck wraps, burgers and chorizo stews being an example of the differing options.
If you’re more interested in a watering hole, Black Lion succeeds there also, offering a good range of ales and wines on top of the normal bar you’d expect to find. Staff also tend to be relatively friendly and likeable.

The Black Lion is one of my favourite pubs, and yes, avid readers, it’s because it has a nice big smoking garden. More than just being nice and big, it is heated, covered, and they serve a variety of ales and wines: just my sort of pub. The food is also perfectly good and very nice: little to compain about here, beyond everything inside.
Inside, the Black Lion is a disaster. The music is too loud, the bar is understaffed, and the clientele atrocious. This is the only pub I’ve been in and never sat inside: I just can’t see the point. If I wanted to spend time with a bunch of drunk, unruly students, or a chavtastic crowd of deadheads, I’d venture onto campus or West Street past 7pm.
Honestly, it isn’t that brilliant here, I just like the outdoor bit and the selection. If you’re not thick-​skinned, or a smoker, there’s little point going here: there’s much nicer places nearby, like the Hop Poles.

We’ve always had a good time at this quaint little pub. If you manage to get a table outside then that makes it even better. The staff are really enthusiastic in here and the music policy is ace which does attract a varied clientelle.
The décor is pretty contemporary but it still has a nice cosy feel to the whole place. We had a nice lunch there a few weeks ago — nothing too posh but very nice indeed. I can highly reccomend the jacket potatos!
The place can really kick off in the evening with people dancing around which is great to see.

Resembling an old fisherman’s cottage, this place is deceptively small looking on the outside, but is funky and modern on the inside. Enter and you’re greeted with masses of long wooden tables, a huge bar and a dance area to skank away to the many DJs playing on weekends.
Another of Brighton’s very busy pubs, and a premier spot to have a dance and shake your thang to some real funk and soul. With a large outside area with covered tables, it’s always heaving outside as the smokers warm their lungs.
Decorated in modern street art and funky posters, the Black Lion plays host to Brighton’s coolest kids, from students to young professionals trying to forget about the working week.
The music’s quite loud on weekends, so not the place to go if you’re up for a quiet drink, but definitely worth a wiggle if you’re looking to bust a groove.

Normally it takes a crowbar and a boatload of tequila to get me to go out on a Friday night during term, but some of my housemates convinced me to meet up with them at the Black Lion recently. I had been once before for an after work drink and found the place to be pleasant enough. I’m glad I gave it a second chance.
The furniture is pub standard: thick wooden tables meant to withstand the occasional intoxicated dancer on top with chairs to match. The décor is pretty modern and arty, though nothing that would attract business on its own. The staff are friendly enough for a busy pub, and the drinks aren’t prohibitively expensive, but certainly not for someone on the dole.
The real reason for going on a Friday night is the music. It was an eclectic mix of Motown, funk, and modern top 40 that will find a note for anyone’s ear. Everyone seemed to be having a great time: groups mingled, couples pulled, and it only took me one shot of tequila to start dancing for once.

The Black Lion offers a great combimation of traditional pub, and funky bar.
The outside is uniquely interesting, being a tall, old fisherman’s bulding, inside stretching back tardis like away from the frontage. The interior is sleek and modern, in contrast to the outside.
At weekends it does get very busy, thanks in part to the fact that they generally have DJs playing at weekends, playing various styles of music, making this a good Saturday night choice.
They also serve a basic but tasty selection of standard pub food.

Any pub that plays Bettye LaVette, Marlena Shaw and The Supremes automatically gets the thumbs up from me.
I’m a big soul and funk fan and don’t think there’s anything better than catching up with friends in a cool bar with good drinks. And the Black Lion is a cool bar with big wooden tables, clean white walls and eye catching street art. The only problem is, its so spacious that when it gets busy — which it does every weekend — it can be hard to make conversation over the beautiful din of good music and other peoples voices. I haven’t sampled any myself but as well as offering fine range of bottled beers, ales and spirits, they also sell hearty portions of food at lunchtime and early evening.
Mine’s a Havana Club Rum with coke and a slice of lime. What’s your tipple?

The Black Lion is located right in the centre of town, between the South Lanes and the seafront. It is a deceptively big pub: what might look like an oldy-​wordly fisherman’s cottage from the outside turns out to be a spacious contemporary pub on the inside! The décor is light ans modern, its all clean lines, white walls and minimalist wooden furnishings. For this reason, the pub can feel a little characterless– I would have preferred a restoration of the original cottagey interior. Saying this, the pub does have a nice atmosphere and is vastly superior to some of the nearby chain pubs.
Drinks are not extortionate, but like most central pubs, they don’t do particularly great drinks specials. Nevertheless, the Black Lion draws an impressive crowd– located right next to the new office development above Jamie’s Italian and close to the town hall, it’s a favourite with after work punters. Friday and Saturday nights see the Black Lion fill with students, as it’s one of few decent, large pubs in the area.

Situated in a really busy corner in the Laines the Black Lion sits between the Cricketers and Jamie Oliver’s restaurant. It can look a bit lout tastic from the exterior but the Black Lion is far from it, its always bustling with students, young profs and general cool Brightonites. Unlike a lot of pubs in the area a proper dance fest gets going to the DJs at the weekend playing Motown and soul classics.
Its got a large court yard out the back which is always rammed. There’s a really nice atmosphere even with a couple of unnecessarily arrogant bar staff. Its pretty lively at the weekend so I wouldn’t go in for a quiet drink.

Stopped here for a Sunday lunch and couldn’t finish the portion of grub they served. Perfect Yorkshire puds as well.
Reasonably priced in contract to the level of food that arrived. The staff were friendly and happy to explain how to get on to their free wifi.
Toilets were a bit on the grotty side and the outdoor courtyard was a bit drab so get the tables out the front if possible and watch the world go by.