Good Companions

I went here the other yesterday for a roast. A few years ago this pub would be a venue which I avoided. The type of people who would drink there wouldn’t be the type that I’d like to be around or have as friends. I’d say the pub attracted posher types of people who live in white hawk. Now obviously I’m making a massive statement — I must clarify I’m sure there are lots of nice people who live in white hawk. However, most people in Brighton and hove, know that many wrongens live in that particular area! So yes, not your friendliest crowd. But I must say this pub has turned itself around!
Its quite a big pub, and caters very well to large groups. We were in a big group and there were many people in the pub but it didn’t feel as if we were on top of one another. The venue it’s self is comfortable and has various sections to it. A bar area, with a big circular bar, a restaurant area, and a large outdoor area which lots of seating and heaters! It looks like they have a space where a BBQ area would be.
If your going in a big group for a roast, I’d say book and reserve a table. The menu choice is pretty good, they have vegan options as well as three different types of vegetarian options. Obviously it’s Brighton after all, but 3 options for veggies I’d say is pretty good going. It’s also relatively cheap as it goes. £10.95. You also order at the bar and pay for it at the bar which is good as you don’t need to muck about with the bill at the end! But, in terms of price, I guess standard, but that’s what my meal was. I went for the veggie Wellington option. Cheese, mushrooms, spinach Wellington. With sweet potato mash, roast potatoes and a MASSIVE Yorkshire pud. It was tasty, but not by any means the best roast I had.
What I slightly disappoint about was the order in which the food came out. It didn’t come out all at the same, which obviously makes sense because we didn’t order at the same time. But it did mean that some people were eating way before others which can be a little annoying! Oh well. Not too much of a big deal. Also, I like my food to be pretty hot. It was a little cold which suggested that it had been either sat their for a while or not cooked all at the same time and plonked on the plate at Random points.
The waitresses were also a little grumpy. Not very friendly either. Apparently someone nudged one of them when they were behind serving the food. By mistake she knocked a Yorkshire pudding, the waitress was annoyed and reacted badly. I just felt like saying. Cheer up mate!
Overall, a worthy three stars. Tasty food, great venue. Wouldn’t come here again for a roast but defiantly to have a drink!

Relaxed, family-​friendly gastro-​pub with a nice garden full of little decked hut type things to keep the rain off!
They have an excellent range of local and slightly further afield ales, ciders and lagers. In terms of food, everything looked really tasty however I only had a bowl full of chips. They were really tasty, make sure you get their garlic mayo!
Seems like a very similar vibe to the Preston Park Tavern, full of families and middle aged beer drinkers… my sort of pub.

This is our regular haunt for Sunday roast dinners. Well, I guess it’s between here and The Shakespeares Head just around the corner.
I’m a stickler for a quality Sunday roast, and the Good Companions rarely disappoints. Since we’ve had a baby it’s nudges the Shakespeares out of its top spot with us, as there’s ample space for buggies, and it’s generally a bit more child friendly. (NB: if you prefer your roasts sin niños, you may want to go elsewhere — it’s loaded with them on Sunday daytime)
As a local pub it’s pretty idyllic — great economical food, a decent array of beer and wine, good bloody Mary’s. It’s got an ace beer garden out back, and plenty of room in the pub.
Other reviews mention the overhaul that this pub had in 2011, but it really was outstanding. You can’t tell now, but this really used to be a dive of a place. Normally when pubs get revamped they get turned into something astronomically different like a Gastropub. Thankfully in this case they just redid it as a really welcoming, kid friendly, traditional boozer. Top job.

The Good Companions is a reliable pub that’s cozy and spacious. However they do get busy so be prepared, especially on the weekends. Food is good and the service is great.
I actually met my husband here which makes the place just a little more special to both of us. :)

This is a wonderful pub, a little while from me, but well worth the jaunt!
The pub has a lovely feel to it — it’s very pretty from the outside and inside is just as nice, with lots of little pockets about the place, as well as big tables, meaning you can come for a quite/​intimate drink or sit with a big group of friends.
There is a big outdoor area for when it’s a bit nicer, which is wonderful and I also know they have lindyhop classes upstairs here, having been to one myself! The class was great fun, well led and reasonably priced, as far as I can remember!
I’ve only ever drank here, so cannot comment on the food, but the drinks prices are very good indeed — perhaps some of the cheaper prices around, without delving into student bars or pre-​club pubs!
Dogs are allowed in here too, which for me is a lovely touch! One of our group had a medium sized (and beautiful) dog with him and she was welcomed in with open arms and had no issues inside.
It’s very cosy and the staff are friendly — a very warm pub with a nice Brighton feel to it! If it wasn’t quite so far from home, I’d be in there on a much more regular basis, no doubt about it! If you live nearby — pop in!

I enjoyed my first Sunday Roast here and was not disappointed. I selected the white meat chicken plate which was surprisingly juicy. It also came with the usual trimmings like Yorkshire pudding and roasted potatoes and carrots. The entire meal was lighter than it looked.

This used to be a manky old man’s pub and there was also a murder in the toilets here a few years back. But thankfully it’s been tarted up and now it’s a really cool bar and pub. Nice outdoor area with plants and decking. Big space inside that’s really trendy. Loads of different wines and beers and totally buzzing on a Friday and Saturday night. Good roasts too!

I give this pub four stars because the starters are fantastic. The scotch eggs have a runny yolk and the chutney that goes with the melted camembert is delicious.
There was a chilled atmosphere when we went, last night, with soft rock classics like The Doors playing, dimmed lights and pretty light paper, puffed up lanterns on covering each light. It was also v. Busy.
However, all the bar maids were stroppy and unpleasant. Also, my steak was a very cheap cut for fifteen quid.

The Good Companions, since its refurbishment, has massively improved. Like it’s sister, the Dyke Tavern, the pub is no longer confined to lager swilling football fans but is now a trendy gastro pub where it is not uncommon to see Dads with Prams. Thanks to the brand new bar, cosy fire, new menu, trendy bar staff and kid friendly attitude, the clientele have been upgraded, along with the prices. The roast dinners are great, but be prepared to kiss goodbye to your change!
Would have given 5 stars but have been kept waiting many times at the bar!

Wow! This place has had a make-​over even daytime television would be proud of! This used to be one of those big, characterless pubs that were ok for watching the footie as long as you could avoid the fights, but nowhere I would choose to go given the option of the far finer drinking establishments in Sevendials.
However, after it’s new year refurb it has been reborn as a tip-​top gastropub. It’s much more open plan but in a strange way this gives it a more intimate feel. It has a separate dining area and lots of different seating arrangements making ideal for groups of all sizes. The bar is a massive square in the middle, so getting served should never be a problem no matter how busy it gets. They specialise in local ales and there was a great selection of eight Sussex ales and porters on tap. I stuck to the wine on this occasion but will definitely be back to sample the local ales.
I didn’t try the food this time but the menu looks interesting and local, another reason to come back!

It does not make sense to me that others have given this pub such low reviews. A friend of mine and I stopped in for a few hours after a day walking around Brighton, and I was nothing short of pleased.
I’m a man who enjoys the fresh air, and Good Companions has a wonderful front patio area with nice, patron-​controlled heat lamps for those chilly nights by the sea. Good companions also has an outdoor seating area in the back, which I did not experience.
The staff was friendly and provided prompt service, even when the bar got crowded as the evening went on. My friend ordered the «Laura’s Lovely Pork Pie» and said that it was very tasty, yet a little too small for his liking.
The beer selection was more than pleasing. Good Companions does not have what could be considered an exotic or unique range of beers on tap, but their selection is still much better than what you would find at a Wetherspoon’s or Nicholson’s and the like.
For all of its strengths, Good Companions fails to miss the 5-​Star mark because of its size. As a large pub, it fails to retain the intimate, cozy atmosphere that I prefer when relaxing with a friend or two and some pints.

Having recently heard in the neighbourhood that The Good Companions was being completely refurbished, I decided I would go and check it out on a very snowy day in December.
Entering the pub your are greeted with such a lovely pub, gone is the old segregated small bar area and you are welcomed with a warm open plan and spacious and friendly space. Great interior touches with all the retro pictures and centre piece bar — feeling like a modern gastro style pub but at the same time feeling like a nice classic local pub, such a change.
I was surprised to see that they specialise in local ales, there was a plethora of choice more than 10 I believe, so I tried a couple whilst I was there!
On the outside of the pub I noticed it said that it was a ‘Food & Ale Pub’ I thought i’d check out what the food was like. I had a beautiful Main course of Sautéed ceps, new potatoes, spinach and fried duck egg. Which was just delicious and I was provided by great service by the friendly staff in the process! I’ll definitely be coming back to try out the rest of the Menu.
Living in the area, I’m so glad that the pub has been transformed into what is now my new local!

This type of pub gets a bit of a bad reputation in a place like Brighton; with so many lovely and cool pubs, tradition tends to get forgotten. However, Good Companions actually isn’t a bad pub at all.
They make homemade pizza and offer relatively cheap drinks, especially during happy hour of if you’re a student. Beyond that, you can also play pool, poker and darts here.
They show all of the major sporting events on their projector screen, something that is always a bonus. The staff here are pretty nice, trying to expand to attract more students and show that they have something to offer.

Its such a shame there’s so many of these huge, empty looking pubs on the outskirts of the town. Now a days, the pub trade is dwindling and when you walk into somewhere like this and there’s only a handful of locals staring into their pint of Stella, you tend to turn on your heels and walk out again.
That said, the staff here are really friendly and engaging, there’s a moderately good selection of beer and a fantastic garden when the summer months eventually arrive. The food is nothing exciting but is reasonably priced and tasty (I had a nice lasagne). They also have great facilities for watching sport (of course) and do put on some Elvis impersonator nights (of course of course).
Its not the pubs fault really, its just too big and doesn’t get an atmosphere unless there’s a game of football on or its a weekend night.

A large local pub, just out of the main shopping area in Seven Dials. This location means it generally seems to attract an older and more ‘local’ crowd than some of the trendier places in this area, and it is no worse for that.
It looks as if it were probably built in the 30s, and is similar to many of the suburban 1930s pubs I know from the South West London area I grew up in, with high ceilings and spacious seating around a large bar, although not a great deal in the way of character. Outside there is some roadside seating and also a beer garden at the back, unusual in this area.
The staff here have always seemed reasonably friendly when I’ve visitied, and they seem to know a lot of their customers.
An unexciting but solid food menu is available, with standard pub favourites such as sandwiches, chips and burgers.

Large pub in the Seven Dials area of Brighton, with a pavement patio at the front and an enclosed beer garden at the rear. Built in the 1930s ‘Roadside’ style, it was supposedly opened on 3 September 1939, the day war was declared. The ‘Good Companions’ derives from a novel of the same name, popular in the 1930s by J B Priestley.
The interior comprises a large central bar, surrounded by open-​plan seating areas, with large-​screen TVs and extensive wooden-​panelling, but has been recently modernised and painted in lighter colours.
The pub has several real ales on tap, including some of the local ‘Dark Star’ range, Harvey’s Sussex Bitter and Courage Best, and serves food daily (evenings and lunchtimes). It’s busier during the day, but pretty quiet most evenings — its fortunes seem to have waxed and waned recently, and it had a spell as a bit of a ‘chav’ pub, though the crowd seems more mixed now. It can get very busy when major football matches are shown on TV.