The Gladstone

I’d only ever been to the Gladstone once, quite some time ago when I was a student. I didn’t really like it, thought it was pretty rough around the edges and not in a good way, so when a work meeting had been arranged there, I have to admit I was a little apprehensive!
Thankfully I am pleased to say my fears were unfounded. The Gladstone seems to have spruced itself up a little bit over the years! It was pretty quiet on the afternoon that I went, a couple of locals inside (It’s quite a studenty pub so I imagine they’d all be down at night)
The young lady behind the bar was sweet and chatty, which makes a change from some of the pubs in town.
The biggest surprise for me was the outside area. Completely covered and with heating, I probably would have sat out here the whole time if I had known it was there! Anywhere that had a decent outside heating area gets a point from me.
One think I thought was a little odd was that I asked for a receipt but couldn’t get one if I had paid in cash. (Not sure if the barmaid knew how to do it) So I had to pay on my card, which there was a 30p charge for. No biggie, but I felt slightly inconvenienced!
*free wifi

A giant yellow landmark on a corner of Lewes Road, this pub has three main spaces: the main bar area with around a dozen tables and table football; the backroom bar which looks like it hosts live music and DJ nights; and then there’s the enormous ‘tropical’ beer garden with its canopy and overhead heaters. Great for smokers as it is all covered so don’t get rained on! I have not tried the food but hen a regular ordered a burger it looked good. Personally think it could do with a new coat of paint on the inside but had a good atmosphere. I will be visiting again :-)

Joli pub de quartier qui propose d’excellents burgers. L’ambiance y est très décontractée et conviviale.
Il faut commander & payer directement au bar.
Espace extérieur à l’arrière.

Due to the exterior paint job, this could be a finalist in the most noticeable pub of the city. It’s the kind of place that will appeal to students (due to the high number of cheap student deals throughout the week) and Gyratory locals (as the food is reasonably priced and will have a number of daily specials).
It’s quite a large place and is kind of split into three sections, although none have any food/​drinking priority. They will also happily hire out the large back room for any events and we have had a number of pre house party fancy dress events here. It’s the kind of pub that is always up for a theme night or something random. The pinnacle of such events in the summer ‘Gladstonbury’ all weekender, which will have a BBQ, live music and DJ sets and scrumpy cider for sale. It’s actually a really nice event and will always be busy.
Aside from that, the pub is relaxed and with a chilled clientele. Certainly my pub of choice in the area, even with it’s faults of being a little rough around the aesthetic edges.

Come here on a Sunday and you’ll find yourself among the hardened weekenders, still sinking ‘em come afternoon, if looking a little grizzled and worse for wear. There’s just something about this place, part-​student haunt, part-​wreck-​head shelter. Go outside and there’ll be the unmistakable whiff of weed in the air, go into the toilets and there’s powder all over the place. Perhaps its this edginess which makes the Gladstone so much fun. In the summer their BBQ scratch parties are a great way to sacrifice a Sunday, drinking the brain-​killing Old Rosie scrumpie, munching burgers and bopping to some prime turntableism. Look out for gigs inside too, which follow the same no-​rules, messy agenda.

The Gladstone is a great pub along Lewes road so it’s local and very popular with students. It’s pleasantly decorated with plenty of tables and wooden seating. It’s got a very relaxing atmosphere as well as an outdoor seating area with a good amount of benches, chairs and tables to sit on when you want to have a drink in the sun and watch the world go by. I went here on a Sunday for a roast. It was very satisfying indeed. They have a choice of chicken, beef or nut roast all for just £7. The portion size was great and the meat was cooked well. A friend and I stayed in this pub for quite a while in the afternoon after we finished our tasty roasts with cups of coffee and a glass of orange juice (recovering from Saturday night no doubt). It’s a very easy going pub and the drinks are well priced.
Another thing that caught our eye was the barman! Was he cute or what?! They must have some kind of — must be attractive to work here — policy because all of the staff seemed very easy on the eye, but in particular the guy behind the bar was rather dishy! Apparently he usually works night shifts though, so I will sure to be going back for the evening sometime soon! The evenings actually look quite fun, they have a variety of different flavoured vodka shots and sometimes have live music playing. This is a great all round pub; good food, cheap drinks, a lively, friendly and laid back atmosphere with a hot barman to fixate your eyes upon!

In my second year of University, my housemate and I worked out that we lived so close to the Gladstone that no more than 60 seconds would pass between him saying ‘Fancy a pint?’ and said pint being served: proximity breeds contempt. While it does have all the trappings a normal pub should: booze, garden, live music, chairs and a Who-​Wants-​To-​Be-​a-​Millionaire machine, it is less than the sum of its parts. Seriously, the Gladstone shouldn’t be so awful, but it just is.
The food is lobotomisingly bad: I had one meal here, and could barely make it home. The beer selection consists of two lagers, a guest ale (more often off than not), Guiness, and bottles. Some of those bottles contain spirits, largely fuelly the student drinks deals, which are the Gladstone’s primary saving grace. The garden is dirty, generally unpleasant, and rarely swept for fag ends, the live music blocks entrance into the back of the pub (which is next to the toilets and smells as such anyway), whilst being invariably just noise/​cover bands.
If you’re a student, you can get 4 Jagerbombs for a five pounds (or something), if you’re not, why are you here?

Owned together with the nearby Dugout (formerly Hub), the Gladstone is most known for being completely painted bright yellow, but don’t let that put you off though.
Inside the pub is somewhat shabby chic, as in common in Brighton. It’s quite a large pub; there is a main bar and tables near the entrance, with a larger more open room in the back. There is a good atmosphere in the Gladstone, very relaxed and unobtrusive.
The customers are generally a mix of locals and students, and it all seems pretty friendly. The bar itself is pretty small and on busier days it can be quite hard to get a drink, but you should be fine most times.
They’ve regularly got live events on, normally some decent DJ sets. In the summer they’ll often put on barbecues and other similar things, all of which are very enjoyable.

Ask anyone in Brighton if they’ve been to Gladstone and they’re most likely to respond by saying: Hmmm… the Gladstone? Is that the MASSIVE YELLOW PUB on Lewes Road?”
Yes, it is.
The Gladstone is situated in the heart of Brighton’s student-​land close to the Lewes Rd bus garage and Sainsbury’s. Consequently, it’s always full of students and was a favourite watering hole of mine when I lived nearby. Even now I do still quite like it here, particularly in the summer as they have a lovely trellis-​covered beer garden which is very pleasant during the warmer months.
I’m not sure if they still do it, but they used to offer their back room for private functions. A word of warning: it won’t be private seeing as the only way to access the beer garden (aka smoking area) and the toilets is through that room. I had a party here and it just ended up totally full of randoms. Not exactly what I was going for, but never mind.
Their back room is the nicest part of the pub, it’s full of comfy sofas and is even candlelit in the evening. The Gladstone is definitely a t-​shirt ‘n’ trainers pub though great for relaxing lunchtime or afternoon drinks but not really a ‘let’s have a night out’ kind of place.

The Gladstone doesn’t look like much but its a great little pub with wicked D&B nights, Sunday roasts and a covered beer garden. They also do a really funny pub quiz out the back which is great for those tedious winter evenings. Its a little bit worn inside but has a lot of character and old features. Its quite a young crowd thanks to its location in studentsville, but very welcoming to all.

The Gladstone was always a favourite for a Sunday afternoon recuperation spot but after moving much closer it’s less of a chore to head down for a drink or two. I tend to opt for a Bloody Mary whenever I’m here, very nicely made… ask for a ‘medium rare’. It can be quite busy in their on a Sunday, what with everyone hankering for a Sunday roast but it’s rare for them to run out of all the meats (chicken, beef, lamb and pork)…and the nut roast isn’t a bad substitute if they do. Also they have some pretty good music in there sometimes, maybe a couple of acoustic guitar or DJ occasionally but the Playgroup night that is sporadically put on there really kicks off! There’s always a good bunch of people in there too, all friendly and up for a laugh. You may also spot a dog or two lounging around, as it’s dog friendly. Great atmosphere, spacious beer garden and reasonable prices. Wooden and traditional inside, big and yellow outside. You can’t miss it.

Ahhh, The Gladstone: Home of Gladstonebury, yellow paint and a great beer garden. If I didn’t live completely the other side of town I would certainly visit more often. Its location means it tends not to suffer from the weekend influx and thus is great to relax in at any time of the week. The decent prices and average selection of drinks is testament to its philosophy: simplicity, value and good atmosphere.
In the summer it’s a great place to relax as the beer garden has a capacity fit for a king and all his noblemen. If you’re lucky enough to catch the annual Gladstonebury festival you could be treated to three whole days of good music, sun and cheap booze depending on the quality of bands, the weather and the economic situation. Either way I’d recommend this place to anyone moving to or visiting the Lewis Road area. More for students than for winos.

Bright, studenty place right on Lewes Road.
The pub looks enormous from the outside, but inside is not as spacious as you might expect, the bar seeming to take up an enormous amount of room. It’s a shame, as it also seems to separate the pub into sections. Not so good for people watching.
The garden is a good size though, and lovely, with lots tables and plants, and a well cared for feel.
On bank holidays in particular, there are often DJ and club nights here.

You can’t miss the Gladstone– I guess that’s the point– a simple but highly effective marketing ploy: paint the building luminous yellow, and the people will flock. Well it seems to work. I used to live near the Gladstone, and every time I went it was surprisingly busy, any night of the week. I don’t really go there anymore, which is a shame, but its stuck all the way out on the Lewes Rd, and if you’re not local, it’s just that bit too far out of the way. I expect its still full of students though.
I seem to remember that the décor is very wooden and quite traditional, though it may have a had a face lift in the past few months. The bar staff are friendly and the drinks are reasonable– all in all it’s a pretty good pub to have in your neighbourhood. When they put on gigs or get a DJ in, it can get surprisingly busy in the back room, with some seriously energetic dancing!
If you’re just in for a few quiet drinks, I would recommend the sofas in the back room, they’re giant and perfect for sinking into. You’ll also be safely sheltered from the draft from the door. The Gladstone isn’t a spectacularly characterful pub, but it has a chilled atmosphere and they do a great BBQ in the summer!

The Gladstones a real land mark on Lewes Road as its painted mustard yellow. Its a bit out of town but in a residential area popular with students so always busy. It has regular drum & bass nights and a pub quiz which is always really funny. It has a covered outside garden area which is gorge in summer.
Inside its has a pretty traditional pub décor with a main room and a large back room that’s always open. Its not the coolest place to be seen but its cheap and has a friendly atmosphere.

The Gladstone is a very striking building. Artistically it’s exterior has a very powerful and enticing shade, that gives off a very faux Victorian, avant-​garde aura. Inside you’ll find a nice pub, staffed and frequented by friendly individuals. The beer prices are ok, and theres a beer garden for smokers. The atmosphere is very good, there’s a relaxed vibe, and you’ll frequently find live music here, pub quizzes and other such similar events.

Few people have anything negative to say about the Gladstone. its large, quiet and relaxed enough to spend an entire day just drinking and eating and watching sport on the big screens. Its far enough out of the city center to avoid the main weekend crowds so you can enjoy it just about every day of the week, which I have.

This is a great pub mainly because of its lovely beer garden which is just heaven on a warm summer evening. The inside is quite spacious too so it never gets stuffy even when its really busy. The staff are great and the atmosphere is generally friendly.

Unfortunately this pub is a little out of town so I don’t go there as much as I should because the atmosphere is great and I’ve always met friendly people there. Open mic is good too.

We had an end of year drinks meet-​up here last week and we thought the service was excellent, as was the food. I’d say the prices are about average. The garden at the back is also a good size and fantastic for when the weather is nice

When I lived in Brighton this was the pub I visited most with my friends. We were there almost every weekend. The people are friendly and most of all the food is good. We would treat ourselves with a meal there once a week. The prices are pretty good as well. It is not close to the main city but it is just a 10 min bus ride or 5 mins by taxi. The drinks are not too pricey too. They have a garden at the back with BBQ’s in the summer. It is not a very big pub but it is lovely and homely and good place for a night out.