Falmer Bar

Falmer Bar is my preferred port of call for a drink or bite to eat when I am on campus. They have a good range of reduced price beers on tap, including a speciality local ale. Aside from that, the bar is pretty well stocked and all drinks will be cheaper than pubs in town.
The food is also pretty good and far ahead of your usual cliché student fast food. Yes, you can get burgers that are passable, but certainly not inspirational. However, they have a nice range of Mexican and daily specials that will cost between £4 and £5 and are pretty good. I especially like the bean, chocolate and lentil burritos.
In the evening the bar will sometimes have live music and there is table football, a pool table and a selection of board games to pass the time. It seems that East Slope gets the majority of freshers and undergraduates, whilst Falmer is filled with a more eclectic mix of student types. Certainly the pick of Sussex Uni bars for me.

Falmer Bar is the student hangout on the Sussex University campus, and for good reason: there’s only one other, and it’s tucked away at the back. I spent most of my time at Sussex Uni here, and a couple of years ago would have been ashamed to admit it, but it’s now had a bit of a refit, and is potential habitable and likeable as a drinking spot. It’s not that it wasn’t before: you just needed some exceptionally strong beer goggles to even slightly enjoy your time. That’s changed now though!
What was once a little dank and wholly unpleasant is now bright, colourful, and more bar-​like than dirty old pub-​ish. There’s an ongoing purple neon theme here, with all of the lights sending the rooms into a slightly seedy lighting scheme. Where before there were sticky tables and lots of plastic chairs, there’s now a much more bar-​like atmosphere, with thinner tables and slightly nicer chairs: still studenty, now more likeable.
I’m always impressed on re-​entry how much the place has improved, especially the entertainments. The crummy old corner now has a TV with various consoles in it, the pool table actually works… there’s plenty to do, as well as drink and eat. The food is also pretty impressive now: I liked the microwave burgers, but the new veggie ones also seem very nice.
I suppose the important thing here is the location: if you’re not a student, why the heck would you go to Falmer Bar, and if you are, what choice do you have? I’m not deriding it, it’s not bad, it’s just limited in it’s usefulness to non-​students.

Falmer Bar has improved considerably in time at the University of Sussex, going from being microwaved burgers and stale sandwiches, to offer a very global mix of paninis, curries, burgers and Mexican food.
One of the better points is that everyday at Falmer Bar brings with it a particular offer, ranging from ‘Burger and a pint’ to curry evening. While these offers are hardly original creations of the geniuses behind Falmer Bar, they do provide a good deal to us poor students.
The quality of the food is also very good, certainly by student pub standards. Also, for those who love a bit of retro gaming, you’ll find a super nes hanging out in the corner, complete with Street Fighter.

You’ll find me in here for a good couple of hours every Friday, when my classes finish at 4pm and my MA tutor group decamps for a few well earned pints.
For a student bar, this is definitely one of the better ones that I’ve visited, and has more of a proper pub feel than some (they can be dilapidated and grimy).
Obviously, it is full of students, but it’s not just drunken freshers, and the er, more mature students like me can feel quite happily at home here. There’s plenty of space here, and pool tables for those who want them. Prices are excellent — as you would expect — with a pint of grolsch at least a quid cheaper than you’d find in town.

Friday night. Falmer bar. Although not the usual pre-​partying clientele of this campus bar, my three friends and I are fresh from a poetry reading and have a hankering for classic greasy pub food.
We wander through the large front room into an even larger far room — my previous peeks inside from the Student Union reception desk were quite misleading — and find a quieter table near the back.
The menu is quite varied for a pub, including several vegetarian options alongside the usual burgers, chips and deep fried goodness. My first choice — the sweet potato based veggie burger — is unfortunately not available and so I settle on a chicken breast burger, minus the mayo. (I attribute the outage to the veggie burger’s popularity and make a mental note to return once the kitchen’s had a chance to replenish.) It’s definitely burgers we were craving — one friend also orders the chicken, but adds cheddar cheese, and the other two opt for beef.
Service at Falmer Par can be likened to most pubs: order at the bar, grab your own cutlery and packets of sauce, wait at your table (staring hungrily at your buzzer,) and pick up your food from the counter.
The portions are quite generous — a small salad, large helping of chips and the burger itself is decent. Of course, with chicken, there are several pure-​bun bites. Mine’s a bit dry, but then, I did skip the mayo. The beef burgers are also going over well — delicious and filling. We each leave a few chips on our plates and leave feeling quite satisfied. Although there is a pudding menu, none of us has the room.
Falmer Bar has meal offers five nights a week, including tapas, curry night and Sunday roast. Prices are fairly reasonable for pub food, considering the portion sizes and the tendency to hike prices on campus. Most meals range from 5 — 7 pounds, not including drink.
I shall return to Falmer’s bar… in search of the elusive sweet potato burger.

Chicken burger, Italian meatball, curry… Perfect for lunch breaks

Falmer Bar is easily the best bar on campus and pretty good as student bars go too. They’ve recently revamped it, and replaced the ugly metal tables and chairs with big wooden ones which really give it that pubby feel. They have super nintendo to play as well as giant bar games so it’s great if you’re lacking some entertainment whilst around campus. Food and breakfasts are really yummy and great value too — well worth checking out. The best thing of course is the student union drink prices — you’re looking at a single and mixer for under £2 quid, well under Brighton city centre prices. And the place has much improved since the uni sports federation nights were held here — nowadays they’re held at Alley Cats in town and I’m sure no one misses the notorious ‘sick bucket’ left out by bar staff for the sports players… yuk.

Falmer Bar is ideally located at the edge of campus, near the library and not far from buses and the train station. It’s proximity to the main campus thoroughfare makes it an incredibly easy place to wander into after a hard day at the books. Perhaps a little too easy, if memory serves! It’s also an ideal place to meet friends for lunch and is also a convenient place to refuel if you’re a visitor to the university, as its close to all of the Arts teaching buildings.
In the summer, you’ll find hoards of students gathered out on the patio and grassy bank outside, sipping on their incredibly cheap drinks whilst soaking up the sun. The food is also reasonably priced, as its a Student Union bar, and is pretty tasty (campus dining is never gourmet). We’re talking paninis, jacket potatoes, the usual campus delights! In my opinion Falmer bar is a fine place to eat and drink in between lectures, but come the evening, it lacks the atmosphere and energy of East Slope– you’ll have to head further in to campus for the real fun!

I’ve been eating and drinking at Falmer Bar with a great deal of regularity in recent weeks, as it serves as an excellent meeting point on campus, and is a good place to unwind after a particularly distressing seminar or lecture. Prices on many items are exceptionally cheap, with a Vodka + Energy drink only costing around £1.70. The food is also generally good, and I’d recommend the potato skins, which are great to snack on.