Brighton - Must Sees ?

Wazmeister

Hi all,

I'm heading to Brighton with the lads today for the weekend...

Any recommendations, best bars, must sees ?

GAK will naturally get a visit; any other geetar shops.

Cheers,
Waz

Phil_aka_Pip

• The Record Album
• Bella Union Vinyl shop & Coffee
• Rarekind Records

... if you like that sort of thing

merlin

I'm somewhat free if you fancy a pint! 

interstellar

the acoustic music company

JezWynd

The Laines, the North Lanes (better), St James St (if you fancy a troll on the wild side). Concorde 2, The Pier. If you want to get touristy there's the Grand Pavilion (prob packed this time of year but worth a view).

CHRISB50

If there's a meeting on, the dog track in Brighton is the nicest I've been to. You'd have to cab it from the city centre though as it's a bit outside of Brighton itself from what I remember.

The Pussycat in Hove. The owner got nicked though, so not sure if it's still open or not.

Strat_a_tat_tat

Terre a Terre.... great veggie food. I'm not veggie - but always go there when in Brighton. Flavours I've never found elsewhere.

ChockyWockyDooDah... go buy a nice cake to take home to the missus!

Montezuma's organic chocolate shop... go buy some chocolate to take home to the missus!

Do those last two... and your missus is more likely to overlook the mahoosively pricey acoustic guitar and handmade mando that you bought at The Acoustic Music Company (you have to go there.)

sev112

Boho gelato
really good ice cream, and there’s one near the pier and the other up near the lanes I think

McToot

The Sussex smoke house down on the seafront where all the little seafood stalls are.  It's a tiny hole in the wall place, built into the wall up to the main sea road. Run by a couple in the 70s/80s as it has been for aeons and it's a real institution. The smoked kipper butty is fab. 

MattBanshee

Wander down the north Laines, check put the big indoor antiques market up there. There's another guitar shop at the top of the Laines above GAK that has some really cool old stock style stuff. All the food and all the coffee is amazing; if you like eating animal flesh then there's a diner style place on the seafront called JBs Diner that does fantastic milkshakes, and if you prefer your animals to be not dead, I hugely recommend either Beelzebab @ Hope and Ruin, or Purezza Pizza.

stonevibe

Grubbs burgers. Nuff said

merlin

To make sure there is no confusion;

The narrow old streets filled with jewellers, expensive watches and designer stuff near the sea are called The South Lanes. The streets are really lanes. 

The more modern streets towards the station are part of an area of Brighton called "North Laine". 

Not to be confused. 

fields5069

I was about to say that. Sadly kebab express on the hill coming down from the station is closed, otherwise that would be worth a visit.

vale

this site should be your go-to guide for the weekend. http://northlaine.co.uk/

things change so fast in the laines that it's hard to pin down little shops for long. the same shop can migrate from far-flung outlier to harcore central player in just a few good years. i haven't been for three years due to health probs, but that said...

gear shop wise, gak obviously. i'm a huge gak fan. a mountain of stunning gear, they price match, they have online so can deliver anything you try you like. & they have a used (or should that be pre-loved /pre-f*cked) section downstairs too. will be superbusy at 3pm on saturday afternoon, so go pre-lunch if you have to do the weekend.

a few years ago there was a rare & vintage gear place halfway down trafalgar street. looking at the (above) site photos you can see a big red guitar sign (on left) which is where it was. so maybe it is doing great & still there or moved & left its sign. but they had nice vintage (1960s rather than 1980s vintage) things.
(edit. on checking the above site to see who's still there, i see this shop seems to be called 'Alfie’s Musical Instruments'. if it's the same Alfie who used to have a gear shop in Eastbourne a decade ago, you have to go. he's a seriously lovely guy & knows his vintage kit inside out. i didn't see him in the shop when i went but maybe he's doing well enough to have assistants now).

there also used to be a smaller vinyl & old gear shop upstairs in the big conrveted supermarket (jubliee shopping mall) half way down sydney street. more low to mid range weird vintage like egmonds & teiscos than big ticket strats & LPs. but interesting.

& there used to be a decent sized used gear one on london road, which you get to by going down from the laines onto marlborough place/gloucester place & walking/driving along that road away from the sea. that's good for regular kit & bargains as it serves the big student community around there.

other things.

if you like heatlh food, infinity wholefoods is a fabulous wholefood supermarket in the laines (infinity & gak 'bookend' kensington gardens). anything you can dream of they have. they also do take-outs & chilled counter, if you are munching on the move.

may be a neat show on at the brighton pavillion museum (in laines). they often do culty & leftfield exhibitions, fascinating but rarely seen photographers, decent era-themed shows (1930s/1950s/1980s etc). they have a supernice cafe upstairs too. really cool in summer. all heavy dark wood & stone. & pavillion itself is lush if you have never been inside. the original glass onion.
gardens outside are a clean & quiet bit of shadey green to chill on & eat your take out on.

sydney street is the best 'propagator' street for fresh/raw fashion talent. once starter shops there (often fashion graduates from the nearby uni) make money & bloom they tend to drift into kensington gardens or london. cheap & interesting & not super-expensive things.

snoopers paradise in kensngton gardens (lots of retro stalls in one old department store building) is pretty cool, though you can literally lose days in there. set your alarm before you go in if you are supposed to meet someone or make a train.

vinyls shops everywhere to suit every taste. wax factor & plastic passion were the big used ones when i was a teenager, but maybe they are not there now. not my thing.

as for wild cards, just wander the little side streets around the laines area. the scene is like ivy. creeps out in all directions a little further every year.

have fun! & maybe treat a homeless person to a take-out if you can. the local police had a phase of arresting them a few years ago (ffs!), so now they all have criminal records to go with their lack of shelter, food & basic hygiene facilities. they sleep on the street because accomodation is totally unaffordable, not because being set of fire in a doorway is fun.
i digress... but helping the homeless is a big local cause.

57Deluxe

if you bump into Melanie Davey (ne Funell) say "Hi" from me...

merlin

57Deluxe said:

if you bump into Melanie Davey (ne Funell) say "Hi" from me...

And if you bump into me, let's go for a beer....! 

Wazmeister

Thanks
for the info boys !

first drink in The Cricketers

Jimbro66

There are plenty of eating places overlooking the luxury yachts at Brighton Marina. See how the rich live.

The i360 is a big tourist draw but, compared to the shard, I found it an underwhelming experienced and was bemused by the way BA treats everyone as five-year-olds by pretending it is a 'flight'.

There is now a zip wire near the pier if your lads are into that sort of thing.

As others have said, a visit to The Acoustic Music Co is a must to see just how eye-watering the prices of acoustic guitars can get.

There are quite a few pubs with live bands. Bear in mind there is a very prominent gay scene so some of the pub/club entertainment can be, um, interesting.

west

There's a beauty competition tommorow,   miss Fircome , my moneys on dawn breaks , but patricia potter might come up from the rear and if you think 9 inches is an average one you've been spoilt .... yak yak yak .... oh and you can have a winkle on the pier ....

merlin

Wazmeister said:

first drink in The Cricketers

Make sure, if you like ale, to try a pint (or three) of Harveys. On your way down Trafalgar Street from the station, on the right is The Lord Nelson. Go there....

Axe_meister

had my stag do in Brighton. Can't remember a thing.