Kemptown, Brighton: A Local's Guide

Kemptown is Brighton's east side, running from the Old Steine along the cliffs to Black Rock, and it is the best part of town for a long, slightly chaotic day: brunch on St James's Street, a walk along Marine Parade to the Regency squares of the Kemp Town estate, gigs at Concorde 2 on Madeira Drive and cocktails at The Plotting Parlour. Our picks are Redroaster for coffee, Starfish and Coffee by Queen's Park for brunch, Purezza for vegan pizza, The Bell Tower for a roast, and Brighton Rocks and the Kemptown Klub for a proper night out. Everything was checked in October 2026.

Getting your bearings

Kemptown takes its name from Thomas Read Kemp's early 19th-century estate, whose grand Regency terraces include Sussex Square, with Lewes Crescent at its eastern end. St James's Street is the main drag and the heart of Brighton's gay village, and the area has a large LGBTQ+ community: the 2021 Census found the local area had the highest share of LGB+ residents of any comparable area in the UK. The Royal Sussex County Hospital sits on the northern edge, Queen's Park lies to the north, and the Marina is just beyond Black Rock. During Pride, the Village Party closes parts of St James's Street and Marine Parade.

Coffee and brunch

Redroaster, at 1D St James's Street, has roasted coffee in Brighton for more than 25 years and runs from breakfast through to dinner with wine and cocktails. Further up, Starfish and Coffee, at 32 Egremont Place on the corner of Queen's Park, was voted Best Cafe in Brighton and Hove at the 2026 BRAVO awards, with seasonal brunch and Flour Pot pastries. MEO at 39 St James's Street and À Table at number 75 both do Mediterranean-style brunches with Turkish eggs, and both made the 2026 BRAVO brunch top 20. The Milk Shed roasts its own coffee and has a cafe at 9 Prince's Street, on an old dairy site.

Lunch and dinner

Purezza, at 12 St James's Street, opened in 2015 as a fully vegan pizzeria and is still the city's go-to for plant-based pizza; it is closed on Tuesdays. The Bell Tower, on Arundel Road at the far end of Kemptown, is a pub with modern British food and a big beer garden, and its three-meat roast came third in the 2026 Sunday roast vote. The Fitz Cafe at 2 Bristol Road is run by the Real Junk Food Project on a pay-as-you-feel basis, with lunch from noon to 2pm Tuesday to Friday.

Drinks

The Plotting Parlour, at 6 Steine Street, is a speakeasy-style cocktail bar with red leather cinema seats and Renaissance paintings on the ceiling; it is table service only and made the 2026 BRAVO cocktail top ten. Brighton Rocks is an established LGBTQ+ bar with good cocktails, and placed in the city's top 20 for both pubs and cocktails. The Kemptown Klub on St James's Street is a fun, inclusive venue that made the same two lists, and the Bedford Tavern is a well-loved local. See the BRAVO cocktail list for more.

Gigs and clubs: Concorde 2

Concorde 2, on Madeira Drive (BN2 1EN), calls itself Brighton's legendary live music venue and nightclub, and it lives up to it. The autumn 2026 listings include Grandmaster Flash on 27 October, a drum and bass Halloween all-dayer on 31 October and The Big Moon on 23 November. It is a lovely walk along the seafront there and a slightly less lovely one back.

On the seafront

Volk's Electric Railway runs along the beach and bills itself as the world's oldest operating electric railway, with more than 140 years of history. It is closed for the winter as of October 2026, so save it for spring. In the meantime, the walk along Madeira Drive and Marine Parade is free, and on a clear day you can see along the coast in both directions. Sea Lanes, by the open-air pool on Madeira Drive, has a FIKA cafe for coffee with a view of the water.

Where to stay

Drakes is a boutique hotel in a pair of Regency townhouses on Marine Parade, with 20 bedrooms, a cocktail bar with sea views and recent guest reviews praising the staff and breakfast. It was bought by A Curious Group of Hotels in 2023. One reviewer did mention traffic noise, which is the price of a Marine Parade address.

A perfect Kemptown day

Coffee at Redroaster, a wander up to Queen's Park for brunch at Starfish and Coffee, then down through the Kemp Town estate to Lewes Crescent and Sussex Square to gawp at the architecture. Walk back along the seafront, pizza at Purezza, a cocktail at The Plotting Parlour, then dance it off at Concorde 2 or on St James's Street. Kemptown is welcoming, loud in the right places and quiet in the others, and very good at making visitors feel like locals by the second drink.