The Best Cocktail Bars in Brighton
From an award-winning hotel bar on the seafront to a speakeasy with cinema seats in Kemptown: where to drink cocktails in Brighton.
By Only Brighton Editorial
The best cocktail bars in Brighton are the bar at The Grand on the seafront, voted Best Cocktails at the 2026 BRAVO awards, Dishoom's Permit Room on East Street, Clementine and Co on Duke Street, and Blossoms in Brighton Square. For somewhere smaller and stranger, add Bar 50ml by St Peter's, The Plotting Parlour in Kemptown, Twisted Lemon down its alley off Middle Street and The Golden Pineapple for tequila and mezcal. Every bar here was checked in October 2026. Brighton does not really do dress codes, so come as you are, but do book at weekends.
The Grand Brighton, Kings Road
The Grand won Best Cocktails in the 2026 BRAVO vote, beating every bar in town, which tells you something about a hotel bar done properly. Expect classics and seasonal drinks, plus a bespoke charity cocktail each year, served in the Victoria Bar and lounge. It is the place to take a parent, a date or anyone who needs reminding that Brighton can be grand as well as gloriously scruffy. The Grand's Cyan restaurant also came second for Sunday roast, so you could make a day of it.
Permit Room, East Street
Dishoom's Permit Room, at 32 East Street in the Lanes, came second in the cocktail vote. It is an all-day Bombay-inspired cafe and bar, and the drinks list is split into short and boozy serves, frosted highballs, twisted classics and morning glories. Come for a drink, stay for the bacon naan roll.
Clementine and Co, Duke Street
Clementine and Co, at 16 Duke Street (BN1 1AH), placed third. The menu is organised by base spirit, which makes ordering easy, and the no and low alcohol list is unusually good, so it suits a mixed group. It is table service, walk-ins are welcome, and bookings are a good idea on evenings and weekends.
Blossoms, Brighton Square
Blossoms, at 17 to 19 Brighton Square in the Lanes, won Best Cocktails in 2025 and came fourth this year. The drinks lean Japanese, with yuzu, cherry and miso in the mix and a serious sake list; The Cherry Blossom is vodka, umeshu, yuzu and sour cherry. It also does Japanese small plates and is closed on Mondays.
FUMI, Circus Quarter
FUMI, a Japanese restaurant and cocktail bar in the Circus Quarter, came fifth. Order the Roku Negroni or the Japanese-style whisky sour.
Bar 50ml, St George's Place
Bar 50ml opened in late 2025 at 10 St George's Place, near St Peter's Church, and went straight into the top ten. It is an Italian aperitivo bar in a small, burnt-orange cave run by Stefano, with negronis, a house 50ml Martini, a Tiramisu cocktail and a wine list with a soft spot for Lambrusco. Food is focaccia and Italian nibbles. Opening is mostly late afternoon to late evening, Wednesday to Sunday, so check before you go.
The Plotting Parlour, Steine Street
The Plotting Parlour, at 6 Steine Street in Kemptown, is a speakeasy-style bar a five-minute walk from the pier: dark walls, red leather cinema seats and Renaissance paintings on the ceiling. It is table service only and uses local ingredients; the peanut butter and maple Old Fashioned is the drink regulars rave about. Book ahead.
Twisted Lemon, off Middle Street
Twisted Lemon, at 41 Middle Street, is tucked down a small alley in the Lanes and is known for a long, original cocktail list and a happy hour that has saved many a student loan. It came eleventh in the 2026 vote.
The Golden Pineapple, Ship Street
The Golden Pineapple, on Ship Street in the South Lanes, claims the biggest selection of tequila and mezcal in Brighton, in a small, romantic room. If you think you do not like mezcal, let them change your mind.
Also worth a stop
Apiary on Norfolk Square is run by beekeepers and makes honey-infused cocktails and mead. Burnt Orange on Middle Street has a late, lively bar to go with its wood-fired food. Brighton Rocks in Kemptown is an established LGBTQ+ bar with good cocktails. Carne in Hove has a heated garden and a spicy jalapeño margarita. The full BRAVO 2026 cocktail top 20 has the rest.
Planning a night
Do it as a loop. Start in the Lanes with Blossoms, Permit Room and Twisted Lemon, all within a few minutes of each other, then walk east along the seafront to Steine Street for The Plotting Parlour and Kemptown's bars. If you are staying on the seafront, finish at The Grand: it is the only bar on this list where you can sink into an armchair at the end. Brighton is very walkable, but the hills in Kemptown feel steeper after the fourth drink.
