The Crescent

It’s one of those lazy Sundays and I didn’t fancy cooking a roast. I knew about the Crescent and in particular their unique offering, a mini roast and for a very respectable seven pounds something (come on I’m only little).
The food? Excellent, especially the roast potatoes: crisp, flavoursome, ample. I chose the roast beef, cooked to perfection with a subtle array of seasonal vegetables (locally sourced). Their gravy perhaps home made? That’s a question for my next visit.
Conclusion: Blown away. The service supersonic, the atmosphere fitting.
Well done Crescent pub.

urgh did never like this pub. nor the garden it was all cement and odd little red plush spindly stuff going on just did not have an atmosphere I liked. Will try again now refurb has happened.

Massive revamp makes the previous reviews seem rather out of touch. The Crescent verges on trendy these days in fact and the menu much improved. Three real ales. Time to rediscover the Crescent methinks. And the picture? AT LEAST five years old and nicked from a Brighton history website.

Hidden? Remote? Harold Pinter? I’m not sure that other reviewers have been to the same pub. And even if they have, do they venture past the centre of town enough? The Crescent is a good, old fashioned local.
The Crescent is mere minutes from the station, Seven Dials, Western Road and, frankly, the sea. It isn’t concealed. But that it isn’t well known, is certainly one of its charms. And I would say that. It’s my local.
A great pub should be a mix of many things. The beer should be good (and the Crescent could work harder on the real ale front). It should have good housekeeping (clean, tidy, good bogs). And the Crescent passes that test.
The staff should be brilliant, and I think there are few boozers in Brighton with such a good team. Friendly, different, convivial. Tick. tick. tick.
But what’s most important is the people. The Crescent can be a bit of a locals’ pub but there is a great mix of interesting people. It could be the local church choir, the gay badminton squad, cabbies from next door, playwrights and writers down on their luck or anyone. This pub has an everyman (and woman) feel.
And I haven’t mentioned the food. It does a cracking Sunday roast and you can’t go far wrong on other days too.

This place reminds me of a Harold Pinter set, despite attempts to tart it up it still retains an old English feel, a bit run down, with a few old soaks propping up the bar. What really sells it is an unpretentious atmosphere and nice beer garden out back with heaters should you be in need of a fag. There’s also a decent quiz night, perhaps one of the more erudite around with questions ranging from physics to Greek gods. Bring it on Poseidon. Local bitters.

This place is good for a quiet relaxing drink, I think because the neighbourhood is so quiet when you walk in that seems like the right thing to be. Low lights, low voices and nice drinks. Good chill out pub.

Tucked in quite a hidden corner of Brighton, The Crescent still draws a fair few people to its remote location. And that’s because it is well above in terms of its design and food offerings. I stumbled in here to shelter from the cold, only to realise that I didn’t have any cash on me… After explaining my situation to the friendly barmaid I opened a tab at the bar and supped a John Smiths while waiting for the kitchen to be opened for evening meals. The pub is tastefully fitted, with dark wood and deep red carpets that are balanced well by light walls and wide windows, and the whole place is kept bright and open by a large windowed wall that runs between the bar and the far, raised side of the pub. It is very well designed, offering a fine balance between privacy and atmosphere.
I was feeling in a traditional mood, and when the kitchen was opened early (just for me!) I ordered Sausage and Mash with red onion gravy… It arrived in good time and exceptional condition. I had eaten at Pump House the day before, so had experienced pub grub recently, but The Crescent blew me out of the water. A really really decent, traditional take on a fine meal that hit the spot fantastically. There’s even internet access, with a little PC slotted in the corner for anyone who needs it.
The only thing that stops me giving that illusive 5^th * is a little place called The Sovereign, which offers a similar style to The Crescent, but with even better food, and more ales in a slightly more hip environment… For pub traditionalists though, this is a must, and well worth the journey for some dinner. Swing by after 6 for some damn good food!

I don’t want to sound like a Brighton snob but The Cresent is one of those pubs you wouldn’t find unless you or one of your friends lives here. I live here and I still have trouble finding it.
Located in the seven dials area of Clifton Hill and not far at all from the train station so can get a little busy around the commuter witching hour.
My favourite time to frequent this pub is for a mid-​week lunch. The beer garden/​patio is fantastic with plenty of room for big groups. Inside, the pub looks and smells like a real old pub and hits that perfect ‘not too big — not too small’ target. The landlord Ian keeps a well stocked bar with a really good selection of lagers and real ales and the food is excellent (Sunday roasts here are top notch but very popular).
There’s only one down point to mention really, for some reason on a Friday and Saturday night the pub has turned into a ‘pre-​clubbing’ meeting point for loud, lairy 18 year-​olds (I don’t know how they found the place) who want to fill up on tequila shots. If, like me that sort of thing really irritates you then make sure you get there earlier.

This is technically my local, and it’s OK — it has real-​ale, and the staff are pleasant enough, but it always seems to be lacking in atmosphere when I try going there. The interior is comfy in a slightly old-​fashioned red-​carpet and red-​plush sort of way, and there’s a large beer garden out the back.
It always seems to be busier in the daytime, so maybe it’s just in the evenings that it’s quiet. One downer was that one evening three of us decided to give it a go, and after one pint the staff declined to serve us another pint as they wanted to knock off, and there were only half a dozen people in the pub. That’s not going to encourage future trade, especially as I like to catch last orders

This is what I call a proper pub, no fancy décor, a good menue with proper hearty food with a roast on a sunday. It’s got a really decent beer garden which is a good size and the kind of place you’d want to stay all day in the summer. It’s basically a good all rounder. It’s in a nice location a bit tucked away so tends to sport locals and regulars. Perfect if you want to get away from the uniform trendy pubs that are getting more common in Brighton.

Decent, spacious back-​street boozer with a nice walled beer garden, now made much more tolerable by the smoking ban. The clientele are a typically mixed bunch of Brighton locals and students, many of whom are fans of the highly rated Tuesday-​night General Knowledge quiz.
There are usually one or two real ales on tap, alongside the usual range of wines and spirits. The pub has an internet terminal if you can’t stop surfing away from home. They also do food — we’ve only tried the Sunday roast, which is perfectly decent and comes in poultry (chicken or turkey), beef, pork or veggie options, with the usual trimmings.