If you read this post, you’ll know I’ve launched a new Brighton and Hove neighbourhood guide series on the Ellie & Co travel website. So far, we’ve covered London Road, Kemptown, Seven Dials, and Brunswick Town in Hove. Today, in the fifth instalment, we’re getting to know the free-spirited North Laine neighbourhood, the city’s central, alternative beating heart and most popular neighbourhood with visitors.
North Laine, Brighton: A Neighbourhood Guide
It’s unique for its colourful cafes and eclectic independent shops selling everything from world instruments and bonsai trees to vegetarian food and comics. Many of the city’s vintage shops and flea markets are at home here, too, alongside the city’s big-hitting sights: the Royal Pavilion & Garden, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and Brighton Dome, clustered in the nearby Cultural Quarter.
Things to do in the North Laine, Brighton
Start with a wander
Life in the North Laine centres around indie shopping and café culture. With so many places to distract packed into its pretty streets, the North Laine is made for slowing down. Most shops and coffee houses are found on Sydney, Bond, Gardner streets, framed by Trafalgar and North streets.
Gardner Street is central to the action, which on Saturday and Sunday closes to cars, and fills with tables and chairs that spill from resident cafes, where visitors sit, throw off their city stress, eat and drink and soak up the off-beat atmosphere.
Don’t miss Kensington Gardens. This narrow cobbled street is one of North Laine’s most historic and prettiest, lined either side with cool indie homeware shops (Abode Living), art galleries (Hidden Gallery), cafes (Ideya) and even a pub (White Rabbit).
Browse the Upper Gardner Street Saturday Market
Every Saturday morning, since the Victorian era – no joke! – stall holders have been setting up along this pretty street to tout their wares. A slow wander along is a nice way to kick off a weekend in Brighton. On offer, is everything from vintage clothes and books to lovingly made baked treats from local producers like Brighton favourite, the Real Patisserie, home of the chewy brown bread (the shop is on nearby Trafalgar Street). If browsing the Market has piqued your interest in thrifting, find 50 more stalls inside the North Laine Bazaar at the street’s south end.
Tour the secret tunnels under the Royal Pavilion
Built as the seaside party palace for King George IV, the Royal Pavilion is known for its exotic design inside and out. Beyond its flamboyant facade and entryways behind velvet ropes lays an intriguing world to discover on an immersive underground tour. A wander along its basement corridors and passageways offers a behind-the-scenes peek into life below ground. It also tells the story of what life was like for the 126 staff who danced to King George’s exuberant whims. Book your spot here.
Visit a hidden collector’s cottage
Tucked in a North Laine cottage is Benjamin James Smith House, a carefully curated ode to the Georgian period, which I came across while researching my upcoming Secret Brighton guidebook. Named after its first-ever owner, this quirky home belongs to a man called Craig, an American antique collector with a passion for British history and interior design. He came to Brighton in the 1970s after university, bought the property in the late 80s and has spent the past two decades which you can see on a private tour. Read more here.
Find a secret street, momentarily escape the shopping crowds
Brighton is filled with hidden narrow streets known locally as twittens, which seem to be unique to Sussex. They’re usually lined with cottages and are found tucked between other wider streets. Apparently, at one point in time, you could walk from one side of the city to the other through these alleyways alone. Fun fact: Trafalgar Terrace (above) in the North Laine was the first ever row of houses to be built in the neighbourhood.
Where to eat in the North Laine, Brighton
Mange Tout
A few minutes downhill from Brighton Station, casual-chic French bistro, Mange Tout, on Trafalgar Street, is a win for hungry day trippers. Brunch is big here, the menu simple including Gallic classics like the croque monsieur, and twists like the tartine poulette – a glorious pile of chicken, mushrooms, tarragon wine and cream sauce on sourdough bread. They do mimosas, too, and being a French place, the wine list is impeccable, naturally. Come Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the lights dim when the place becomes the setting for romantic dinners.
The Chilli Pickle
Owners Dawn and Alun’s Indian travels – from the tropics of Tamil Nadu and Kerala to the wetlands of West Bengal and Rajasthani desert plains – inspire every flavourful dish at this Brighton institution, The Chilli Pickle. Swing by for a lunch of light bites, kebabs, salads and street food at lunch, or rich curries like peanut aubergine and Chennai monkfish and mussels, alongside BBQ-ed sea bream and masala prawns, at dinner.
Solera de Tapas
An evening spent in this tiny tapas bar, and you’ll feel you’ve left Brighton for Andalucía in Spain. So authentic is the décor – lots of dark wood, wine bottles, pictures of Spain – are all the little dishes and local wines to enjoy amid evening candlelight, or outside come summer. The atmosphere is cosy and rustic and the inexpensive food filling. Try the garlic chicken, meatballs in tomato sauce, chorizo in wine stew and, of course, patatas bravas. Insider tip: most people don’t know that as well as tables out front, there’s a quiet, cosy back patio for al fresco dinner.
Happy Maki
Hidden above Yum Yum Supermarket on Sydney Street, one of my favourite Brighton shops, is Happy Maki, a laid-back, friendly vegan sushi restaurant. It’s open from lunchtime until 8pm each day. Find the doorway – it’s easy to miss – and head up the stairs into the calm, canteen-style space. Nab a window seat, to gaze down at shoppers mingling, while tucking into a vegan sushi treat from the healthy menu. Everything is good, made fresh to order. Firm fan favourites include the spicy popcorn cauliflower, the generous burrito-sized sushi rolls and hearty bowls packed with a satisfying rainbow of bright ingredients, from carrots to edamame beans.
Where to drink in the North Laine, Brighton
The Great Eastern
Walking into this cosy corner pub on Trafalgar Street feels like stepping onto a Western film set. Push open the curved wooden saloon doors, the word ‘bar’ etched onto frosted glass, and you emerge into a low-ceiling narrow room, with wooden floors, and a long wooden bar. The slight spit-n-sawdust vibe is softened with fairy lights and candles come evening. The range of whiskeys and bourbons is impressive and there’s often a DJ hidden away playing vinyl.
The Basketmakers Arms
Another long-standing local favourite with a corner setting, The Basketmakers Arms has had the same landlord for almost 30 years. The walls are decorated with old metal tins filled with messages, jokes and random musings scribbled on the back of receipts and flyers. There are lots of beers on tap and they serve decent food. The roasts are renowned, but they don’t take bookings.
Ten Green Bottles
Sleek wine bars are few and far between in Brighton, so Ten Green Bottles is your friend if you enjoy glass in unpretentious, stylish surroundings. You’ll find it oddly sandwiched between a Mexican restaurant and dermatology specialists opposite Brighton & Hove Library. There are high-top tables or low tables to choose from. It’s based on the idea of the enotecas in Italy: small, friendly places where you can have a glass of wine, some good cheese, and walk away with a bottle recommended by the owner.
find the best coffee
So many great local independents serving superior coffee call the North Laine home. It would be remiss not to try a few. For a punchy brew over some people-watching, I love Pelicano on buzzy Sydney Street. If it’s a comforting cappuccino I need I’ll head to Bread and Milk on Trafalgar Street opposite O’Shio (for great, cheap Korean and Japanese food). The best bet for luxurious hot chocolate is Black Mocha, Brighton’s smallest coffee shop, on Gloucester Road.
Where to shop in the North Laine, Brighton
Blackout Shop
Slightly out of the North Laine melee, around the corner from this colourful Mexican restaurant, is a wonderland of kitsch I talk about often. It’s a kaleidoscopic collection of trinkets, gifts, cards, homewares and clothes from around the world – think Mexican Loteria cards, Moroccan melamine plates, candles and jewellery, Indian kitsch – tin ornaments, woven bags, as well as off-beat Christmas decorations. Be prepared to lose yourself for a while. It’s a great place for gifts and souvenirs.
Tidy Street Store
Opposite this great deli is the Tidy Street Store. It’s a beautiful small shop with a lovely corner location (next door to this postage-sized cafe that does the best hot chocolate). Inside you’ll find a collection of curated finds that includes plenty of French-label clothes, as well as shoes, accessories, pretty ceramics like tasteful French-style, painted souvenir Brighton bowls, not to mention the best selection of woven baskets, natural and colourful.
Snooper’s Attic
As Brighton’s alternative beating heart, the North Laine is bursting with stylish vintage boutiques and flea markets like the sprawling Snooper’s Paradise on Kensington Gardens. Downstairs is the place for homewares, books, vintage cameras and gadgets. For fashion, head upstairs to Snooper’s Attic, to take in the eccentric mix of vintage consignments – from delicate Victorian and Edwardian clothing and lacy black 1920s dresses, silks and velvets – to bespoke millinery and stylish menswear.
Other noteworthy shops in the North Laine neighbourhood of Brighton are Tribeca, with its cool collection of designer fashion inside a cute historic fisherman’s cottage with a purple facade; Oxfam Books and Resident Records on Kensington Gardens; Infinity Foods, an alternative Brighton institution since the 1970s, the list is endless.
WHERE TO STAY IN THE NORTH LAINE, Brighton
Most Brighton hotels I like to recommend are located nearer to the city centre, but there are a few AirBnBs in Brighton nearby, like this stylish contemporary home that sleeps six on a leafy square (pictured above). See the full listing here. Or this sunny simple balcony flat for two with epic city and sea views (pictured below). See the full listing here.
FINAL TIPS
North Laine in Brighton is a small neighbourhood and easy to walk around. It’s a five-minute walk to Brighton Station and 10 minutes to the seafront and central Brighton.
Find a map of the North Laine independent shopping and nearby addresses of note, here.
If you want more inspiration, my secret guidebooks will take you off the beaten path.
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