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 area, the city’s central, alternative beating heart and most popular neighbourhood with visitors.
North Laine, Brighton: A Neighbourhood Guide
It’s unique for its eclectic collection of colourful cafes and independent shops selling anything and 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 its big-hitting sights: the Royal Pavilion & Garden, Brighton Museum & Art Gallery and Brighton Dome, clustered in the nearby Cultural Quarter.
This post was originally written in February 2023 but has since been updated to keep it fresh.
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 grab your attention packed into its pretty streets, the North Laine is made for slowing down.
Most shops and cafes can be found on pastel-coloured Sydney, Bond and Gardner streets, framed by Trafalgar and North streets – see the handy map at the end of this post.
Gardner Street is central to the action, which on Saturday and Sunday closes to cars, and fills with tables and chairs that spill from 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), 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. You’ll find 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, you’ll 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 filling it with curios, 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 are 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 simple menu filled with 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 restaurant, the wine list is impeccable, naturally. Come Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings, the lights dim for romantic dinners.
Find Mange Tout at 81 Trafalgar Street, Brighton, BN1 4EB
Voya
Set inside an old community cafe, postage stamp-sized, plant-filled Voya, oozes heart, soul and cool.
It’s part of a new wave of restaurants that combine music and food for an immersive experience: you tuck into carefully considered cocktails and small plates while a DJ plays vinyl tunes; dining here feels like being at an intimate supper club and a house party with good friends at the same time.
The small menu’s a dream for indecisive folk like me. I died for the basho margarita – oolong tea tequila, lime, lemongrass agave and toasted rice salt; sweetcorn ribs in habanero butter and Szechuan pork belly yakotori. Tables are released a month ahead and fill fast.
Find Voya at 34 North Road, Brighton BN1 1YB
Solera de Tapas
An evening spent in this tiny tapas bar, and you’ll feel you’ve left Brighton for Andalucía in Spain.
The décor authentic – lots of dark wood, wine bottles, pictures of Spain – the atmosphere is cosy and rustic and the food inexpensive.
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 seats out front, there’s a quiet back patio for al fresco dinners.
Find Solera de Tapas at 42 Sydney Street, Brighton BN1 4EP
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.
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.
Cut Your Wolf Loose
I’m not a whiskey fan, per se, but this cool Brighton spot specialising in the golden-hued malty spirit is one of my favourite places for a drink.
Not least for its dive bar vibes and that they encourage you unleash your inner child by letting you draw on the tables; but also for its friendly staff, hidden underground drinking den and the fact you don’t have to be a whiskey connoisseur to enjoy a drink here.
There are over 400 varieties on offer, many lining shelves against its graffiti-covered walls, from rare Japanese bottlings to dusty American rye.
Enjoy any one of them as a wee 25ml dram, in a cocktail – I adore the Cherry Shakewell: ‘take a whiskey sour, throw some big cherry and vanilla flavours in there and you’re winning!’ – or as a boilermaker, a shot of whiskey in beer.
Find Cut Your Wolf Loose at 23 Trafalgar Street, Brighton BN1 4EQ
The Archives
Book lovers should make a beeline for this cafe bar on the fringes of the North Laine inspired by places that invite curiosity and a sense of calm – libraries, bookshops, quirky cafés.
Needless to say, books are central to the atmosphere, with shelves lined with second-hand finds and vintage novels, everything from political non-fiction and sci-fi to drinks writing and the work of queer and local authors.
Visitors are welcome to browse the selections and are encouraged to swap, to create a living collection that reflects the community it serves.
Find The Archives at 103 North Road, Brighton BN1 1YW
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 a dermatology specialists opposite Brighton & Hove Library on Jubilee Square.
There are high-top 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 leave with a bottle recommended by the owner.
where to find The best coffee in the North Laine, Brighton
So many great local independents serving superior coffee call the North Laine home. It would be remiss not to try a few. I recommend Pelicano on buzzy Sydney Street, Bread and Milk on Trafalgar Street opposite O’Shio (for great, cheap Korean and Japanese food) and Black Mocha 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.
Find Blackout Shop at 53 Kensington Place, Brighton and Hove, Brighton BN1 4EJ
Tidy Street Store
Opposite this great deli is the Tidy Street Store, a beautiful small fashion boutique with a lovely corner location and stunning shuttered facade.
Inside you’ll find a collection of curated finds that includes plenty of French-label clothes, as well as shoes, accessories, pretty ceramics, and woven baskets.
Find the Tidy Street General Store at 102 Gloucester Road, Brighton BN1 4AP
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, an eccentric mix of vintage consignments from lacy black 1920s dresses, silks and velvets to bespoke millinery and stylish menswear.
Find Snooper’s Attic at Snooper’s Paradise, 7–8 Kensington Gardens, Brighton BN1 4AL
Raining Books
This is one of my favourite Brighton bookshops. Inside, it’s just as jumbled as its window display would suggest. Books, it appears, have rained down from the sky all over the shop, onto shelves, tables, chairs, the floor, and anywhere there’s available space.
It might look chaotic but somehow the owner knows where every book is – even the most obscure of titles. It’s one of the best Brighton bookshops to pick up a bargain, with the most expensive books costing around £4 or £5.
Find Raining Books at 28 Trafalgar Street, Brighton BN1 4DY
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.
north laine map
Find a map of the North Laine independent shopping and nearby addresses of note, here and below.
If you want more inspiration, my secret guidebooks will take you off the beaten path.
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