Kemptown is Brighton’s most vibrant neighbourhood, best known for its grand Regency-era townhouses in the historic Kemp Town Estate, seafront location and strong LGBTQ+ identity.
It sits between Hanover and the sea, and depending on where you find yourself, Kemptown can feel hedonistic and energetic, peaceful and village-like, or surprisingly grand.
At its heart is St James’s Street where the annual Pride street party takes place, which runs a mile east from the rejuvenated Black Rock area near Brighton Marina, almost to the Palace Pier.
Kemptown Brighton: A Neighbourhood Guide
It’s a tangle of historic narrow streets that hide everything from antique shops and neighbourhood cafés to historic garden squares, cabaret venues, secret green spaces and characterful pubs.
I love living in leafy residential Fiveways, but whenever I’m craving more buzz, Kemptown is the Brighton neighbourhood I’ll head to for a change of scene.
I’ll jump on my bike and either spend a morning browsing the antique shops, having coffee, wandering down to the beach or soaking up the lively atmosphere over a cocktail come evening.
If you’re planning a trip to Brighton and looking beyond the usual city centre attractions, this guide rounds up my favourite places to eat, drink, shop and things to do in Kemptown. Let’s explore!
This post was originally written in February 2023 but has since been updated to keep it fresh.
Things to do in Kemptown, Brighton
Get your bearings on a self-guided walk
My hidden Kemptown walk is part of my popular hidden Brighton walks series which went viral on Instagram in the pandemic and I’ve had great feedback on over the years.
I tend to start near the seafront on Lewes Crescent in the Kemp Town Estate, make my way up to Sussex Square and meander my way west, ending at Brighton’s smallest tearoom just off St James’s Street.
Fans of secret Brighton won’t want to miss a detour to Millfield Cottages, one of Brighton’s secret streets. It’s known locally as a ‘twitten’ and lined with pastel-coloured homes.
Follow my self-guided hidden walk around Kemptown, here and check out the full series here.
Visit the Secret Garden Kemp Town
Honestly, it’s worth visiting the Secret Garden Kemp Town alone to enjoy a little picnic in the garden courtesy of onsite cafe, TABLE. The cakes are so good.
This outdoor community arts venue is the only one of its kind in Brighton. It’s also free to visit. You’ll find it tucked away in the beautiful Kemp Town Estate where author Lewis Carroll lived for a while and is said to have written Alice in Wonderland.
It was once a garden belonging to 32 Sussex Square residents accessed via a tunnel which is now bricked up. Today, you enter through a huge wooden gate on Bristol Gardens.
Until recently, it only opened for one-off events or during Heritage Open Days but now hosts an annual summer exhibition and opens every weekend from May until September.
Find the Secret Garden Kemp Town at Bristol Gardens, Brighton BN2 5JE
Book a session at the Beach Box Sauna Spa
The Beach Box Sauna Spa is a unique outdoor sauna experience with a cosy beachside setting and a distant view of the Palace Pier.
It’s open all year and features wood-fired saunas, some inside converted horse boxes and a bigger one for groups made of upcycled materials, a plunge pool, showers and a fire pit.
The natural body treatments are divine, too, like rose clay masks and salt scrubs perfumed with natural oils. I always leave feeling refreshed and renewed.
Find the Beach Box Sauna Spa at Banjo Groyne, Behind Volks Railway Workshop, 299 Madeira Drive, Brighton BN2 1EN
Experience a night of cabaret or weekend drag brunch. In a tomb
At the east end of peaceful Kemptown Village is this elaborate Oriental-style building with a pagoda you can’t miss, originally built as a mausoleum by a wealthy Victorian Brighton businessman.
Today, it’s the setting for the Haus of Cabaret which hosts fun cabaret and entertainment nights, effectively in a Grade II-listed former grave.
As well as evening cabaret, they also host hilarious weekend Drag Brunch sessions, every Saturday and Sunday, if you’re in the mood for some raucous entertainment and bottomless booze.
Find Haus of Cabaret at 83 St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1EF
Where to Shop in Kemptown
Brighton Flea Market
Snoopers Paradise on Kensington Gardens in Brighton’s bohemian central North Laine neighbourhood is an incredible vintage flea market, but it gets seriously busy, especially at the weekend.
If you prefer thrifting in peace, you’ll appreciate Brighton Flea Market – you can’t miss it with its bright pink façade and a cool neon sign in the front window.
It’s a peaceful emporium of antique glassware, 1970s bookcases, crockery, artwork, mirrors, and more are spread across two floors.
A visit to its sister flea market in in the chocolate-box town of Lewes makes a great excuse for a day trip from Brighton.
Find Brighton Flea Market at 31a Upper St James’s Street, Brighton BN2 1JN
Kemptown Bookshop
Open in 1976, which apparently makes it the oldest in Brighton, The Kemptown Bookshop is set in a small Regency townhouse which makes browsing feel like you’re in someone’s cosy home.
There are three floors to wander around, two filled with new books and gifts like children’s toys and games, stationery and fine art prints by the previous owner. The top floor is a dedicated quiet space for writers.
Find The Kemptown Bookshop at 91 St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1EE
Other Kemptown shops worth stopping by are Oriental Arts specialising in Chinese stationery like paper and brushes, and David Ingledew Pianos which often has a baby grand piano on display in the window.
Where to eat in Kemptown
The GOthic Crab
Everyone raves about this new novel seafood place on Madeira Place inspired by coastal USA cuisine that claims to be Brighton’s first seafood boil restaurant.
All kinds of crustacea – lobsters and crabs and prawns and clams – are cooked together and served ‘family style’ on sharing platters that guests wearing black gloves and aprons dig into using an array of tools.
Décor-wise, don’t come expecting Americana; it’s more sophisticated. The black-walled dining room hung with colourful artwork feels classic with an eclectic Brighton edge.
If like me you’re not keen on bashing open lobster shells with hammers, there are alternative options. Like the soft shell crab burger served in a brioche bun with pickles and skin-on fries – my personal favourite.
Find The Gothic Crab at 15 Madeira Place, Brighton BN2 1TN
Busby and Wilds
Dan and I live near London Road on the other side of town, but we’ll happily bike it across town to Busby and Wilds, a gastro pub around the corner from Sussex Square in the Kemp Town Estate.
It has a relaxed atmosphere and is the perfect choice if you want some great food, a quiet night or have family to entertain.
The modern British menu features filling plates like potted Sussex crab with fennel, apple puree and toast, steak and chunky chips, and sticky toffee pudding.
I love coming here for a Busby beef burger with slow roast tomato, onion jam and dill pickles, served with skinny chips and coleslaw.
Insider tip: Thursday night is burger night – there are seven different types on offer from £10. There’s also a pretty hidden courtyard garden open in good weather.
Find Busby and Wilds at 9 Rock Street, Kemptown, Brighton BN2 1NF
Pizza Face
Opposite The Well taproom and bottle shop (see below) is Pizza Face, a tiny take-out pizza joint – you collect your order from a hatch – selling playfully named, full-flavoured pizza, made with or without gluten.
Holy Cheeses! sounds tempting: gorgonzola, parmesan, mascarpone, caramelised onion; Vesuvius, challenging: pepperoni, chorizo, red onions and fresh chillies.
Personally, I love the Nadine: sun-dried tomatoes, goat’s cheese, and caramelised onions. Vegans are well looked after too and there are sides, like coleslaw, to add to the mix.
Find Pizza Face at 35 St George’s Road, Kemptown, Brighton BN2 1ED
Marmalade
This stylish neighbourhood favourite café opened near Sussex Square in 2013. It’s now in its second life after a brief spell as a French bistro when it was given the chic Parisian-style revamp you see here, complete with lace curtains and a dark exterior.
It’s famous for its cafe counter crammed with an irresistible selection of pastries, donuts, cakes, sandwiches, quiches, salads and shelves heaving with gourmet treats and gifts and giant jars of marmalade, of course.
A pared back menu features bacon and sausage sandwiches on Real Patisserie chewy brown bread. The coffee is excellent.
Find Marmalade at 237 Eastern Road, Brighton BN2 5JJ
Open Bakery
The family-run Open Bakery in the heart of Kemptown Village is the best Brighton bakery there is. It opened in 1997 as the Real Patisserie but recently changed its name to expand on its baking and cookery classes.
All the bread and patisserie, sandwiches and lunches are made from scratch here in the shop.
Insider tip: Arrive early enough and you’ll get to enjoy them warm out the oven.
Find the Open Bakery at 34 St George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1ED
Leman Tea Room
With just three tables, Leman on the corner of St James’s Street and Madeira Place could easily be described as Brighton’s smallest tearoom.
The décor is typically tea-room chintzy – big on pastels, floral wallpaper, table cloths and vintage china, of course.
This part of Kemptown gets busy, so it’s worth bookmarking this place if you find yourself in the area and need a quiet escape hatch, a spot to ponder your day, recharge your batteries, and do some essential people-watching.
Find Leman on 15A Madeira Place, Brighton BN2 1TN
Where to Drink in Kemptown
The Well
With its vintage décor – white walls, slouchy leather sofas, G-Plan tables, vintage Moroccan rugs and lots of plants – The Well is one of Brighton’s most stylish bars.
They specialise in craft beers and have 100s of them, alongside shelves of natural wines. You can take away or drink in.
Find The Well at 102 Saint George’s Road, Brighton BN2 1EA
Hand in Hand
This eccentric corner pub with a red and yellow exterior in Kemptown Village is easily one of my favourite pubs in Brighton.
The cosy bar room is jam packed with all kinds of curios, has time-worn proper pub patterned carpet, and a piano for singalongs.
There’s also a wooden box on legs for playing the Sussex pub game, Toad in the Hole (you throw metal discs into a hole on the top from a distance).
Most people don’t know that hidden upstairs is a microbrewery, which on the right day, you might blag a tour of. They also host jazz nights on Sundays from 8pm til 11pm.
Find the Hand in Hand at 33 Upper St James’s Street, Brighton BN2 1JN
Black Dove
An edgy and lively small pub at the furthest end of Kemptown Village that’s both cosy and candlelit and known for its great cocktails mixed up with speed to weekend crowds.
The upstairs bar is small and narrow with sultry décor: bottle-green walls hung with wonky framed pictures and curios. Bottles dripped in years of candle wax rest on windowsills. Meanwhile, downstairs is a low-lit underground drinking den.
They don’t serve food, but you can order takeout pizza from nearby Pizza Face if you’re in it for the long run. Come the weekend, a DJ manages to squeeze in to play ska and Northern Soul.
Find The Black Dove at 74 St James’s Street, Kemptown, Brighton BN2 1PA
Where to stay in Kemptown
Most Brighton hotels I like to recommend are located nearer to the centre of the city, but there are a few nice options nearby.
No 27 is a beautiful, four-star, adults-only bed and breakfast in a historical Georgian townhouse five minutes from the seafront, this one-bedroom flat has a balcony with a sea view, or how about this beautifully renovated house that sleeps 10, both available on AirBnB.
Kemptown Map
You’ll find a map of Kemptown independent shopping and addresses of note below and here.
If you want more inspiration, my secret guidebooks will take you off the beaten path.
Enjoy reading this post? Fancy buying me a coffee?
New here? Visit the check-in desk for a welcome tour, subscribe to Ellie & Co • A Far Out Travel Guide by email or follow me on Instagram, Twitter or Facebook.
