The Hole in the Wall is the perfect hidden away pub. It’s not a place you could just stumble upon. Seconds from the seafront, opposite an old church, hiding in a little side street. It’s a tiny, standalone building, and it’s the perfect combination of old man pub, and cool taproom vibes.
The beer menu is VAST. It’s got everything you want, is constantly changing, and there isn’t a big brand in sight. Not a fan of beer? Literally not a problem. They’ve got an excellent wine list, AND brilliant cocktails.
I started my visit with a half of the Vault City ‘Overnight Oats’, which is a sour beer, but could quite easily be mistaken for a healthy smoothie, despite being 8.4%. It was absolutely delicious, but not something I could smash a few pints of. In fact, it’s not in my nature to smash a few pints of anything. I just get too full! So I moved on to one of The Hole in the Wall’s signature cocktails: a Buckfast Negroni, a personal go-to. At £7.50, that’s one of Brighton’s more reasonably priced cocktails, and it went down so well, I had a second.
This visit to The Hole in the Wall was on a Saturday, so despite a 3pm arrival, the pub soon started to fill up. On a quieter weekday you can happily fit in a game or two of Toads, but on this occasion we were lucky to even get a table and seats. The quaint size of the pub definitely adds to its charm. Cosy on a Tuesday, and buzzing on a Saturday.
I think what I love about this pub is that the décor and vibe is very classic OG-old-man-pub, but it doesn’t have the awkwardness of making you feel unwelcome if you’re not actually an old man that sits at the bar everyday. It’s a modern Brighton update of the old man pub. As a woman in my 20s, I feel very at home there, and genuinely wish it was my local.
I’m very passionate about an independent business that supports other independent businesses, and that’s what The Hole in the Wall seems to be. Frankly, if you’re going to spend £6.50 on a pint, and let’s be honest, that’s what you’ll be doing in most Brighton pubs, it might as well not be a big brand you can get down your local Tesco. The Hole (if I may abbreviate it that way) is supporting smaller, lesser known breweries that are actually doing something interesting and different with beer, and they’re doing it in a really cool, secret (to many) building. So, if you haven’t paid this small, lesser known pub a visit, get down there. You can always pop across the road to the beach afterwards, if you fancy.
Make sure you’re following me on Instagram for all the visual content (reels!) that goes along with these written posts, and more casual updates from my kitchen: instagram.com/sophie.serves.it.up