The Bystander Cafe in Brighton and Hove

it does not close at 18:00. kitchen closes at 17:00 i went there for dinner at 17:19 and was turned away, only coffee take away available.

Cooked breakfast was a super basic "heat and stick on plate" job with nasty cheap bread. Guy who took my order seemed half asleep and when he served me just dumped it on the table and left, ignoring me when I called after him that I would like some ketchup. Luckily another customer had already acquired some from somewhere. There are *much* better cafes nearby at a similar price point.

Christina is amazing, other staff need to learn from her 🙏🏽

Fantastic café. The food is amazing (quick arrival to the table) and the staff is super friendly. Can’t wait to go back for breakfast 🫶🏽

Unfortunately been coming here for years and my visit on Friday was sadly disappointing food was warm to cold, and all looked liked it had been cooked to death the days ago and reheated. Won’t be returning

Best cooked breakfast I've had in ages!

Been here a long time and doing well with coffees and other things that can be had at opening times of day, good seating views out over the station front area and next to buses as well as trains too. Would come back again at another time when in the area too.

Nice place and a great amount of seating areas that overlook a view of the frontage to station and bus stop waiting zones. All depends on who is making the coffee and other things there that is a great thing for going there.

A small restaurant closed to the train station. The food is good and the tea is average.

Very Polite Staff and Great service.

Staff were really friendly and we didn’t wait long to eat - the food was okay but the coffee was pretty terrible! Have also had slightly bigger portions for much less $$

Walked in, said good morning and was ignored by the staff... needless to say, I left.

I do love these small friendly corner cafes. Brighton seems to have so many. Breakfast is very well presented and tastes delicious. I found the sausage was outstanding and liked the easy over eggs presentation. There does seem to be confusion regarding opening times. On some sites and on the maps link for weekdays it says 7am but then on others it says 7.30am and 8am. My first try I waited 15 minutes and ended up in the nearby Greggs. Please take it in the spirit it’s intended may I suggest on the menu posted in the front window times are displayed. Other than this blip well worth a visit.

Excellent coffee. I ordered an oat milk cortado and it was delicious.

Big portions, delicious food and great personalities/hosts

Excellent Food, finger linking stuff

Great venue. Friendly staff. Can recommend the full English with scrambled eggs, which were amazing!

Perfect early morning breakfast before catching the train. Good value, speedy service, great coffee and a lovely full “English” veggie breakfast what’s not to like!!

Perfect early morning breakfast before catching the train. Good value, speedy service, great coffee and a lovely full “English” veggie breakfast what’s not to like!!

grabbed coffee to go, surprisingly got plastic straws with the ice. Not dog friendly.

Tolles typisches englisches Essen, sauber, extrem freundlich, Lage gegenüber Bahnhof und ab 8 Uhr geöffnet. Alles super!

Amazingly friendly staff, good value and great food at a very reasonable price.🤩 Loved the place.

Very good price for such good food and so close to the station too! Had a lovely lunch here once arriving in Brighton, would recommend!! ❤️

Stopped in local cafe by brighton station and had a lovely full English it was very good thank you

Beautiful food and really lovely people. Thank you ❤️

Had a lovely coffee with my team before we headed to a meeting/work day out. After a scare leaving my bag and MacBook outside they kept it for me. Such honest and caring people. Support your local all :) Thanks so much again!

Friendly staff, amazing fresh food. Was not disappointed.

Fresh ingredients, excellent portions sizes, value for money lively atmosphere very friendly staff. Vegetarian option available Bread is really tasty kid friendly Excellent place to meet up with friends before a long trip on the train.

Very tasty breakfast, lovely staff!

Nice little friendly cafe food was very nice and well cooked but a bit pricey @ £13.90

Amazing food and quick service. Spiced chai latte is a must try. A lovely cozy cafe near train station.

Friendly and welcoming and great food.

We love this local gem and get our office b fast order from them every Monday. GREAT b fast options and the staff are just so friendly. Highly recommended if you like decent portions, fab tasting food and a nice relaxed vibe! 10/10

I ordered an English breakfast which clearly stated two sausages on the menu but only received 1 on the plate. The breakfast was also expensive for an average plate of food.

Staff very friendly. Lovely feel! Thank you for a great experience. Xxx

Great staff!!, I go 3-4 times a week, grab a cup of hot tea,sit outside with my dog (who gets the odd sausage), and watch the hustle of the train station directly opposite.

Good honest cafe right near station. Can't go wrong here.

Convenient place but very expensive for what you get

They do a good sausage and egg sandwich which was £4.70 before Christmas and has now gone up to a hefty £6.50 around a 38% increase? The markup on this must be huge so, no, I won't be treating myself to a Bystander sandwich any time soon.

Popped into the Bystander before catching a train. Very friendly welcome when I walked in. I had a ham & cheese omelette, which I thoroughly enjoyed. Very light and fluffy, plenty of ham and cheese. Plus the accompanying fries were nice and crispy, not the usual afterthought you often get. Even the salad was tasty, as well as being fresh. Well done, Bystander.

Friendly staff, good value and great food at a very reasonable price. The guy that served us even chased after us into the station to return my wife's gloves that she had left on the table! Thanks again for that.

Love this place, the food is great and the staff are lovely.

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Such lovely welcome! And wonderful staff best place to grab a coffee and a bacon sarny whilst waiting for a train 😊

Fantastic service and food. We went for the English breakfast with a tea and a mocha. The food was delicious and we were met with friendly smiles. This cafe is right opposite Brighton Station so perfect for us to grab our breakfast before catching our connecting train.

Pretty short fused staff, not really interested in customer satisfaction.... poor coffee and at best staff are curt, worst rude!

Great food and reasonably priced

Friendly, comfortable cafe, great refuge from the station, lovely coffee & cakes, breakfasts look terrific.

food was good and the omelette was cooked how requested - husband cooked breakfast was fine - well cooked - coffee was good and the cups large traditional coffee cups. staff were pleasant and helpful. only one issue the toilets were down a steep set of stairs with no handrail and just having had a hip replacement i was too nervous to attempt them. otherwise good lh

Right tidy little breakfast. Well handy for the station. Friendly staff. What's not to love?

Popped in for breakfast. Just opposite the station so good opportunity for people watching whilst waiting. Food was delivered within 10 minutes. I had big breakfast and the wife had scrambled eggs and smoked salmon. Very happy with the quality and quantity. Will return if in the area again.

Easy walking distance brighton Station full English breakfast looked good

Popped in on a Sunday morning with a friend. Counter at the back , with menu on boards above counter. Not particularly buisy, nicely spaced out seating ,cosy to ... seemed clean . Did NOT order though. Reason very simple ... itemised items of food on offer ( good selection) . . However no prices shown.????? So could,nt work out what you could afford or whether good value with out queuing at counter and asking. Hope that not like it all the time.

Visited The Bystanders for breakfast before getting train home. It was a nice cosy cafe and the six of us sat in the room to the right. I ordered the Small Breakfast with scrambled egg which was great! Hot and quality food and quick service too from friendly staff. Would definitely recommend.

Genuinely worst breakfast I ever had. Was shocked at how awful given the prices as well. Lady behind the till was nice but the food was horrendous - avoid.

Had the Spanish omelette and chips which was quite filling. Would have preferred to get a larger coffee but was never asked when I got served. Its only that I saw another customer get a larger cup. Had I been offered then it would have been a five star review

My go to cafe when visiting Brighton..food always freshly prepared and staff friendly...one star is an idiot!

A wonderful little cafe, Bacon sandwich, bread was amazingly soft, bacon done to exactly how I like it after asking for it well done. Ice latte was great, highly recommend this place. For a bite after or before you get a train.

Nice little cafe, come here regularly for a large coffee which is actually large, nice to find an independent that does large as most of them do small cups. Food is cooked lovely and the 3 ladies that work there are very nice which makes all the difference.

The cooked breakfast we had here was the worst I have ever eaten, I have had many in my lifetime. The ingredients were cheap, drenched in cheap fat and tasteless. The service was nothing to write home about either, didnt feel like I was a valued customer. The price of the food was in line with the really good places to eat, wish we had gone else where, just awful!

Customers prior to us were allowed to change their order with a full English breakfast but we were told they are too busy and not changing orders. Maybe only changed for locals? We only wanted to take mushrooms and tomatoes off for another item to stop food waste as we simply didn't eat the tomatoes or mushrooms. When we were sat eating our breakfast another member of staff from the kitchen quite rudely pushed a customer out of the way from the que not asking politely whether they could just move to the side so she could get back into the kitchen. Manners cost nothing and running a cafe needs good customer service. Massive shame as the food and coffee was really good quality and we enjoyed it thoroughly. Maybe just a bad day for the staff but can't say we'd return as it was quite uncomfortable.

The hot chocolate was the best hot chocolate I've ever had! Also very affordable!

Best place near the station. Had the halloumi salad and it was tasty with fresh ingredients and generous portion size, plus good service.

Great cafe and opposite Brighton station, good food and very friendly staff

I visited yesterday with my daughter after a long stressful day we ordered jacket potatoes with cheese and beens this arrived promptly with coleslaw and salad now what can I say ... it was like an organic in my mouth I can't remember tasting anything this nice in years I think I was having a when Harry met Sally moment with the noises of enjoyment my daughter kept telling me to be quieter lol that you so much service was polite and friendly too if ever in Brighton again will definitely return xx

Love this place. Right next to the station. I come here for the breakfasts which are always nicely cooked, tasty and hot. Nicely presented and quality products used.

Popped into the cafe for breakfast before a long train journey. We were seated quickly and served within 15 minutes. Excellent service food was piping hot and delicious. Well worth the visit great value 10 out of 10

Very clean and tidy friendly staff great food reasonable prices only a minute fro. The station.

The English breakfast contained 2 eggs, 1 bacon, 1 small sausage, 1 hash brown, a pot of beans only twice the size of an egg cup and about 3 mushrooms sliced up. Oh an a slice of toast for £7.95. The worst stitch is a can of coke is £1.90 and a orange is £2 a can. Breakfast includes no coffee. Came out hungry and around £10 out of pocket. Rather have a McDonald's breakfast and get more for less. Could understand if was high quality locally sourced butcher produce but most was packet items at average quality.

The English breakfast contained 2 eggs, 1 bacon, 1 small sausage, 1 hash brown, a pot of beans only twice the size of an egg cup and about 3 mushrooms sliced up. Oh an a slice of toast for £7.95. The worst stitch is a can of coke is £1.90 and a orange is £2 a can. Breakfast includes no coffee. Came out hungry and around £10 put of pocket. Rather have a McDonald's breakfast and get more for less. Could understand if was Hugh quality locally sourced butcher produce but most was packet items at average quality.

Really quick and delicious food. Good value for money.

I popped into the Bystander Cafe this afternoon with friends to grab a drink and kill an hour before our train was due to depart. The cafe is basic but offers a good range of hot drinks and some nice cakes. I noticed an extensive hot food menu too but didn't sample any of it. I would recommend for convenience and a nicer, cheaper alternative to the usual big brand cafes found around train stations. There is also additional seating at the rear so it's bigger than appears at first glance.

Friendly service..good coffee ...great chips

Both the service and the coffee were great, thank you👍

Just had an amazing meal with my fiance Amazing food Very friendly and fast service Highly recommended and coming back tomorrow for breakfast as staying in nearby hotel Directly opposite Brighton Station so perfect if just got of the train

Big portion sizes, big slab of black pudding and a whole bottle of your chosen sauce instead of those tiny packets that wetherspoons will give you. Good for a nice brekkie before the train ride.

Visited here for a quick lunch before a long train trip. It's lovely. Very nice inside, the lady who served was very pleasant and the food was well priced, plentiful and very good. It's also right next to the station so it's very convenient.

very polite and food is great ....

This is a great cafe, best breakfast in Brighton. The staff are very nice too. Give this a go if looking for a good breakfast.

Nice welcome from women working on 30 September 2020. I have a acute allergy companion can't eat large portions. Nice breakfast/brunch generous portions and hot. Excellent customer service anyone stopping in Brighton for a staycation should check this Cafe out 👍🏼

Me and my sister a friend had breakfast this morning lovely food and staff

Nice breakfast and lovely coffee served by pleasant ladies.

Tis nice. Toilets are mood lit.

Food great there lovely would like come back

He dado varias críticas sobre este café. Excelente ubicación justo al lado de la estación, el menú es extenso y nunca tuve un mal desayuno allí, no importa si opto por la opción saludable o una fritura completa. Precio razonable con servicio rápido. No voy a desayunar a ningún otro lugar cuando estoy en Brighton.

Delicious breakfast, good service, good price! Conveniently situated just outside the train station.

food was really nice and good portions for the moneh you spend

I stumbled upon this cafe on a rainy Thursday afternoon to kill time before my train and I'm glad I came. It's a quaint little spot and it was quiet when I came in. There's a big variety of seating options and I opted to sit in the back room where I enjoyed my drink and book in peace.The women who run the place were very kind.I'd definitely come back to try the food!

From the train straight to this small and cozy café. Reasonable prices, good food. Kind staff.

Nice cosy cafe, great value tasty food, well worth a visit.

Great food, good portions, quick service

Warm welcome, great food, delivered quickly. Right outside the station. Reasonably priced. Appears to be well used.

This is quite a typical "next-to-the-station" cafe. Decent service, pricing and options, but nothing special. Several tables were sticky which kind of put us off, but it was cold so we didn't complain.

The Bystander burger is insane. Best burger in Brighton for sure! ✌️

Very good food, reasonable prices and very central

Every time we visit Brighton we go to this café. Small, quant and the food is great with good portion sizes. Never had a complaint and they have loyalty cards so after 8-10 you get a free meal. No complaints there.

Great traditional English breakfast (hard to find in the middle of Brighton!) Good food, well cooked, reasonably priced, friendly service and right next to the station.

Straight off the train into the cafe quick very friendly service. Very reasonable prices,I had a veggie breakfast very nice. Don't hesitate about going in.

Great quality breakfast, friendly staff, cozy seating 🙂

I have been coming to this cafe for more than 10 years. Always great coffee, and selection of cakes and pastries. their spiced chai latte is my favourite. The food is always good, classic dishes are cooked just right (try their omelette and chips) They put a lot of effort and care into this place and it shows; the staffs are always really warm and welcoming. Great place to watch people coming and going on their daily commutes.