The Dorset Bar & Kitchen in Brighton and Hove

I haven’t had food here for a while, though they do proper gastro pub offerings. The Dorset is an absolute Brighton staple, halfway between the pier and the station, it sits in the less touristy more eclectic part of town, in the middle of the North Laine, as a result always full of Brightonians, rather than tourists, and has a good atmosphere

Nice place though it used to be much better and have a better atmosphere. Shame they don't accept cash.

Really delicious veggie wellington and loaded nachos. A nice pre Christmas Lunch very well serviced by friendly staff.

Popped in here after an Xmas do and was surprised at how big the pub is inside. The service/staff were very friendly and quick. Recommended!!

I first wrote a review for here 5 years ago and felt the need to come back and reiterate how great it is here! I have never had a bad experience visiting this pub. The food, drinks, service and atmosphere are always spot on. I most recently went for a staff retirement party. We had a great table, the service of food and drinks was really quick and we had a blast. Thank you to all those involved.

Great service and lovely atmosphere. Guinness was spot on. Fish and chips were solid too.

Highly recommend for holding a family event or special meal at The Dorset. We had a large group meal (nearly 30) for a birthday dinner and the staff and venue were both exemplary. The booking process was great and I was kept informed along the way. The booking managers in particular were super helpful even when we had a big last minute change. On the night the venue was setup just right for us, we were able to use our own decorations and even bring our own birthday cake. The food was also fantastic and served promptly and efficiently! Couldn’t recommend highly enough.

Great atmosphere. Large premises. Nice service

Really nice place to go for some food and drink

Ordered our drinks, was told to sit and someone will come over to take our order which took quite a long time and the pub was near enough empty. We ordered the smash burger, was the worst burger we have ever eaten. Hard and seemed a little raw, hardly any lettuce, onions or sauce and we got about 8 chips with it. Service was awful and food was awful. Won’t be eating here again

Great atmosphere and service in a traditional pub. They offer a really good oat milk cappuccino.

Great place to people watch on the corner of the Laines

Great little pub we stopped in for a quick drink. Great atmosphere with performers right outside.

Brilliant pub only go in on Saturdays always nice welcome

We came here for lunch on a recent trip to Brighton and were very impressed with the food! We weren't expecting the portions to be so massive, so we overordered and left very full. The staff were very friendly and attentive.

Terrible establishment! They have withheld pay for their staff for 7 weeks! PAY YOUR STAFF!!!

The Sunday roast is a big dissapointment. The beef is so difficult to cut, chew and eat. The vegan option has only 3 elements. Nor at all value for money at roast priced at 18 pounds. Would never recommend.

Tasty, friendly and fast. We ordered Fish'n'Chips twice and got it within 10 minutes. Seating outside and inside available. Great Selektion of beer available. Would eat at again

Unexpected delight to wait in here for restaurant booking. Great coffee. Welcoming team. Great atmosphere. The food looks good. Will be back foe a meal soon.

Great few evenings in the Dorset over bank holiday weekend. Despite the amount of customers in the staff never got flustered .

Best Bloody Mary’s I’ve had in the UK so far (been here a year but I’m from the Midwest USA where we take Bloody Mary’s VERY seriously). We did the 2 for 14 deal and the bartender delivered. Nice decor and a balance between tourists and locals.

Nice place to have a drink with friends with delicious sweet potatoes to eat and very nice waiters 🩷

Nice pub in the center of Brighton.

Great pub! Friendly staff and buzzing atmosphere 🥳👍🏼🍺

Nice food, drink and friendly staff 👍

Great pub, great location and great staff. We didn't eat but the food looked great.

The menu has a good variety and caters for vegetarians and for vegans. I had the humous plate, while my partner had the beef burger. We were both very satisfied with the quality of our food and felt the prices were reasonable. The interior is shaded and calm, a nice break from the crowded streets.

This was the worst meal I have ever paid for in my life. The vegan Wellington - watery gravy, uncooked peas, stale mash - the beetroot didn’t taste good either frozen or out of date - my friend and I have both been sick from the food - he had the chicken schnitzel which looked mouldy and was the driest chicken he has ever tasted. The salad looked like it had been left out in the sun for a week. Not even dressing would have saved it. The staff are very friendly which they would have to be to entice any customer in as we will never be going back. Overpriced too would rather have gone to Wetherspoons but this was the only place available to go on the Lanes - surprise surprise. Avoid at all costs.

You can order on the website but they don’t look at it. Please be a little more organized, we have been waiting for 40 minutes and they didn’t even started to cook our order because they missed it. Awful

A great place in which to sit outside in the sun.

Went in for a quick pint, the staff were exceptional and welcoming. Thoroughly enjoyed the experience and would go again!

Great day out with the family. Don't forget you have to pay £1pp to go on the pier.

Popped in decided to stay for a bite to eat & drink. We had fish & chips. It was yummy 😋. The bar/serving staff were polite, friendly and welcoming. The atmosphere relaxed. Would definitely recommend. Well done.

Great food, friendly staff, good mu8.

Only accepting card payments. Cash is still legal tender and places like this should be boycotted until they see sense.

Quiet when we visited, loved the meat pie

Great pub. Great selection of beers available, plenty of seating. Good spot to watch the football. Looking forward to visiting again.

Great place,experience and fantastic food! Bar staff were very welcoming and friendly.

The guy behind the bar was SUPER rude. I'm not sure what's up with this place, but you need new staff!

Freindly bar with good food. Central. Pet freindly.

Wow . I were there for 2 pints for 12.60 . That’s fine . But they charge me again total for another 12.60. I don’t care what’s the reason, but it is illegal for you for charge me again next day without noticing me . Update : I am still being charged twice for one transaction. Watch out if you never check your bank statements and visiting this bar .

Terrible experience. Bit of an ordeal getting what we ordered. Waited ages for food, asked about it, got some "feedback" from staff. Didn't get brought cutlery, sauce or any kind of service, requests for cheese not "sheese(?)" were ignored and yet we were forced to pay a compulsory 12.5%. Bit of a piss take. Nice burger though. Just don't expect it to arrive. But Dylan Moran was there which was nice. *Cannot guarantee presence of Dylan Moran. **Can guarantee terrible service.

An old fashioned pub.....simply beautiful, friendly staff and good food.

Incredible food and great atmosphere in the heart of the laines

On nice weather days, it's crowded with people, so it's great to have a drink outside!! The atmosphere is so good 💕 ig: yeri_the_chick

Very comfortable environment, it is a good place to drink and chat. The waiter patiently introduced us beer, we chose a cider and a lager. Thank you❤️

The Dorset is an easy pub to drop into whilst in town. It offers a lot of seating outside the front which is perfect for catching the sunshine- which is rare for pubs in the centre of town to have multiple sunshine seats. It is also fairly large pub, with lots of space inside- it is good for a larger group. It can be quite noisy, so not good for an intimate quiet drink. It doesn't have the quirky charm of other smaller pubs in town.

A nice pub just down from the station in the cool area of Brighton well worth a cheeky pint on your way through the streets through Brighton on foot

Horrible tacky changes to an iconic pub. Now attracting a lager lad Love Island crowd. Used to be hip. Great music and vibe. Now a huge idiotic TV screen showing random YouTube background scenes that nobody is watching. Dumbsville.

The service was good and very welcoming. It's a great spot for a quick drink.

Great pub. Food was awful. The moules here used to be amazing. Now they are frozen and inedible. Lovely staff .

We had a large last minute booking which they accepted with a pre order which was no problem at all! We all really enjoyed our food and drinks and the bar staff were lovely! Close to a big multi storey car park , train station and seafront, Id recommend and go back, thanks!

Excellent service and a really good meal to celebrate some hungry Marathon finishers (Matt and Pat) on 7th April. We were a table of 18 and had a positive experience at The Dorset. Thank you :)

Best people watching pub in the Brighton Laines. Often sit outside during the day with a pint of Guinness and watch the wonderful diverse world go by.

Had a good lunch here in this friendly pub before going to see Brighton v Sheffield United. Nice lunch and very friendly service. Unfathomable refereeing at the match.

Good food for the price range but service had many mistakes on orders, as well as clearing the table even when told that some were not finished. Overhearing the management shouting through the restaurant also didn’t do wonders to the atmosphere.

Nice busy pub, which is great to see. Great for people watching. Didn't eat but food looked amazing and was piping hot.

i can’t recommend this enough, i came here because the other pubs were full and was pleasantly surprised at the quality of the food and friendliness of the staff. The drinks are great too and there’s FREE WIFI WOOP WOOP.

As a pub, it's fine no complaints. The food was really uninspired. I had the "smash burger," but it wasn't a smash burger; it was just a regular burger that cost extra to add cheese. The other people in my party said the sausage and mash was underwhelming and the schnitzel was burnt. The main thing was that for two people in our party, their food was 1 hour, 30 minutes late. They said this was due to a technical error, which is fine, but the server assured us the food would only take a further 10 minutes, but it actually took longer than that. They did give us a round of drinks as compensation, but really, the food should have just been refunded.

Went in for drink. Nice place. Pint for the hubby and a half for me. Sat down and looked at their prices. How can you charge £5.80 for a pint of Guinness then £3.40 for a half?

Great staff, Great drinks selection and great prices

It's a fine place. The gents toilet really STUNK when I was there though.

Vegan nachos were good, salsa has a nice kick The chips weren't the best but burger was nice.

A great traditional pub to visit in Brighton. A big thank you to the bar staff who made us feel welcome. Thank you👍

Ordered food and drinks during a trip to Brighton, was told "we don't accept cash",I offered the correct amount of cash but was still refused, so we finished our already started, now free,drinks & left for another pub where we spent cash on a Christmas turkey dinner. The Dorset DID NOT STATE it was cashless but is now off my list of friendly places, even if they resort back to accepting cash.

Love this pub. Lovely atmosphere, friendly staff. Don't come here because you'll spoil it! Xxx

This place used to be fantastic for food, the Sunday roast used to be amazing. Sadly they now serve a very limited menu and burgers and fish and chips. Not good quality either. The staff act like they're totally over working in hospitality too. Don't recommend it at all.

Work Xmas dinner. 40 of us, all who ordered and paid in advance and they serve us food like this? Some of us weren’t served til 1500 when the booking was for 1300. I’ve eaten at the Dorset before and was expecting good food. They couldn’t have put less effort into their Xmas offering. Really disappointing

On our way, to see Eddie (Suzy) Izzard last night popped into The Dorset on the off chance they had a table for a quick bite to eat and a pint. Fortunately for us, we found a gem of a place that serves the best Guinness in Brighton, quality food, and they have Mark! People make a difference when you go out, and Mark made our fleeting visit extremely memorable. He's an absolute credit to your establishment, and when we're back in Brighton, we'll definitely be returning.

went there for christmas meal. food was too dry and very slow.

Just popped in for a drink.Had a fab bloody Mary served by a friendly member of staff.Nice decor.

Over cooked chicken, paid extra for sweet potato fries and they were cold. Staff not interested.

Interesting place that does printed Guinness

Every time I went, the staff seemed to forget I was there. Ages to get served. I have left twice because of it.

Very good pub in a great location. Service was fantastic.

Me and my partner stopped in for a drink and staff were SO friendly, the atmosphere was so welcoming and inviting, will for sure be back!

Don’t order the cauli wings. Paid £7 for three mouthfuls of mushy cauliflower.

Always in The Dorset as I work local to it. One of the best people watching spots in Brighton and their chips are like roasties.

Great food, friendly service. First time visiting, will certainly visit again. Recommended.

I went for the 60's mod weekend as usual. The Dorset is getting worse silly planters herding us in like cattle security treating and talking to us like we are children silly wristbands. Just let us spill out onto the road like we used no cars will try to go down the street and get a drink when we want most just go to the pub across the road you must be losing lots of custom this was probably the last time I'll go there the atmosphere has gone!

Lovely pub & staff but charged £9.60 for 2 pints of coke :( queried the price and they confirmed it was correct. Can’t help but think this is overpriced

Had a great time on the Mod weekend...stayed here for drinks and danced to some great tunes ..Stopped serving food so we left to eat and returned later on .Great friendly people and atmosphere 👌

Great pub, food was delicious and services were excellent.

Me and my family went there for a mod night. Went to get a drink and man who works there told me and my sister we can’t be served as it is a private event for a mod night. Even though we was there for the event. They have been serving my family all through the night. It was rude and didn’t listen to us when we was trying to explain to him how we was there for the night, but refused to listen.

Some of the worst pub food I’ve ever had. Chicken wings were dry served with a sauce that was very vinegary. Fries had been Deep fried to death and the saddest apple pie I’ve ever eaten. Avoid

We had to get a wristband placed on us in order to get into the pub on a Saturday evening. This meant queuing up with other confused customers waiting for this to be placed on your wrist. We then had to queue for over 5 minutes to get served. The place was very busy and warm, so we went outside. My husband then wanted to go to the toilet but was told at the exit we had just come through that he had to go back through the main entrance to get back in. He went to that entrance, but there was an even bigger queue, so he ended up going across the road to use the other pubs toilet. Many customers were commenting on the wristband policy, which nobody could understand and just seemed to cause a queue, confusion, and yet more waste for the environment. This was the only pub we visited in the centre that served drinks in plastic cups. We will not be going back.

Amazing fish and chips. Really nice atmosphere.

Excellent venue for a mod wkend.. Charlie, the security man..Brilliant geezer. He'll know great guy.

Dropped in for a drink. Good selection of beer and staff friendly.

Brilliant pub right in the lains sat outside in the street brilliant on a summer's day

Disappointing. Ale was cloudy and the place was a mess.

Only had a few drinks but the service from the staff was great

Food was terrible - chicken schnitzel was burnt. Two pints of Pepsi max was £10 - what a rip off!! They even tried to charge service charge even though we had to we had to order at the bar and carry our own drinks to the table. Stay away from the place!!

Friendly staff, outdoor seating, great range of ales 🍺 👍🏻

What a lovely place. The service was great and the staff really welcoming and good fun. The food was delicious and a nice choice of wines

Most of the drinks weren't available, staff didn't seem that interested. A Friend of mine asked for food, one of the guys said he'd be across in a sec to take the order. He never came and we soon left

The barman poured my beer down the sink because I only had cash. What a great businessman 😂😂

Fab service and terrific spot for a coffee during the day

Most disgusting burger i’ve ever eaten in my life. My dog could cook it better. Completely raw and inedible. The chips were nice.

Me and my friend got a burger and it was raw, would have complained but we already paid for it!! My other friend got a chicken burger and it was rock hard. It was so raw would not be surprised if we got food poisoning.