The Poets Ale and Smoke House in Brighton and Hove

An excellent local pub. I've been for lunch many times, also to watch sport and have hired the upstairs room for a function. Excellent all round and always kind and friendly service. Well done

Very dubious when I entered, football on and a few screens fitted around, quite loud. I'd come out for a meal and a chat. However, there is another side that offered a quiet area. The team were attentive and friendly, food was excellent and atmosphere was really comfy. Had a great evening. 👍

Great pub. Love the new pool tables upstairs!! Always showing latest sport. The wing Wednesday special is unmatched in terms of flavour!! As for the Smokey Meaty goodness the kitchen supplies!!! Whoah!!!

Came for a roast on a whim without booking. Staff were very friendly and able to slot us in upstairs. I had their trio of meat special whilst my wife enjoyed the beef brisket. Absolutely delicious food! The brisket was melt in your mouth perfection; the chicken and pork belly both excellent. Great offering of veg and potatoes, with a very good sized yorkie. Our new favourite Sunday roast spot!

Fab Sunday roast and pud (only got pic of pud as was so hungry!) Great choice. Friendly staff and doggy friendly. Only issue the room could have been a bit warmer.

Great choice of beer, other drinks and food

Fantastic Sunday roast at supper time, lovely staff. Delicious and generous grub.

Nice local pub tucked away, serving food too (not tried). Friendly staff, TV screens, 2 pool tables in the upstairs room

Great food, friendly staff couldn't do enough to help!

Excellent two pints of Harvey's Old. Nice atmosphere, good music. Friendly staff.

Found this absolute gem of a pub while visiting our daughter and son in law for Christmas and we are so glad we did. Only visiting for 5 days and already have been back 3 times! Eaten here twice and the food is fantastic (highly recommend the chicken wings and the burgers) we all enjoyed our meals. Staff are great and very friendly and the manager couldn't do enough

Very good Sunday roast, Staff were excellent. Good place to go if you want to watch football on tv.

Very friendly local pub with an homely vibe. Food and service where exceptional. The menu is extensive with a wide variety of cuisines. I recommend the 2 for 1 burger night on a Monday, great value for money.

Had a lovely experience here this evening, felt especially welcomed by Sarah and Sean!

Had such a great roast on Sunday. I haven’t had a roast since April 2024 and this was worth waiting for. Happily go back. The staff especially Sean and Sarah were great.

The log fire was warm and welcoming. Harvey's Best was good but beer range was generic. Food selction looked good and tasted great. I would visit again for the food not the beer range.

Lovely roast, buzzing pub, bit noisy in the main bar during our visit but everyone was having a lovely time - staff amazing and the smokehouse roasts are simply stunning

Lovely pub. Friendly welcoming staff, great atmosphere and best roast dinner ever!

Tasty burger but remainder of food average. L

Been here twice for dinner, 2 for 1 burgers on Monday! Great handmade burgers, great flavour and good portions. Usual selection of beers, plus quite a few non alcoholic options. Lovely garden and pool table upstairs! (Been looking for a local pub with a pool table for ages!) It has become our new local! Sunday roasts look great too, although not tried one yet!

My friends and I went for the Halloween quiz, it was a lot of fun and really well run. We didn't have any food but the menu looks really good so we're definitely planning on going back to eat! Good selection of drinks and staff were friendly - they were happy to see our dog which is always nice.

Great place for a few pints with your friends.

I ordered the Korean fried chicken burger and i guess it was going for a Korean war homage because it was pure charcoal. Burnt to a cinder. Also the music suckkkkkked. The bartender was nice tho.

Best burger I’ve had in a little while. A great place to stop for smoked meat and good beer. We started a daytime pub crawl back to Brighton here, might be a regular starting point

Love this pub. ❤️ Mega friendly staff 😁 and the roast pork was absolutely brilliant! 😋My favourite pub in Hove and couldn’t recommend it enough! 🤩

This pub is like a game of two half’s very much like what was being shown on every TV in the pub which is a shame for those of us who dislike the game. That saying I’ve eaten a very enjoyable Sunday roast at the Poets Ale and Smokehouse. I had the duo of pork - braised pork belly in cider was the star of the show , so I’m not sure why the chef served such a fatty loin of pork to accompany it which was sadly inedible! However the lovely selection of veg was cooked to perfection, the Yorkshire pudding was just how it should be and the gravy thick and very tasty! My daughter had the beef brisket which was faultless! But here is the other half again - the leeks in cheese sauce were undercooked and I’m not sure why either when we have such fantastic English sausages available the chef would choose frankfurter type sausages for the pigs in blankets - very odd. A shame as you pay extra for these too. We did however manage a pudding to share and both declared the chocolate brownie and homemade ice cream - the best we had had in a very long time. The pub staff were extremely helpful and also cheerful which made for a lovely atmosphere. They also went above and beyond when they found out my daughter had a peanut allergy, which is very reassuring. Lose the fatty pork, change the sausages and it would have been a very well deserved 5 stars!

Great roast and friendly staff!

Great atmosphere for New Year's Eve, with 80s party upstairs. Service, with good recommendations on drink, is always superb and welcoming

We had a meal here on Saturday and we're so impressed booked again for the Sunday roast. The weekday/Saturday menu is fantastic great choice of mouth watering options and then Sunday what can I say absolutely fabulous roast dinner best I've had obd the whole of our group agreed (all 6 of us!) absolutely amazing

Fantastic experience. Highly recommend the ribs, both beef and pork. The chicken wings are also fantastic, we had the blue cheese and ranch.

Probably one of the best pub meals I've ever had.

Excellent food, nice that it is just a little different. The smoked brisket was superb. Oh and good beers, ciders and wine too. Add the friendly welcome and what is not to like.

Definitely our fave pub! Having moved in around the corner this has become our local. The food is awesome, service fantastic, and a great beer selection. 2 for 1 burgers on Monday brings us here almost every week, especially with the great vegetarian options available. Special shout out to John who's an absolute diamond. Love all the Good Times pub group but Poets is by far our favourite!

Super friendly staff, loved them! We ordered alot of food & everything was delicious... the ribs OMG!

Came here to play music with my band, Psychospherix, in the garden. Have had drinks here on other occasions and can recommend as a great pub

Vibrant local pub with a great atmosphere and a wonderful kitchen too! Highly recommend to anyone in the area or passing through!

Outstanding food, I mean seriously good. If you like the smoke pit American style, this is the place for you. Service was excellent too. Highly recommended. A+++++++++

A huge thank you to Lou, Mark and their team at The Poets. Last weekend our party of 26 had a wonderful buffet lunch, with all our dietary needs catered for. Nothing was too much trouble for them. It was a very memorable celebration.

The 2-4-1 Wings Wednesday is fanastinc. The wings are succulent and the different flavours and awesome. Highly recommend the food here. Good pints too

Looks better from the outside than when going inside. Seats not terribly comfortable, beer range not great. But does have a massive TV so probably good for watching football and other sports

Went there Wednesday night had 2 for 1 chicken wings and bbq plate wit pull pork, a bit too much for 1 person but was so lovely so smashed it all!

The food and service here is always spot on! Definitely will keep coming back. lol I’m g forward to trying their new menu!

A real pub …. Harveys ….. good food and friendly and tolerant staff. Highly recommend!

Top quality roast, extras and dog accommodated for. Table service could be good.

Went for a date drink this weekend and it was sooooo loud in the beer garden at 7pm that we had to go indoors to be heard talking. I was surprised how lively it was for sleepy poets corner. I’m no shy violet but we tried moving to different parts of the beer garden and ended up giving up. Staff were nice at the bar; drinks perfectly good and a decent choice of options.

Food was cracking, service was spot on, will be going back that's for sure 👍

A great little treasure around Hove, great ales, wonderful Sunday lunch and very pleasant staff. A must if you are in the area.

Great food and lovely atmosphere

Can't comment on the food as did not have any but the service was quick and friendly and the garden was good. Visited late on a Sunday so not too busy.

Never a bad time Great selection of beers and the food is wholesome and tasty Always busy for the Sunday Roasts and lively when the football is being screened.

Just moved to the area .. truly chuffed this proper , really well run pub is on my doorstep. Very lovely. ....Friendly , welcoming , community, equality, positive, tasty, GREAT music ....PUB .

Decent spot to watch some sport

The best burger I’ve ever had and the best kebab ever. South African bartender was super friendly and helpful. 5/5 would eat again.

We only had a drink in here, very good well kept Harveys. A great venue for sport with a TV to watch from every angle.

In Poets corner area... Great burgers on 241 on Mondays, (well-behaved) dogs welcome, More on the menu that also looks great - welcome back Halloumi Fries! Good beer selection (imo). Huge screens throughout so good for those who like sports down the pub.

Great food and beer as always today!

I had the Korean burger. The crispy crust on the meat was completely burnt black

Good choice of ales and wines. Good choice of food including vegan options. Great, friendly staff!

Nice cosy pub. Great vegetarian burger. Pleasant atmosphere and attentive staff. Good selection of Harvey's ales. 👍

We came here for a staff do. The staff were attentive and friendly. The food was so fresh and delicious. I shared nachos and tacos.

Good food and drinks. Been many years ago and as good as before.

Busy busy! Good for football, but still a proper pub.

Went on Sunday for a lovely festive roast, pub was decorated brilliantly and the staff working were so friendly. Roast was tasty, we had pork chicken and veggie wellington, all really good. The veg was especially tasty and Yorkshires were great size!

I have been looking for the best homemade nachos in town and this is very much in the top 3. Nachos are incredible and they come in really generous portions, staff couldn't be kinder and more lovely, I like that one room is dedicated to sports but the rest of the pub isn't. Nice upstairs area and good range of beers - would definitely recommend

Service ok, but I asked foe extra sauce and I paid then they said it was not added which is shocking and it's like my fault the lady on the bar didn't add and made me feel bad, Sunday roast ok but so faty meat slice, cauliflower not done, wings shocking didn't even touch them full of hair. No one even bothered to ask if the food was ok.

Arranged a retirement party inthe function room. Julian and his team were very attentive making sure everything was ok throughout the evening. The food was excellent and plenty for everyone including vegans and vegetarians.

One of the few places you can go to have a chat without having to shout. Please don't turn the music up.

Great deal on burgers 2-4-1 Mondays

Epic smokehouse! Really enjoyed my meal here, I had the Texas Chain Saw Massacre burger (sounds awful I know) which was just brimming with meaty goodness. The chips that came free with all of the burgers were really good as well. My brother had the Ribs and really enjoyed them, the quantity was huge, I think it was definitely more than one cow's worth of ribs! The atmosphere was fine but maybe a bit too rowdy as it was full of builders who had gone for after work pints on a friday. I'm sure they were having fun but we couldn't really hear our own conversation. Great choice of Harvey's beers as expected from a harveys pub. Looking forward to visiting again to try more on the menu! 🤤

As a local, this is my go-to pub. The weekday smokehouse menu is fantastic, and the roasts are even better!! ✨ There are plenty of indoor tables across several rooms, and a vibrant pub garden for warmer days. All the staff are personable and friendly, and there’s a good selection of beers, gins, and cocktails available. FYI, this is a very popular pub for watching sport and has several large screens for showing football and rugby games. The atmosphere goes from ‘relaxed neighbourhood pub’ to pretty loud and crowded on match days - so if you’re after a quieter experience, I’d recommend looking up the fixtures before visiting!! 🙌🏻

Lovely friendly pub with great staff and menu choices at reasonable prices. The food we had was well prepared and fresh however the dish I had, BBQ stack of ribs was very tasty but I felt the sauce used was not home grown but supermarket sourced which was dissapointing although it didn't completely murder the occaision. All in all the ambience was great, staff lovely, plenty of choices for drinks, hot and cold, alcholic and non alcholic and prices were very reasonable. I'd certainly return but would ask more about the food before ordering.

Oh my dear Poet, I adored you like no one else did, visited you like best place to go, having the sweaty burger like no one else had, enjoyed your wings like it gonna make me fly. And today, huge disappointment, the burger is dryer than grandmas veg, wings soggier than Bagga Chips’ minj, either you changed your chef, or you don’t care anymore. Never again!

We had a birthday party here in the function room upstairs and it was perfect! The food was amazing, the staff helpful and pleasant, easy to book and fast service. We went a couple more times since and all a success!

One of the best Sunday roasts I've ever eaten, really delicious. Really lovely staff too. Only negative was that they had sports playing on a TV on the wall of the downstairs restaurant area. Great for sports fans, not so much it you're not a fan. Otherwise fab.

A bit short staffed but could just be due to it being a bank holiday. Staff were friendly and helpful, and food was fresh and well cooked. Good range of veggie options. Glassware could use a better deep clean.

Stunning food! Best veggy burger i have ever tasted!! Really lovely people!

Great little pub, friendly helpful staff and good food.

Had a great day with my friends watching the women's football. The bar staff couldn't do enough for us. Lovely lovely atmosphere. 😍

Great food, good beer, said thank you when leaving, not an acknowledgement. Little things in life are important. Otherwise great place

Started with 2 truly excellent pints of Harvey's (the cask management here is superb) then 2 roasts. Smoked brisket and lamb. Huge portions, such tender meat, lots of veg. Potatoes could have been a bit crispier but that may have been due to the lashings of gravy rather than a lack of roasting. A side of cauliflower cheese (a side genuinely enough for 2 with the size of the roasts). The pub was lively, the upstairs dining room less so but still great. Dog friendly. The server was clearly very busy but still polite and courteous. All in all we will be back.

Nice staff.. Real community feel to the pub. Bbq plates were delightful. Several Harveys on tap.. Will de visit again

Went with friends for an evening meal. I had the brisket which was very tasty. Good portion size and value for money

Excellent menu for food and drink. We made the most of the two-for-one Monday burgers at lunchtime.

Nice selection of ales & good atmosphere.

This was our first time eating here and it didn't disappoint. The food was plentiful and delicious, staff were very welcoming and friendly. I will definitely be going back there. 😀

What a great pub. To see a variety of different drinks on tap that you don't see anywhere else, tells you the thinking is different to the mainstream. South facing outside seats too a bonus. Refreshing. Will be back.

This is a great local hove pub which has a busy teeming friendly hum & friendly atmosphere, it’s quite compact but has some outside seating front and back (nice little yard) and they really do some great delicious food (the clue is in the name). Although it’s as you would expect - quite weighted towards the more carnivorous, they did (at the time we went) have one vegan and two vegetarian dishes (my partner had the seitan / garlic burger which apparently was delicious ). The crowd here appear to be a mixture of regular locals and just ‘passing through visitors’ from out of the area and there is generally a pretty relaxed friendly. Welcoming, easy going, tolerant atmosphere - which you’d kind of hope there would be in a pub that’s any good. They did get half of our food order wrong, but very quickly rectified that & were extremely apologetic about it & hey ho - we’re all human & make mistakes. Overall a great place to go for a meal (prices are just about in keeping with the average - but I’d say the quality & standard is a cut above & consistently so as have been here a few times before ) or just a chilled drink with friends. Would definately recommend to locals or anyone visiting.

We booked the upstairs room for 2 hours for a family get together. 12 people ranging in age from 1 to 90. We also had some dietary requirements and allergies to take into account. Nothing was too much trouble, all the staff were fantastic and helpful and we’d come back just the have another bowl of the amazing Haloumi fries! All the food was lovely and service was top notch!

Great pub good vibe lovely friendly staff

Good food especially the hot wings 😋

Had a burger there last night which was so bad - expensive (seventeen quid!!), luke-warm, served with limp salad and what I guess were frozen fries. Really poor.

We keep coming back! I’m saying coming back as I’m typing this while here again. The food is great, the people are great and even though our local, definitely a pub we will keep going too even once we’ve moved! Well done Poet

Surprisingly good! Food, was very nice, there's a great snug area in the back, heaters, done out nice and funky, sports events showing etc...go and enjoy

I had my 50th Birthday at The Poets last Saturday and had the most amazing time thanks to Harry, Katherine, chef and the rest of the Good Times crew. The service was second to none and the buffet food went down a treat with plenty of the guests commenting on how fab it was. I had booked the small bar but with all the outside space there was plenty of room for everyone. Thank you all for making my day so special. Would highly recommend 😁

Nice pub food was OK staff pleasant

Visited on Thursday 13th May. Went here to watch a show and decided to have lunch beforehand. We had one burger, one half chicken and a shared dessert, all were all excellent. Terrific range of beers as well. Staff were very friendly and one had the coolest T-Shirt I'd seen for ages (kudos to "Salsa"). First visit and will definitely be back.

Visited on Thursday 13th May. Went here to watch a show and decided to have lunch beforehand. We had one burger, one half chicken and a shared dessert, all were all excellent. Terrific range of beers as well. Staff were very friendly and one had the coolest T-Shirt I'd seen for ages (kudos to "Salsa"). First visit and will definitely be back.

Really friendly staff and great burgers!

Very good atmosphere,friendly and polite staff ,good food with reasonable price and very responsible on anti COVID measures

Thursday 20 April 2023 This pub was visited This pub is a real ale pub serving Harvey's ales 2 roomed food is a big selling pint in here idid not eat The real ale was decent Pub seemed to be a student type pub. The music was from the late 90s, and the early naughties grunge was played The staff was good There was a feeling of the pub catered for its locals. Good pub 4 stars given