Ice cream & dessertsHanningtons Lane

Brass Monkey

Late-night ice cream and coffee in the Lanes

7.1/10

Local score

No. 30 of 141 cafés on r/brighton, from 16 locals across 12 threads.

88% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.

Praised as having some of the best ice cream and 'surprisingly good' coffee in Brighton, plus homemade cakes, and valued for staying open until 10-10:30pm when most cafes close. A couple of reviewers disagree though, calling the owners rude and rating the cake and food as only average compared to Cloud 9 or Boho Gelato.

Go for: Ice cream and coffee later in the evening
Heads up: Mixed reports on owner attitude and cake quality

What locals say

If either of you are into ice cream, I would recommend Brass Monkey Ice Cream, they have unique flavours in addition to coffee and cake!

u/SignificanceFun8404, 20264 upvotes“Best coffee shop for first date?”

Brass Monkey has a decent opening time, worth a punt for ice cream and…

u/Unlucky_Sympathy_151, 202527 upvotes“Any spots in Brighton & Hove for coffee/dessert in the evenings (after 6–7pm)?”

Hey, thanks for suggesting Brass Monkey. The place was nice and the outside seatings were quite good. Cheers mate!

u/Equivalent-Ideal9031, 20253 upvotes“Coffee shops after 6pm”

It is - the kawaii decor is lovely and unique but the food is very average. For quality cake or ice-cream I’d skip it in favour of Cloud 9 or Cielo Cakery, Brass Monkey or Boho Gelato.

u/sevenbis, 20232 upvotes“Brighton Birthday Cake Crawl”

Ranked from 21,200 r/brighton comments. Summaries are written by AI from what locals said; quotes are word for word. Not affiliated with Reddit. Back to the guide