Vegan & vegetarianLondon Road

Cowley Club Café

Anarchist social centre with punk gigs and food bank

8.7/10

Local score

No. 3 of 19 nights out on r/brighton, from 78 locals across 88 threads.

99% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.

Cowley Club on London Road is an anarchist bookshop and social centre that regularly hosts punk, hardcore and dub gigs, plus a well-known non-referral vegan food bank on Tuesdays. Redditors describe the volunteers as friendly and inclusive, though a few admit it can feel a little intimidating if you're not already part of the scene.

Go for
Hardcore/punk gigs and a free vegan food bank
Heads up
Can feel intimidating if you're not already part of the scene

What locals say

…alcohol free beers or just soft drinks if you prefer and a very friendly, colourful selection of local customers from all walks of life. Other friendly venues that are good for meeting people with a decent alcohol free selection include The Hole In The Wall, The Evening Star, Cowley Club and The Rook.
u/whataplagueyouare, 202531 upvotes“Bars ok with non drinkers?”
…are second hand and dance record shops respectively, but I've found some good punk/hardcore records in both. Dunno what you'd consider alternative clothes and jewellery, but the entire of North Laine is probably worth checking out. If you're pretty far left politically then the Cowley Club might be worth a look, never been there myself (feel a little intimidated which I think is quite silly!), but they put on lots of shows and probably about as punk rock as anywhere in Brighton.
u/karmakollapse, 202214 upvotes“Alternative bars and shops in Brighton”
Cowley club is probably your starting point, maybe the Caroline of brunswick as well. This month there's a ridiculous amount of shows on - Hang the Bastard at Green Door, Age of Apocalypse at the hope & ruin for example might be your kind of thing. burningwater and undercurrent on instagram might be worth…
u/themadcatlaughs, 202327 upvotes“Any extreme music fans in Brighton?”
The Lanes is more Jewellery shops and restaurants. North Laine is full of alternative shops, record stores etc. Most bars in town have 'alternative' nights. Belushi's has some good night's, if it still exists post Rona. The Yellow Book is pretty alternative. Bee's Mouth, Cowley Club, Green Door Store and Concorde 2 all have gigs pretty regularly. Prince Albert near the station has gigs sometimes too. Komedia has club nights for various alternative music genres. The lines of alternative and mainstream are pretty blurred in a lot of Brighton. You won't struggle.
u/xneurianx, 202217 upvotes“Moving to Brighton”

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