Music pubEast Street

East Street Tap

Dark, loud, alternative pub for the rock crowd

7.5/10

Local score

No. 47 of 212 pubs & bars on r/brighton, from 70 locals across 69 threads.

86% would send a mate.

A Lanes pub with real history (one poster's book claims documented evidence of it being a pub since the 1600s), now the main spot for rock, metal, punk and goth nights, especially since Dead Wax closed. It's friendly and won't tolerate bad behaviour, but a few say it's gone 'weird' or hit-or-miss lately, and being Laine Pub Co-owned and close to the seafront means it can pull a more tourist, non-metal crowd.

Go for: A late-night pint with rock and metal
Heads up: Can feel tourist-heavy near the seafront; quality said inconsistent

What locals say

…where people are encouraged to play metal/punk/hardcore. The Pipeline in the Lanes might be worth checking out, quite often have punk/hardcore/similar shows in their tiny room upstairs. I don't know if I'd call it them alternative bars but the Hope and Ruin (Queens Road) and East Street Tap (Lanes) will quite often have alternative music and have that kind of vibe. Prince Albert (North Laine) might also be worth a shout. Again, Hope and Ruin + Prince Albert also put on live shows. There's a teeny tiny punk record shop in North Laine called Punker Bunker; stock is quite small but…

u/karmakollapse, 202214 upvotes“Alternative bars and shops in Brighton”

The East Street Tap has a regular metal crowd going there so alternative music does go down well there. You can also look into The Pipeline, GDS (as suggested by another comment), The Yellow Book and Dalton's for what sells well…

u/metalneedsfeminism, 20256 upvotes“Alternative Music”

Pipeline, Albert, and East Street Tap are your best bet for rock/metal/punk bars, the Caroline has it's own seedy charm but is also a nutter magnet all year round which gets a bit much. Great little venue during the comedy festival though.

u/Rare-Bid-6860, 20226 upvotes“Moving to Brighton”

Honestly Brightons sad for this now Dead wax used to be the one now everyone I’ve gone in there it’s just weird disco music I guess you can sometimes get lucky with east street tap but even then that’s gone weird Mainly commenting so I can hear some recs…

u/KatH19_, 202511 upvotes“Goth / alternative nights out?”

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