Traditional pubNorth Road
The Heart & Hand
North Laine local famous for its resident pub cats
7.4/10
Local score
No. 50 of 212 pubs & bars on r/brighton, from 28 locals across 26 threads.
93% would send a mate. Still recommended in 2026.
A quiet, cosy North Laine boozer loved for table service, a good spot to drink alone with a book, and its resident pub cats (Bailey and Betty). Long associated with a well-stocked jukebox and a decent pint of Guinness, though it doesn't allow dogs unlike most Brighton pubs.
- Go for
- A quiet pint with the pub cats
- Heads up
- Not dog-friendly, unlike most Brighton pubs
What locals say
Heart and Hand sounds appropriate unless it's changed. That used to be my favorite place to stare into oblivion or flip through the paper absent mindedly.
I often go for a solo half a lager in The Heart & Hand in the Laines because they have table service and there's often a few other lone drinkers with books or, at the weekend, vintage shopping. Also nice cats.
…always good on a Thursday night. Wednesday nights - Gogglez at the Pav Tav. Great mid-week session with no out-of-towners to ruin the vibe. If it was a busy night in town we used to go to the William IV as no matter how busy the other pubs were you could always get a table. Heart and Hand for the Jukebox which was stocked by Dave from Borderline Records. The original Zap which had a night called Heretics around 85/86. Saw Swans, Sonic Youth, Big Black, Scratch Acid, Live Skull and a load of other hardcore bands from the era.
Almost all of the pubs. It’s more who doesn’t allow dogs like Heart and Hand, ~~Hand in Hand~~, Cobden Arms and the Wetherspoons. Probably a few more but I don’t even ask now when I walk in to a new pub now.
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