Review: Ladies Mile Patcham

It’s not every day that we find ourselves deep in the Brighton burbs. But one day when making a trip to Cakes The Difference for a birthday collection (dangerously excellent cake makers), it would have been criminal not to stop off to review The Ladies Mile in Patcham – a pub we have been recommended more than once, but never found ourselves in the orbit of.

The pub’s curved frontage and sparkly columned entrance is inviting with a touch of fun, and a colourful bench seating space on the forecourt overlooking the green opposite would be just the ticket in summer.

Inside you are met by a fine looking and obscenely long curved bar: dare we claim it’s the longest pub bar in Brighton…?

Beer options centre around big-brand lagers such as Birra Moretti, Heineken and Kronenbourg, as well as Guinness, and while it was great to see a fantastic six cask pumps on the bar, COVID can probably be blamed for the fact that only two were pumping beer options today.

Long Man Best was the local selection, alongside another guest Best from further afield. The Long Man Best was excellent, a classic mouth-filling, sweet malty beer and a fine alternative to the regularly spotted Harvey’s Best.

There’s a distinctly art deco vibe running through the main bar, with the lighting, period ceiling and curvature all giving off some characterful 1920/30s vibes. Research suggests the features are original from when the building was a hotel in the ’30s. These decorations add a unique charm and class while being comfortably subtle and not over-embelished.

The pub is split into three main spaces: the big central bar with spacious booth seating and some high tables along the bar; a large games room to the left with ample space for a pool table, a darts board and a few high tables; and to the right a space perhaps more focused on eating, with dining tables set out for larger groups.

On this early Saturday afternoon the pub had attracted a mixture of young and old, a group of men necking lagers together in a booth next to us, a high table with a couple of young ladies and in the dining area a table of older people chatting enthusiastically.
Wife and I settled into a comfortable curved booth in the main bar area, where the entertainment on offer comes in the form of easy-listening music and a single TV in the corner, silently broadcasting golf today.
Despite the space being large and only partially full, we felt we could settle in easily in this warm and friendly pub.

Tisbury’s Kitchen runs the food here, offering a good range of pub snacks, burgers, pubby mains and desserts that are fairly priced – not gastro expensive, but also not so cheap that you’d be concerned about the size or quailty.

We opted for a large plate of cheesey nachos at £10. They were massive, with an excellent, and what looked homemade, salsa. It certainly filled a lunch-sized hole.

This was a visit under COVID restrictions, and BBB has so far avoided reviewing pubs which are labouring under that handicap. But alas, if this is the new normal, we need to offer people reviews that report on the varying COVID precautions that pubs are operating under, while fairly accounting for the restrictions to normal operation they might be facing. It might also excuse our lack of photos and general expoloration, as we were conscious of not wandering around too much.

And so to the COVID bit… The pub is running table service, and signage about not approaching the bar is very clear. Most staff were wearing masks, and they offered a sign-in book and hand sanitiser upon entry.

Nobody was wandering around, other than the staff, and the bartender was running a tight ship – I was requested to sit down at one point when I approached the bar to ask something.

The Ladies Mile Patcham is quite out of the way if you don’t live nearby, but If you find yourself in the Brighton burbs The Ladies Mile is well worth a visit. The classic decor is quite unusual in the Brighton area, and the atmosphere is very welcoming indeed.

It’s not every day that we find ourselves deep in the Brighton burbs. But one day when making a trip to Cakes The Difference for a birthday collection (dangerously excellent cake makers), it would have been criminal not to stop off to review The Ladies Mile in Patcham – a pub we have been recommended more than once, but never found ourselves in the orbit of.

The pub’s curved frontage and sparkly columned entrance is inviting with a touch of fun, and a colourful bench seating space on the forecourt overlooking the green opposite would be just the ticket in summer.

Inside you are met by a fine looking and obscenely long curved bar: dare we claim it’s the longest pub bar in Brighton…?

Beer options centre around big-brand lagers such as Birra Moretti, Heineken and Kronenbourg, as well as Guinness, and while it was great to see a fantastic six cask pumps on the bar, COVID can probably be blamed for the fact that only two were pumping beer options today.

Long Man Best was the local selection, alongside another guest Best from further afield. The Long Man Best was excellent, a classic mouth-filling, sweet malty beer and a fine alternative to the regularly spotted Harvey’s Best.

There’s a distinctly art deco vibe running through the main bar, with the lighting, period ceiling and curvature all giving off some characterful 1920/30s vibes. Research suggests the features are original from when the building was a hotel in the ’30s. These decorations add a unique charm and class while being comfortably subtle and not over-embelished.

The pub is split into three main spaces: the big central bar with spacious booth seating and some high tables along the bar; a large games room to the left with ample space for a pool table, a darts board and a few high tables; and to the right a space perhaps more focused on eating, with dining tables set out for larger groups.

On this early Saturday afternoon the pub had attracted a mixture of young and old, a group of men necking lagers together in a booth next to us, a high table with a couple of young ladies and in the dining area a table of older people chatting enthusiastically.
Wife and I settled into a comfortable curved booth in the main bar area, where the entertainment on offer comes in the form of easy-listening music and a single TV in the corner, silently broadcasting golf today.
Despite the space being large and only partially full, we felt we could settle in easily in this warm and friendly pub.

Tisbury’s Kitchen runs the food here, offering a good range of pub snacks, burgers, pubby mains and desserts that are fairly priced – not gastro expensive, but also not so cheap that you’d be concerned about the size or quailty.

We opted for a large plate of cheesey nachos at £10. They were massive, with an excellent, and what looked homemade, salsa. It certainly filled a lunch-sized hole.

This was a visit under COVID restrictions, and BBB has so far avoided reviewing pubs which are labouring under that handicap. But alas, if this is the new normal, we need to offer people reviews that report on the varying COVID precautions that pubs are operating under, while fairly accounting for the restrictions to normal operation they might be facing. It might also excuse our lack of photos and general expoloration, as we were conscious of not wandering around too much.

And so to the COVID bit… The pub is running table service, and signage about not approaching the bar is very clear. Most staff were wearing masks, and they offered a sign-in book and hand sanitiser upon entry.

Nobody was wandering around, other than the staff, and the bartender was running a tight ship – I was requested to sit down at one point when I approached the bar to ask something.

The Ladies Mile Patcham is quite out of the way if you don’t live nearby, but If you find yourself in the Brighton burbs The Ladies Mile is well worth a visit. The classic decor is quite unusual in the Brighton area, and the atmosphere is very welcoming indeed.