Blog Post
Our Brighton pubs and bars re-open after 3.5 month closure!
Robert Ellwood • Jul 07, 2020
When spring arrives after a cold and bleak winter, it usually heralds the promise of new life, and the time of the year when people start venturing outside more to enjoy the warmer days and sunnier weather. It is at this time that our outside seating areas, beer gardens and roof gardens at our central Brighton venues become increasingly more popular. Sadly, this year, that was not the case for us and all other pubs, bars and restaurants across the country.
This weekend, however, we were finally able to throw open the doors again of The Black Lion, The Mesmerist, The Flipside and The Bottle Shop
after a 3.5 month closure! We have had to make some changes to the venues and also to the way that we operate in order to comply with the latest government guidelines to keep our customers and staff safe and to adapt to the ‘new normal’ while maintaining an enjoyable atmosphere in the venues until restrictions are completely lifted.
Some of the main changes that we have made include:
• online booking: we encourage everybody to book a table online in advance as walk-ins will be limited during peak times and this will guarantee your table and minimise queuing. Details of how to book can be found on the venues websites. Please note this is a temporary measure whilst our venue capacity is reduced, in order to accommodate as many people as possible, and to help keep our business afloat during uncertain times. This will also help us to plan ahead, rota staff and order supplies accordingly.
• on arrival: a host will greet you at the door, confirm your booking and show you to your table.
• hygiene: hand sanitizing stations are located at the entrance and at various points around the venues.
• size of bookings: tables are currently limited to a maximum of 6 people per table. Due to Government Guidelines there are some limitations on the size of groups we can accommodate.
• ordering food and drink: all food and drink can be ordered online (crazy we know!). This reduces the amount of contact between people. We encourage you to order online and take advantage of table service, rather than ordering at the bar.
• our menus: we are offering a slightly reduced menus as we just don’t have the capacity at this stage to offer the full shebang! But don’t worry – there’s still plenty to choose from and we are still doing bottomless brunches at The Mesmerist every Saturday and delicious roasts at The Black Lion and The Mesmerist every Sunday!
• seating plans: our seating has been spaced accordingly to comply with the current 1m+ guidance and we ask that you don’t move any furniture, however much you want to feng shui the venues, we’ve arranged it that way for a reason. We have brand new booth seating with protective barriers in the beer garden of The Black Lion and a beautiful sun trap of a roof garden at The Mesmerist!
• signage: we have placed some sexy new signage around the venues to point out the best way to move around, especially to the toilets.
• all children must be at the table with you at all times.
• all dogs must be on leads (no matter how cute).
• please respect social distancing and personal space. Some people may be less comfortable than others about distance
• if you’re running late or anything changes with your booking or you need to cancel please do let us know ASAP.
Please note that these may change from time to time as we are given more guidance by the government. But for now, please sit back and enjoy the new norm and we look forward to welcoming you back very soon!
Councillor Lizzie Deane is the new Mayor of Brighton and Hove having been elected at the Annual Council meeting in May this year.
We returned to The Spire a few weeks after another wedding we catered there, this time for the lovely Bryan and Mark, who first got in touch with us in 2020 about catering their big day.
Although this lovely couple are based in Brighton, the location for Sally and Joe’s wedding was a bit further away in the picturesque riverside setting of Twickenham, West London. And taking their swap of the seaside for riverside to the next level, the venues for their wedding ceremony and receptions both shared some of the most beautiful views of the Thames you could imagine.
After what has been a pretty terrible few years for so many, Lauren and Andrew wanted the guests at their wedding to have the best time ever! And so, after our team spent an afternoon laying out and dressing all the tables as well as getting our kitchen set up, The Spire was ready for 100 of their family and closest friends to reconnect and share this special occasion together.
After Joe and Sophie tied the knot in St Margaret’s Church in Ditchling, their reception spilled out onto Ditchling Green turning it into a festive and colourful celebration that felt more like a joyous festival or village fete complete with big top tents!
Daisy and Brian are two of the nicest and most laid back clients we have worked with! The catering brief for their civil partnership reception was simple… delicious quality food, served informal buffet style so their guests could enjoy a fun-filled day of relaxed celebrations. After spending the morning setting up the dining tables and place settings in the main hall of the beautiful One Church on Gloucester Place , guests slowly started to trickle in full of craic and laughter! But all eyes were on Daisy and Brian when they entered the venue, not least because of their brilliantly colourful outfits, especially Daisy’s gorgeous embroidered coat dress!
After what has been a pretty miserable and challenging couple of years, we were excited at the return of the BRAVO’s (Brighton Restaurants Awards Vote Online) after almost a two year break due to COVID. The BRAVOs are Brighton and Hove’s only entirely publicly generated food and drink awards, and after six weeks of voting by the public racking up a staggering 21,535 votes for the 181 venues that made it into one of the categories, the results were finally in revealing where the best places to eat and drink in Brighton were. We were thrilled to have achieved several Top20 spots as well as a Top10! Post Hous e, our newest venue that launched in autumn last year despite being a relatively new venue on the Brighton block has already been causing quite a stir among Brighton foodies with their incredible sharing plates menu and their sensational Sunday Roasts (we have lost count of how many reviews say Post House does one of the best Sunday Roasts in Brighton!). So it was no surprise that Post House achieved a hat-trick by being voted 17 th overall for Good To Go, 13 th overall for Best Brunch and 10 th overall for Best Café!
Carbon Nada is a London-based organisation aimed at removing carbon footprints for everyone from individuals through to big business. They do this through education, engagement, inspiration and empowerment with their ultimate goal being to reach net zero by 2050. As well as producing carbon reports and bespoke marketing campaigns, the team at Carbon Nada have also developed tours to showcase sustainable practices used by organisations up and down the country that highlight the difference made to the environment when businesses think and act in a more sustainable way. Last week Inigo Insurance , a London-based property insurance company, were keen to offer their staff an educational and team building day out. Carbon Nada created a bespoke itinerary for them that started in London with staff boarding electric black cabs and heading south to experience some of Sussex’s finest producers including a cheese dairy, a wine farm, and a wind farm, with the final stop on their tour being our stunning floating venue at Brighton Marina – The Watershed.
Now in its 5 th year, the BRAVOs (Brighton Restaurant Awards Vote Online organised and run by Restaurants Brighton ) are a celebration of the independent food and drink scene that gives Brighton, Hove and Sussex so much of its character. Voting is free, open to everyone and runs for six weeks until 24 th March 2022. This year, our venues are entered in the following categories:
Post House is a new cafe, bar and restaurant in The Lanes. Open 7 days a week for breakfast, brunch, coffee, lunch and dinner as well as roasts every Sunday.
