Ten Speciality Coffee Shops To Visit in Brighton and Hove

Brighton is one of my favourite destinations for a day trip. An hour away from London by train, it has the wonderful beach and seafront, fantastic independent restaurants and shops and a laid-back, bohemian spirit. It also has many excellent coffee shops and roasteries but somehow, I'd never quite managed to make a Brighton speciality coffee guide. As I've been visiting a lot more frequently since some family members moved down to Sussex 18 months ago, I'm excited to finally share my favourite coffee spots in Brighton and Hove.

As usual, my very favourites are marked with asterisks (purple icons in the map). I will update the list, and the accompanying Google Map, on a regular basis.

Last updated: March 2024.

Brighton and Hove Speciality Coffee Guide

17 GRAMS

If you're in the market for brunch to accompany your coffee, check out 17 GRAMS in the Lanes. You'll know you're in the right place when you see the giant Alice in Wonderland mural (don't worry, there's no growing or shrinking at 17 GRAMS!). The décor is just as colourful inside where there are a handful of tables — if the weather is kind, you can also sit outside for optimum people-watching. Coffee is roasted at their nearby roastery in North Laine and there are usually several single origins on offer as well as the house espresso. The brunch menu is great too and includes veggie and vegan options. My favourites are the chorizo breakfast burrito and the fig and bacon benny.

17 GRAMS is located at 12d Meeting House Lane, Brighton (and other locations). Website. Instagram. Mini-review.

* Bond St Coffee

Bond St Coffee, in the heart of North Laine, had been on my to-visit list for the longest time until I visited recently and immediately wished I'd checked it out much longer ago. Behind a relatively small shopfront lies a much larger and brighter seating area past the counter at the back. As for the coffee, it's from Black Rain, their locally based sister company. During my visit, there were three single-origin coffees available on espresso and three more as a filter coffee. I enjoyed a delicious natural Ethiopian coffee as a pourover (and sampled a lovely Kenyan coffee, which had just been brewed up), as well as a Colombian coffee from guest roaster Horsham as a piccolo. The coffees all tasted great and the staff were super-friendly.

Bond St Coffee is located at 15 Bond Street, Brighton. Website. Instagram.

* Coffee at 33

I first visited Coffee at 33 in summer 2020, where its beautifully brewed single-origin pourovers brought me some much-needed joy during an otherwise difficult period. Located on Trafalgar Street — handy for the train station — the café offers a very warm welcome and excellent coffee in a minimalist, monochrome setting. Grab a seat at the window and a pastel de nata and life will feel very sweet indeed.

Coffee at 33 is located at 33 Trafalgar Street, Brighton. Instagram. Mini-review.

* Dandy

Sydney Street is one of my favourite shopping streets in artsy North Laine and Dandy, which opened last summer, is a petite but perfectly formed coffee shop where you can pick up a pourover, a piccolo or a pastry and people-watch while perched at the large front window (pictured in the lead photo in this post). The coffee is from West Sussex-based Murmuration and both the espresso-based drinks and filter coffees are very well brewed. The minimalist décor makes it a very relaxing space to linger over a brew, especially on a sunny day.

Dandy is located at 39a Sydney Street, Brighton. Instagram.

* Dharma Speciality Coffee

Founded in 2021 by Mustafa Perçin, Dharma Specialty Coffee now has branches in Hove and Richmond as well as the southern end of North Laine in Brighton. With its airy, elegant interiors and colourful décor, the Brighton coffee shop's central location make it a great place to stop for coffee wherever you're headed. The coffee is from Murmuration (retail bags of beans, including some very special single origins, are also available) and the piccolos I usually order are always immaculately brewed. The friendly staff are happy to advise if you're not sure what to order, and they also serve a tempting selection of pastries and cakes.

Dharma is located at 82 North Road, Brighton (and other locations). Website. Instagram. My full review.

Pelicano Coffee Co.

Pelicano's Sydney Street coffee shop has been open for almost a decade — and it now has sister locations in The Level and on Lewes Road. The North Laine original has a tiny seating area behind the coffee bar, but there are more seats upstairs and on the pavement if you can't nab a spot. With its rustic décor, relaxed atmosphere and great selection of cakes and pastries, there's a lot to like about Pelicano. The coffee, which they roast themselves, is great too, with espresso-based drinks and hand-brewed filter coffee on the menu, as well as a wide selection of retail beans available for purchase.

Pelicano is located at 28 Sydney Street, Brighton (and other locations). Website. Instagram.

Redroaster

Redroaster is a fantastic all-day venue that will take you from morning coffee to bottomless brunch and, of an evening, northern Thai BBQ and cocktails. The décor is beautiful, with a large, marble counter at the heart of the space, accented by a plethora of dangling plants, and the service very friendly. The all-day menu includes both more breakfasty options, like the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, and lunchier fare, like the parmesan chicken schnitzel and the cheeseburger. They've been roasting their own coffee for decades and the espresso-based drinks they serve are very good indeed. They also sell retail bags of a wide range of different single origins and blends, which come in packaging as verdant as the café itself.

Redroaster is located at 1D St James's Street, Brighton (and other locations). Website. Instagram.

Small Batch Coffee

I first discovered Small Batch's coffee more than a decade ago in a now long-since-defunct King's Cross coffee shop. Their Brighton and Hove bricks-and-mortar locations have changed somewhat over the years: the Norfolk Square café I visited in 2020 and the Jubilee Street branch I reviewed in 2014 (pictured above) have closed, but their flagship and the original home to the roastery on Goldstone Villas is still there. Stop by for an espresso with the Goldstone espresso or try one of their single origins, now roasted at their roastery café in Portslade.

Small Batch is located at 70 Goldstone Villas, Hove (and other locations). Website. Instagram.

* Triple Point Coffee

I first popped into Triple Point on a whim several months ago and it's quickly become one of my go-to coffee spots in Brighton's North Laine. They serve coffee from local roasters SkyLark and Pharmacie on a gorgeous Synesso espresso machine. There's a small seating area at the back where you can enjoy your espresso-based drink or filter coffee. If you're struggling to choose which coffee to order, the knowledgeable staff are always really helpful. As well as bags of retail beans, there's a well-curated selection of coffee-brewing kit for sale.

Triple Point is located at 53 Gardner Street, Brighton. Instagram.

WOLFOX Lab

As a supporter of Wolverhampton Wanderers, WOLFOX's name may well have been the first thing that drew me in when I came across their Hove 'Lab' several years ago. The coffee I had on that first visit was excellent and I loved the gorgeous, elegant décor in the Hove café. I've visited several other WOLFOXes over the years — some have closed, but they've also expanded to London and Madrid and also run the BROD+WOLF bakeries. The Lab remains my favourite location but I'm looking forward to checking out their café at the Savoy.

WOLFOX is located at 109 Western Road, Hove (and other locations). Website. Instagram. Mini-review.

Looking for things to do and places to eat, drink and shop in Brighton? Check out my itinerary for a perfect weekend in Brighton.

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