Royal Sovereign

Reviews

• Erin R.

  star star star star star_border 8 June 2026

  I do like it here- happens to be the closest pub to me as well and have always found a seat (bar x-mas period)
  had a mix meal experience once wasn't good at all the other was so amazing i forgave the last- so we all have god and bad days!
  staff are always lovely and the fire is a huge bonus :)

• Alice C.

  star star star star_border star_border 2 June 2026

  This is the only real pub on Preston Street, and so a very good choice to meet friends before going for a meal in one of the numerous restaurants here, or to retire to after for a quick drink to help the digestion.
  They have a good choice of drinks, and drinks offers - in particular, try their flavoured shots menu. The place has also been spruced up a little in recent years, and while it used to have a slightly grubby, sleazy atmosphere, it is now quite clean and modern. I prefer the outside to the inside however, and the garden is bigger than you might expect for somewhere so central. It has a lovely red paved floor, with wooden furniture and a slightly Mediterranean feel.

• Philip M.

  star star star star star_border 28 May 2026

  I had such a good time in this pub the other night, honestly, I wished it stayed open longer. There was mainly older people in there, but a few my age as well.
  
  The drinks were yummy, but the night I went they had these two DJ's just killing it with the sounds. One was named Big AL. Awesome guy, music to dance to all night long, and pretty cosy too.
  
  They aren't there all the time so I am curious to go when its just pub music. :)

• Reece B.

  star star star star star 23 May 2026

  Fantastic. The food at lunch time, the selection of beers, the bookable room for get togethers and the garden. I've been here for two special occasions and found it great for both of them.
  
    So that bookable room... Well, at night a large chunk of the place is given over to parties and such if you want to make use of it, and we used it to say goodbye to our friend Helen who was disappearing to the US for a year. During the day, its extra seating for diners. And let me say... the food is phenomenal.
  
    Considering the Sovereign is on a road of restaurants, its bloody impressive when a pub manages to not only compete, but arguably beat them all. You won't be getting any cheap meals (which upset me initially) and will probably spend 9-11 squid depending on your taste. When ordering, we over heard that the chef was award winning in some respect, but thought nothing of it, instead choosing to sip our pints of doom bar and hop head (both delicious rarities) and chat. When the food arrived, it looked sensational, and tasted even better... Unless you have some kind of gravy, the food arrives on a chopping board (which seems random) and everything is eperated in its own little pots, jars, bowls and mini plates. I had pollack fish cakes, and my tarta sauce arrived in gorgeous glass jar with an oldskool metal vaccum sealing lid... It felt special to say the least, and was more than worth a 5 minute wait. Between us, we had around half the menu, and everything had its own unique spin on a traditional meal, meaning that the set in their ways would be satisfied, along with the more extravagant and thrill seeking eaters.
  
    There was a whole host of pizzas on the menu too, but we fancied some traditional pub-y food, so I can't comment on them, but I do suspect they'll be equally amazing. I'll be going back on Sunday as whenever you order a round, you flip a coin and - I f you call it right - you get an extra free round of drinks, so I may be getting a pizza then to see what I've been missing out on.
  
    I like it alot here, but it took me a while to stop feeling that it was trying (and failing) to be trendy. Now I think its just trying to be its own pub, and from the fun design of spaces, to the decor and the staff... I'm sold. One of my pubs anywhere, not just in Brighton.

• Alexandra B.

  star star star star star_border 17 May 2026

  Allow me to say first that, as an American, Sunday roasts are a fairly new thing to me.  Please don't discredit me yet!
  
  This review is based solely on the two roasts I've had at the Royal Sov, and they both have been fantastic. I've had similar roasts elsewhere, but the roasts here are a cut above because of the high quality of organic veg, crisp-on-the-outside-creamy-on-the-inside Yorkshire puddings and melt-in-your-mouth tender meats they use.
  I've gotten the ginger-honey roast chicken and the vegbox pie roasts, and the others with me got the beef and the pork roast. The vegbox pie is actually delicious, and has left me craving another. It's a hand-pie with a flaky crust and lovely veg inside, flavoured with hummus. I know, I know, it sounds a bit weird in the context of a roast, but trust me, everything works out in the end, and what you get is pure roasty, flaky, vegetarian fatty's delight. The chicken is also really good, with white meat that's not the least bit dry, and a nice crispy, glazed skin.
  My pork-eating companions raved about the tender pork belly that you could cut with a spoon, and seriously you guys, order the bowl of Yorkshire puddings to share, with extra gravy. You won't regret it! (until you have to walk home, that is)