Brighton
You're flying out of Brighton Airport, you have 90 minutes to kill, and you'd like to do better than a Pret. Good news: airport drinking has improved more in the last five years than the previous fifty. Pre-flight drinks at Brighton Airport range from chain reliability to surprisingly polished hotel-style bars in the airport hotels. This is barsforKings's editor-curated guide to drinking better at Brighton's airports.
Kemptown · $$$
Brighton's most awarded cocktail bar.
Hove · $$
Wine bar with one of Sussex's longest natural-wine lists.
The Lanes · $$
Three-floor cocktail-and-music bar.
Kemptown · $
Heritage neighbourhood pub from 1850s.
Want a real drink before flying? The fastest play is to get to airport hotels next door — most run polished bars that beat anything post-security. We list them at the bottom. If you've got 60 spare minutes pre-airport, see our shortlist of bars in Brighton proper at the end.
Plays for Brighton Airport: post-security, pre-security, lounges, and the airport-hotel cheat code.
Pre-flight drinks, hotel-bar reviews, and the openings we're watching across 200+ cities. Friday mornings, no filler.
Looking beyond Brighton? See our guide to the best airport bars worldwide, or compare airport bars city by city.