Exploring Brighton’s Indie Scene
Despite not having lived in Brighton for nearly 9 years, I still have a real feeling of coming home as soon as I hit the station platform or the wide sweeping road down into the heart of the town to emerge on the blustery seafront. Brighton is everything you would want from a University town, and when I studied at Sussex 14 years ago it was brimming with nightlife, creativity and a great indie scene.
To this day North Laine is still packed with an electic mix of indies, some of which have stood the test of time with some new kids on the block too. In August we took a long weekend down to my favourite seaside town, partly for nostalgia but mainly as it’s a great place to hang out and discover the pubs, shops, restaurants and street art with friends.
We were super lucky to find a great Airbnb right in the heart of North Laine on Vine Street, a great base right in amongst the indies! The Vine Street Market houses a cute vintage shop and lovely cafe serving simple home cooked brunch and lunch including a great variety of veggie and vegan options.
Vine Street Market
After a bracing walk along the beach on Saturday morning we headed to Silo, an amazing restaurant on Upper Gardner Street that demonstrates a great respect for the environment by up-cycling over recycling, and sourcing local produce for the delicious the food they serve. I had a beautiful beetroot dish with restorative carrot juice, a perfectly reviving brunch for the day ahead!
Brunch: Candy Beetroot, Worksop Blue & Potato Dumplings
My favourite new indie shop find on our trip was Flock. Not only is a great treasure trove of beautiful vintage and handmade delights, but make your way to the back of the shop to find Spiderplant Shop; an enchanting urban jungle housed in a quaint conservatory, packed to the rafters with a vast variety of verdant house plants.
Wending our way through North Laine we stopped for cupcakes at Cloud 9 before diving into the Aladdin’s Cave that is Snoopers Paradise.
Subtle head wear in Snoopers Paradise!
Snoopers is one of my all time Brighton favourites. I’ve lost many an hour rooting around in the corridors and dark corners of this vintage delight.
Passed the gorgeous flowers at Gunns and some distinctly canine street art, we made our way up Church Street to Unlimited – a design shop and gallery championing emerging designers and makers. Check out their upcoming events to find out about store highlights. launches and exhibitions. The Atelier Stella collection was looking mighty fine when we were there!
I also love Present in the Laine, Gelato Gusto and Lavender Room, while my husband will always make a bee line for Dave’s Comics and GAK – a tardis like music shop where you can test out a whole array of synths, keyboards and guitars.
It’s always worth a stroll down through Hove to see the beach huts, stopping off at Taj on Western Road to check out their fresh produce and unearth some weird and wonderful delights in store.
The Brighton Beer Dispensary on Deane Street is a great shout for pre dinner drinks, and Carlito Burrito make the most delicious fish tacos – definitely worth checking out!
I love that Brighton is so familiar yet is ever changing. New indies pop up all the time and with an amazing creative scene to tap into there is no end of local talent to unearth and discover. I can’t wait for my next trip!
What are your Brighton favourites?
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Love, Rosie xxx
