Brighton and Hove pubs and bars offering plenty to customers in 2022

It was a tough end to 2021 for many venues, the rise of the Omicron variant meant some businesses struggled over the festive period as many regular customers stayed at home.

Ruby McRolston, manager of The Cow in Seven Dials, said: "The Cow thrives in winter mainly so we had a healthy number of bookings throughout December, more than I expected considering the area is rather Covid conscious.

"We created a Christmas menu for large bookings to accommodate staff Christmas parties and meetings due to the large amount of enquiries which unfortunately never got used.

"In short- almost all of our bookings were cancelled pretty much as quickly as they were booked originally."

Other pubs, like the Seven Stars on Ship Street, remained busy over the festive period, but brought in less revenue then in the pre-pandemic era.

Lily Mongan, supervisor at the Seven Stars, said: “It was really hectic in here over November and the beginning of December and then over the Christmas period we took less than we had in previous years, but it was still very busy."

However, in 2022, venues are now encouraging customers to come support their local, with some remaining packed out throughout the upcoming weeks and months.

A group of wine and cocktail bars – called L'atelier Du Vin – has venues on Dyke Road, St George's Place and inside the Q Square Aparthotel, in Queens Square, and enjoyed a successful Christmas and New Year period.

Geoffrey Di Grazia, manager at L'atelier Du Vin, said: "We were very busy over the Christmas period. We were lucky to have the Christmas Market just outside our front door of the St George's place venue, so that helped to add to the Christmassy atmosphere we were trying to create in the bar.

"The first two weeks in January have been really strange. The first week we were quiet, but this week we have started to be back to normal. Now, everyday I can see more and more bookings for later this month, the next couple of months and even the summer. "

Find out more about L'atelier Du Vin here

Lily is also keeping optimistic about 2022: "We will always expect it to be quiet in January and I'm sure it will get busier over the next few weeks. We have live music every Thursday and a DJ on Fridays and Saturdays so there's always lots going on for people to enjoy.”

To find out more about what the Seven Stars has to offer click here

Ruby McRolston added: "I honestly can’t tell what we're going to get from one day to the next. Our DJ’s are starting back at the end of the month and by February we'll be looking at having more live music during weekdays like we had mid December. So there is definitely plenty to look forward to."

To find out more about The Cow click here

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