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The honest summary: Brighton's gay bars are almost all in Kemptown, within a ten-minute walk of each other, and the mix leans towards pubs, cabaret and drag rather than big clubs. There is one proper gay club, Revenge. The scene lost two of its seafront landmarks in September 2026, so ignore any guide that still sends you to Charles Street or R-Bar.

Legal in one line: same-sex marriage has been legal in England since 2014 and the Equality Act 2010 bans discrimination, so no bar can turn you away for being gay.

The club

Revenge, 32-34 Old Steine. Brighton's gay club since the early 1990s, with two floors, a rooftop terrace and themed nights through the week, including a 25-and-over night that started in January 2026. Most nights run late; check the listings on its site for what is on.

Marine Parade

• Legends Bar, 31-34 Marine Parade. Seafront bar with a terrace, cabaret and a gay hotel upstairs. It warned publicly about money pressures in August 2026, but it is open.
• The Basement, under Legends. The late-night club for when the bar shuts.
• The Birdcage, 11-12 Marine Parade. Drag cocktail bar in the old Centre Stage premises, part of the Amsterdam Hotel building.
• Patterns, 10 Marine Parade. A mainstream club, listed here because it hosts regular queer nights. Check the night before you go.



St James's Street and the side streets

• The Zone, 33 St James's Street. A busy bar with drag and cabaret through the week.
• The Bulldog, 31 St James's Street. One of the longest-running gay bars in the village. It closed in late 2022 and is trading again.
• Affinity Bar, 129 St James's Street. Karaoke and drag, formerly Poison Ivy and then Infinity.
• Nautilus Lounge, lower ground floor, 129-130 St James's Street. A basement cocktail bar that also hosts bear and leather nights, including the old Subline night.
• The Queens Arms, 7-8 George Street. The best-known drag pub in town, with cabaret most nights.
• Bar Broadway, 10 Steine Street. Musical-theatre singalongs, weekend cabaret and drag brunches.
• The Marine Tavern, 13 Broad Street. A small, friendly pub with regulars.
• The Camelford Arms, 30-31 Camelford Street. The bear pub, with a Sunday roast.
• The Actors, 4 Princes Street. The old Marlborough, reopened as The Actors in October 2021: a queer pub with a small theatre upstairs and a big Fringe programme in May.

Further east

• The Kemptown Klub, 75 St George's Road. An over-25s members' cocktail bar with a basement club, in the old Don't Tell Mama.
• Madam Lola's Cabaret & Vaudeville, 83 St George's Road. Opened May 2026 on the old Proud Cabaret site: drag, burlesque and vaudeville on Friday and Saturday, plus a Saturday drag brunch. Queer-friendly rather than a gay bar.



Hove: Western Street

• The Grosvenor Bar, 16 Western Street. A small cabaret pub with a loyal local crowd.
• The Bedford Tavern, 30 Western Street. Across the road, known for musical bingo.

Men-only

Brighton Cruise Bar at 76 Grand Parade, next to The Brighton Sauna, is a men-only members' cruise bar (free membership), open Friday to Sunday.



Gone but still Googled

• Charles Street Tap, 8 Marine Parade: closed mid-September 2026 after 25 years.
• R-Bar, Marine Parade: closed 20 September 2026 after 21 years.
• Doctor Brightons, Kings Road: closed 2018, now the Star & Garter, a mainstream pub.
• Velvet Jacks (Norfolk Square) and Funky Fish (Marine Parade): listed as permanently closed.
• Centre Stage is now The Birdcage, Don't Tell Mama is The Kemptown Klub, Proud Cabaret is Madam Lola's, and Subline lives on only as a night at Nautilus Lounge.

Tips

• A Kemptown crawl from the Queens Arms to the Kemptown Klub is about 15 minutes' walk end to end.
• Saturday drag brunches at Legends, Bar Broadway and Madam Lola's sell out; book ahead.
• On Pride weekend (first weekend of August) parts of Marine Parade need a Pride Street Party wristband, so check the Pride website before you plan a bar night.

FAQ

What is the main gay club in Brighton?

Revenge on Old Steine. The Basement under Legends is the other late-night option.

Is Charles Street still open?

No. Charles Street Tap closed in mid-September 2026 when its lease ended, and R-Bar closed a few days later.

Where do bears go in Brighton?

The Camelford Arms is the bear pub, and Nautilus Lounge hosts bear and leather nights. Brighton Bear Weekend runs in July.

Last verified: November 2026.