Pause Cafe

Pause Café is one of the better cafes in the Preston Circus area of Brighton. they offer free wi-​fi, proper coffee, Panini’s and home made cakes. It has a much more stylish vibe than a lot of the greasy spoons in the area. They also do reasonably priced main meals. Its definitely worth grabbing a coffee if you’re round that way, however probably not worth walking out of town for.

I’ve been here several times at weekends only for brunch.
It’s usually pretty quiet, serving above-​average quality scran. The menu is fairly wide with plenty of veggie options, the people who work there friendly and polite — and free wifi.
I think it’s reasonably priced for what you get.

Pause Café really surprised me! In fact I was so unsure of what I would find inside, that I pretty much ignored this place, despite living 5 minutes away. My loss. I was expecting the inside to reflect the locale a little more. Let’s face it, the surrounding strip of shops, cafes and takeaways is pretty depressing and the busy main road doesn’t afford the loveliest of views! However, Pause Café makes the most and is actually quite smart, with leather bar stools and sofas and a slick black and yellow colour scheme. Perhaps because the café is a little more contemporary than I had imagined, I was a little surprised by the prices (I was expecting greasy spoon cheap), but they are not actually outrageous, when compared with prices in town.
Perched on my high stool (which I still love with the enthusiasm of a 5 year old!), I indulged in a slice of cake and a posh coffee. The cappuccino was great, the cake was good, but not nearly as good as my mum’s! All in all, happy to discover a decent little café in the London Rd area. Next stop, hung over brekkie!

I have to say I thought Pause Café was a little bit of a rip off if I’m honest.
The place itself is really smart and welcoming, and you at once feel like nestling into the snug leather sofa in the middle of the room, and just mong out with all the days newspapers in front of you, ready to flick through. The atmosphere’s really relaxed, and it’s never too crowded in here, so undoubtedly it is the the kind of Café which you could spend hours in. BUT… the big but being… you would have to spend a lot of money, because the food here in my opinion is way too expensive. It’s nice, it’s not too fatty, but it’s not– £7 for a large English breakfast-​good.
I’ve also tried the Eastern breakfast, which comprises of a Mango Lassi, Special Omelette on a Paratha base and a Tea/​Coffee, for £6.25, nice, quite tasty, but unspectacular and too modest a portion for the price.
If you want a place to mong out, read the paper and escape the crowds this is very suitable, but just remember to bring a few extra quid than normal.

Pause café can be found at the top of London Road on Circus Parade, which if I’m honest is one of the worst areas of Brighton and is full of greasy spoons, bargain basement shops and general thug life. The Pause café is a welcome relief from this and offers an oasis of chrome and posh sofas where you can relax with a cappuccino.
The menu includes all day Breakfasts, sandwiches, panini’s and scrummy home baked cakes which are reasonably priced, you can get a breakfast for just over a fiver. They also usually have a couple of larger meals at lunch time special if you’re hungry for around six quid.
They offer free wifi so there’s usually a few characters with laptops.

This is a surprisingly upmarket café situated just off London Road. It certainly offers a refreshing contrast to many of the nearby cheap-‘n-cheerful cafes and pound shops. It’s quite small, with only two main tables, two sofas and stools lined up against a counter. But the décor is great — modern, simple and spacious-​feeling with a big mirror lining one wall. Personally, although the place was fairly quiet on my last visit, I always take it as good sign when there’s a constant flow of deliveries being sent out and local business owners popping in to order lunch.
Pause Café is a bit of a surprise given its location, as its prices are pretty high (well, much higher than many local cafes), charging £4.95 — 6.50 for a Full English. Any bother about the expense fades though when food arrives, as its quality is evident. I’ve been there a couple of times for a Full English which was yummy and not covered in grease, which is always nice. Though, of course, this place isn’t for you if you expect — and prefer — your bacon and sausages dripping in a puddle of fat! I went there recently for a bean curry which was on the specials (the owner Shiryn is from India originally so you’ll occasionally see Indian influences in her menu beyond the more typical fry up options). I also had a slice of homemade carrot cake which was great — again real quality ingredients. Pause café offers hugely moreish treats without the feeling that you’re ruining your cholesterol. Not for the student budget, but you get what you pay for.