The Horse & Groom

Up the hill and round the corner, you don’t really stumble upon the Horse and Groom by accident. But you should seek it out: it’s a traditional pub in the heart of St Leonard’s and the ideal place to get a bite of lunch or a nourishing real ale after you’ve been browsing the antique shops of Mercatoria and the environs.
Plenty of people in Brighton and Hove look down on Hastings and St Leonard’s. How wrong they are. It’s not the land that time forgot but a secret they haven’t discovered yet. If the Horse and Groom was in Brighton, it would be packed with wannabe London playwright émigrés moaning about the BBC. But here, it’s a friendly, lively, arty boozer with a good time vibe and an insatiable thirst for real ale.
The beer is good. They have an array of real ales that change regularly and all your usual lagers, spirits and wines too. There’s a little patio out back and a selection of books if you fancy a read while you sup. My only gripe is that they close very promptly at 11. Maybe they show more lenience for proper regulars?
Best of all, it’s very welcoming. I got chatting to the locals in no time and met an aging rocker, a computer programmer and a writer in one evening. The attached restaurant, St Clement’s, comes highly recommended but I’ve never eaten there but if it’s as good as the pub you’ll love it.