This surprising seaside city has the UK’s best pub scene

If someone asked you for the best city in the UK for a pint, where would you suggest? Maybe you’d recommend Manchester, which took the top spot on Time Out’s list of best pubs in the UK. Or York, with its old-timey, low-lit boozers. But sunny Brighton has outshined both of these on the 2026 UK Pub Index, where it stands at number one on the list.

The score is made up of a few factors, including pub density, Google rating and cost. While Brighton and Hove’s pint price is on the steep end, its number of pubs and average rating are unmatched. It has the highest average rating of any location at 4.42 stars, and almost four out of five of its spots are independent. With 7.74 pubs for every 10,000 residents (more than double of the no.10 spot, Oxford), there are plenty of perfect pints to go around. 

Brighton is followed by Norwich, which boasts the highest proportion of independent pubs in the country, and Liverpool with a decent average cost of £5 a pint. Birmingham had the lowest proportion of pubs per resident, with only 1.78 pubs for every 10,000 residents. 

This isn’t Brighton’s only winning nightlife result of 2026. It just made Time Out’s list of the world’s best cities for nightlife, alongside Berlin and New York, last month.

Time Out local expert Eleanor Forrest said: ‘Want whimsy? Brighton’s got it. Try themed nights like Party in your Pants, an inclusive feminist paint rave, and Fairytopia, where pop music meets high fantasy realness. If you prefer a slower pace, the city’s bars and pubs have you spoilt for choice.’

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The cheapest pint on the top ten list was Sunderland at £3.25, taking it to ninth in the UK. With nearly four in five venues being independent, it was only beaten by Liverpool, Norwich and Brighton across the UK for its proportion of independents. 

With the beachy, holiday vibe of Brighton and Hove, it’s no surprise that a cold drink there seems more refreshing than usual. In any case, the city has proved itself a leader at delivering one of the UK’s favourite nights out – a beer out with mates. 

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