Seems to me you live your life like Piddle In The Wind. No.7 The Setting Sun

When: January 30th 2012
Where: The Setting Sun, 1 Windmill Street, Brighton
I paid: £3.30 for a pint of Piddle In the Wind

At the top of Carlton Hill on the fringes of the 'trendy' Hanover area stands The Setting Sun. As I'm the postman for the pub once a week I was hoping to scrounge a free pint but the friendly Aussie barman showed no signs of recognition and I was forced to stump up like a regular punter. I opted for a pint of the interestingly named 'Piddle In The Wind', which received a hearty endoresement from the barman. "If you like your stout mate you'll love that, it's got a great earthy taste". I just nodded and grinned, a standard reaction that's my mantra for life. Just nod and grin. If 'earthy' is another term for 'rank', then he was spot on. Maybe it's an acquired taste?

One of the big selling points of the pub are the sweeping views across the rooftops to the sea and even Worthing in the distance. Fantastic on a summers day, they are fetching even in the gathering gloom of a late January afternoon as the streetlights start to come on. There is a small enclosed patio area at the rear of the pub with seating and a comfortable extension should you wish to sit inside. The lighting is subdued with plenty of candles and the music played tends towards the dreary 'ambient' style but it's pitched at a level that is unobtrusive. With no pool table or TV's, it's perhaps not a pub for a lads night but more somewhere you'd stop for a quiet pint on the way home or maybe bring a date. (so I won't be going back in a hurry)

The food menu is extensive and competitively priced but £5.25 seems a wee bit ambitious for dessert. I was tempted by the Monday special of 'burger and a pint' for £6.50 but in the end just settled for another pint of the earthy stuff in the vain hope it would grow on me. Quiet when I arrived, the pub had started to fill up a bit and chatting to another punter whilst being served it somehow transpired that we were both in training for the marathon. This led to a challenge from the barman that neither of us could run down to the bottom of Carlton Hill and back to the pub inside 5 minutes.........Even with a pint of stout inside me I fancied my chances at this but Aussie boy then moved the goalposts to 4 minutes and the bet was off. (probably just as well as no prize had been discussed and quite apart from that I'd have looked bloody stupid). It's an idea to consider for the summer though. 'The Setting Sun challenge', with the fastest times going up on a wall of fame. Just as long as the prize isn't a pint of Piddle In The Wind eh?


Dog friendly: Nope                          Games: No pool table, dartboard, TV or jukebox. Not that kind of pub.

Outdoor seating: Patio area at rear and a couple of tables at the front     Quiz: Every 2nd Sunday

Live music: No                       Food: Large menu, freshly cooked and competitively priced.

OVERALL SCORE: 7/10 It's a view to a hill.