Photos: then and now

Comments about this page

• Odd colour and the lack of any indication that it’s a pub would probably have me passing by none the wiser. The effect is of a design studio or some sort of smart architect’s practice or computer consultancy. Still, getting rid of the Watneys sign and of the beer itself must have been an improvement, no matter what I think of the self consciously cool and minimalist exterior.

  By Adrian Baron (05/02/2007)

• In June 2006 The Oriental became Hottie ‘N’ Terks.

  By Christopher Steffison (16/06/2007)

• This was a very lively and fun pub in the late 80s and early 90s. I walked past it recently and, sadly, it is boarded up and closed.

  By Ken Adams (14/07/2010)

• I used to go and buy bottles to take out in the mid-seventies as I lived nearby in Silwood Place. The public bar was incredibly small with one table and two chairs from what I remember.

  By Pete Baker (05/02/2012)

• The Oriental, Montpelier Road. This was a lovely pub in the 60s. The landlord Percy was possibly one of the longest serving landlords in Brighton. Tom, the barman was a big bloke and there was never trouble there. I used to love the”snug”, with only enough room for about two to three people. The pub was very handy for the Starlight Rooms just over the road where Osprey House now stands. That’s another story. I believe Percy had the pub until the late 70s. I went in there in the mid 90s. I didn’t stay long as it had become a gay pub. Closed now I believe. Sad days now. I lived on the 5th floor of Osprey House in 1974 for a couple of years. Lovely flat with aroma of hamburgers being cooked on charcoal wafting up the road from Uncle Sams just a couple of doors away from The Oriental. Happy days then.

  By Bob Young (05/09/2014)

• I went here in 2000, it was a gay/TG bar (for the Oriental community)? Very bijou and snug in there and I think we were the only two ‘westerners’. I love the area, its sad the bar is no longer there. 

  By Sue Lorens (23/03/2016)

• I lived at the Oriental in 1990/91. It was a gay pub owned by a lovely man named Paul. The bar on the main floor was still tiny, but Paul did a lot of work on the place when he owned it. The wall between the two buildings on the main floor had a big opening added so the seating area was much larger than in it’s early days. They also updated the basement and opened to the public. I seem to recall the toilets were down there and maybe a pool table. The second floor was private quarters and had a lounge, bathroom, kitchen and the owners room and I had a room on the top floor.
  The Oriental was a busy place in the early 90s and usually busy. I was sad when I heard Paul had sold the place in the late 90’s, but I still have great memories of the place and the people who worked there.

  By Kim Hardacre (08/08/2020)

• I lived on Oriental Place, it was my local in late 80s. Remember Lily Savage stopping the traffic in road to take pics out of drivers! Such good laughs and fab memories.

  By Ashleigh Beaton (28/03/2022)

• I first got to Brighton as a young (19) gay Lass in 1989, where I stumbled into the Oriental and found my ‘clan’, my family.

  Maisie Trolette sang my song request ‘You’ll Never Know’ – an old 50’s song my then belated gran used to sing to me – it filled me with tears.

  I only had enough for 2 halves of lager and the lovely older gay guys (in their 50’s) at the bar bought me a couple more so I could stay longer to chat!

  What an amazing, magical place, such a warm welcome, especially as I was the only girl in there!

  I also discovered Secrets night club, but that’s another story…

  Thank you to the patrons and staff of The Oriental who made the place so special to me.

  By Helene (01/09/2023)

• Hello, was there a very popular and often very packed disco downstairs? A bar at the street end and a dance floor that filled most of the other end?

  By Andrew (21/10/2023)

• Had many a good night out back in the late 80s with my ex husband in the old Oriental pub.
  It was a gay bar back then run by the lovely Aussie Paul and barman Dik from Liverpool. I think we were pretty much the only heterosexuals in there, but we never felt anything but welcome and it was always our go to place for a good evening out. After we’d moved away from the area to be closer to work (Gatwick) I was sad to hear it had closed down. Such lovely people, still remembered fondly all these years later.

  By Tracey (09/04/2024)