Steeped in history, unfortunately nowadays the King and Queen is getting bogged down in trying to be all things to all men.

The Venue
Its enormous black and white timbered frontage looks old and you'd be right. The King and Queen was built in 1779 as a Tudor farmhouse in honour of George III and Queen Charlotte. The building was also the base of the Corn Exchange before it moved to its present building. As such it's a really big old place full of nooks and crannies perfect for a secret rendezvous, you could flutter your eyelashes or growl at the object of your affections for hours without anyone being any the wiser.

There's an impressive old courtyard with long benches and cosy, enclosed areas around the back that's heaving in summer. Inside, it's pretty dark and can seem a bit claustrophobic in spite of its size. Pictures of historical events hang on the walls so drinking here is a non-stop history lesson. The really long bar stretches virtuallu the entire width of the pub and staff serve drink after drink to a seemingly neverending stream of punters especially on live music nights.

Upstairs there's even a function room and a gallery area so you can spy on your fellow drinkers. The vast pub may be historic, but its concessions to modern life are manifold: there fruit machines, pool tables and TV screens dotted around the place. There's even an enormous roll-down screen which practically covers the whole of one end of the pub. Just to ensure you don't forget it's an old pub though and get too carried away with modern day merriment, there's a suit of chain mail armour halfway up the stairs keeping a close eye on proceedings.

The People
The King and Queen is a rite of passage for Brighton students: "It's soooo big and I've never seen so many beers on tap and so many distastefully named cocktails. Let's move in." It's also a must for sports and live music fans.

The Drink
At the bar you'll discover that the students certainly know how to call a spade a spade. There's a ridiculously vast choice of draught beers including Fosters, Stella, Kronenbourg, Carlsberg, Directors, Theakstons Best, John Smiths and Carling. Cocktails include the erotically named Raspberry Nipple and Legspreader, which don't quite fit in with the stately ambience but go down a storm with the student regulars.

The Last Word
It's an amazing building that's rightfully popular with sports fans and students and the outdoor courtyard is a must for summer drinking. However, The King and Queen would be better off concentrating on a few of its offerings rather than spreading itself too thinly.