News
September 2011
Spotted Dog
We want to welcome the return of The Spotted Dog to Brighton.
Not that the pub has been physically moved, more a shift in attitude. It was one of Brighton's most famous gay pubs, or should that be 'infamous homosexual haunt' as we are talking about the 1950s and 60s when it was all illegal.
However, in 1981, ex-policeman and landlord Norman Riches told Gay News "There has been a complete change of policy and we no longer welcome gays at the Spotted Dog." In an effort to distance itself from its past, the pub was re-named and became The Hop Poles.
Despite such beginnings, The Hop Poles went on to establish itself as a friendly pub with great food and a witty menu. This may have had something to do with being under the gay ownership of Dominic McCartan & Tony Leonard.
Whatever its recent past, The Spotted Dog has actually been in Brighton since the 1790s. In 2011 The Hop Poles name was laid to rest and The Spotted Dog wagged its tail and returned to Middle Street.