Pavilion Gardens Cafe

mrsmollyc

31 Jul 2026

Very crowded space on a hot, sunny day

3

3

Date of visit: July 2026

I am a disabled person. I have experience of challenges around: accessing toilets and moving around.

I use or have experience of: disabled toilet, wheelchair

Overall Rating

Average

This is an open-air café in the gardens surrounding Brighton Pavilion and Brighton Dome. There was a kiosk where you ordered your food and drinks and then lots of tables and chairs surrounding it. I had planned to stop and have lunch here but it was so busy when I arrived that I wasn’t able to. All the tables were full from what I could see and it meant that navigating myself between all the tables and chairs to get to the kiosk was very difficult. There was also a long queue at the kiosk and I could see the counters were also quite high. I would probably go back another time when it wasn’t so busy, but I would probably make sure I was also with someone who would be able to go up to the kiosk to order for me as it would have been difficult for me on my own in my wheelchair.

Disabled Access In and Around

Average

The counters at the kiosk were quite high so I would have struggled to order and pay on my own. There were menus mounted on the kiosk wall behind the counter but I didn’t see any alternative formats. There were lots of tables and chairs around the kiosk. The chairs could all be moved, as needed. When I visited, it seemed like the tables were occupied, there were also lots of people using the nearby grassy areas to sit as well. As I couldn’t sit at a table and wouldn’t have been able to sit on the grass I wasn’t able to stay. I also found that because all the tables were full, it made it hard for me to navigate the area in my wheelchair because of all the seats. There were also some large tree roots that had warped the tarmac so when I did find a route through the chairs, it was sometimes very bumpy. I would probably only come back if I had someone else with me that would be able to go up to the kiosk for us. I didn’t feel comfortable navigating the space independently.

Accessible facilities: Seating at regular intervals, Single-level venue

Parking & Transport

Average

I travelled to this place by walk or wheel

There are some public car parks available in the surrounding area but no dedicated parking. The gardens are roughly 900 metres away from Brighton Railway station. Around 150 metres away from the café, on North Street, there are bus stops. From these stops you can get the 1, 1X, 7, 12, 12X, 13X, 14, 27, 27C, 37, 37B, 37, 52, 60, 71, 77, N1, N7, N12, and N14.

Accessible facilities: Public or on street parking

Comments

paviliongardenscafe

03 Aug 2026

Although we are busy at the moment we always cater for our disabled customers. If you had asked one of my staff for assistance they would have found you an appropriate table and given you table service ie taken your order and brought it to your table. Some of our regular disabled customers can use the counter service to order and pay and then we would carry their tray to the table. There are menus on some of the tables to help you decide what you want to order. Hopefully next time you will feel able to stay and enjoy our cafe.