Brighton’s packed with cafés, and has developed a bit of a reputation for its coffee culture. In fact, with the average Brightonian spending £177 on coffee annually (more than anywhere else in the UK), you could say we’re a bit obsessed with the stuff.
Brighton’s also the best city for freelancing in the UK, and has more businesses per capita than any other city in the UK.
Are those two statistics linked together? That’s not something I’m going to delve too far into here, but anyone in the freelance world will know that freelancers drink copious amounts of coffee and travel from café to café like coffee-fuelled pilgrims. So, it’s safe to say there is a link.
Great coffee is important... but freelancers have ranked free and reliable wifi as the most important choice in selecting a café.
But what are freelancers really after in their café experience? Great coffee is a must, quiet spaces to hold meetings with clients is a plus, and a decent atmosphere and décor is always nice too. But really, the holy grail is a consistent and speedy wifi connection. And it’s not just me who says that, but research dictates that good wifi is the most important factor in selecting a coffee shop for remote workers.
Whilst a co-working space is the other solution for freelancers, sometimes a café is a must, so here’s a guide to Brighton’s best wifi cafés.
We've all seen those viral posts floating about on social media of cafés with witty 'No wifi' signs. If those make you cringe in pain rather than make you smile, then don't worry... this guide is for you.
Wifi cafés in Brighton
Ground – Kemptown
In the heart of Kemptown, Ground Coffee offers exceptionally good coffee and a great environment for freelancers. Having had a recent refurb, it’s also mighty swanky. The wifi is free and fast, and Ground packs plenty of individual seating near windows for those who want to people watch whilst working on laptops. It also includes a separated room, which is perfect for getting away from the hustle and bustle of the café’s main area for a quieter meeting.
Address: 34-36 St George's Rd, Brighton BN2 1ED
Starfish and Coffee - Queen’s Park
You can’t really go wrong with a cafe that’s named after a Prince song, right? Especially not when it’s won multiple awards for its friendly and communal spirit, it’s fantastic coffee, and it’s super duper wifi. This one is a little out of the centre of town but my oh my it’s worth the trip. With the lovely Queens Park not far away, this is a jewel in Brighton’s cafe crown.
Address: 32 Egremont Pl, Brighton BN2 0GA
Bond Street Coffee - Central Brighton
There’s certainly a sense that staff at Bond Street Coffee are coffee aficionados when you enter the café. This is about as far from Starbucks as you can get – choices of single origin coffees, served small but packing flavour, and a seating area that’s a hodgepodge of different reclaimed furniture with coffee sacks for cushions. But of course, it’s the taste that counts, and Bond Street Coffee is up there with the best. Whilst it can get noisier and busier as certain periods of the day, it never feels crowded and stuffy, allowing you to work freely and meet with clients without feeling claustrophobic. And most importantly, the wifi is a steady and speedy connection.
Address: 15 Bond St, Brighton BN1 1RD
Marwood Coffee Shop - Central Brighton
Tucked down a small alleyway off of Ship Street, Marwood is what you get when you cross a flea market with a slice of 80s décor and memorabilia, and then throw in plenty of great coffee. Whilst downstairs is cramped and busy, Marwood has extensive seating upstairs with plenty of space to solo it or hold a meeting. Whilst you may end up sharing tables with someone else, it’s spacious enough to make that a rarity. The wifi is steady and reliable, and relatively speedy too, and is complete with a wonderfully sardonic password...
Address: 52 Ship St, Brighton BN1 1AF
It may look small and busy, but Marwood has plenty of space upstairs for you to sit and work away all day (whilst drinking plenty of joe, of course)
Trading Post Coffee Roasters - Central Brighton
A large two-storey cafe in central Brighton, complete with baristas who are bonafide coffee passionistas. Why I love it even more though is that it is roomy and spacious, with plenty of little alcoves, nooks, crannies, and other synonyms for tucked-away-spaces. As such, you’ll never have a problem finding a quiet spot for a meeting or to just get your head down and get to work.
Address: 36 Ship St, Brighton BN1 1AB
Two floors with ample seating on both means you’ll never have a problem finding a table, including a few in some quiet spaces. A great place to chill out and crack on with your latest project.
Lucky Beach Café - Central Brighton, seafront
Nothing like a bit of sea breeze to keep the creative juices flowing and maintain productivity. Well, sea breeze and good coffee. It's lucky that the Lucky Beach Café provides both in ample measure. Tucked into the arches on the seafront, Lucky Beach Café provides delicious organic coffee, monstrous vegan burgers, and free wifi. Where else can you work away with a sea view?
Address: 183 King's Rd, Brighton BN1 1NB
Infinity Foods Café - North Laines
What Infinity Foods Café lacks in space, it more than makes up for with delicious food, a central location, and fantastic wifi. Whilst this one isn’t recommended for the peak hours of lunch (it gets full quickly), it’s a great stopping point for mid-morning or late afternoon. Healthy yet delicious food, good coffee, and great wifi.
Address: 50 Gardner St, North Laines, Brighton BN1 1UN
Black Mocha – North Laines
Formerly Chocaffinitea, the restyled Black Mocha is sandwiched between Kensington Gardens and Sydney Street. Its modest exterior hides a gem of a café. Monmouth coffee, real hot chocolate, and plenty of snacks and cakes (including a number of raw makes… that’s kind of healthy, right?). Whilst it initially looks cramped, head to the back for stairs to an upper floor where you’ll find plenty of seating and a quieter environment. Solid wifi throughout the area makes this a great spot in the centre of the Laines. Only downside is that they have blocked plug sockets, so make sure you’re fully charged before you go!
Address: 103 Gloucester Rd, Brighton BN1 4AP
MADE - North Laines
MADE is part art gallery, part crafting paradise, part café. MADE stands for Make, Art, Drink, Eat, and never has an acronym so perfectly summarised a place. Wonderful Grumpy Mule Coffee, a whole range of tasty dishes from meaty sarnies to vegan cakes and everything in between, and walls adorned with beautiful art to distract you from your latest projects. Regular workshops on topics such as photography, upholstery, chocolate making, kid’s nutrition and much more means this is one for your days off too. Oh, and of course there's wifi.
Address: 66 North Rd, Brighton, BN1 1YD
Café and Salvage - Palmeira Square, Hove
Quintessentially Brighton & Hove. Stuffed with bric-a-brac seating and tables – none of the furniture here is modern, sourced from Ikea, or even matching. It’s all antiques and reclaimed furniture, and most of it is complete with price tags just in case you like it so much that you want to take it home after your (excellent) latte. Whilst it can get a little cramped and noisy, the wifi is lightning fast and reliable.
Address: 84 Western Rd, Hove BN3 1JB
Flour Pot (First Avenue) - Palmeira Square, Hove
Flour Pot are becoming a bit of a household name in Brighton & Hove, but their First Avenue store is their best for freelancers. Large and spacious inside, with front and side entrances, giving it plenty of airflow even on a hot summer’s day – perfect for keeping you feeling refreshed and clearing your head. Good coffee and even better bread. And the wifi is ace too – nice and fast and doesn’t let up anywhere inside the large interior, and even works well from the outside seating too.
Address: 41 First Ave, Hove BN3 2FH
V&H Café (Holland Road) - Palmeira Square, Hove
V&H Café are another fantastic café close to Palmeira Square. Open from early in the morning until the evening, they offer a wonderfully airy and bright space with plenty of seating, meaning you'll always have a space to perch up and crack on with some work. In the summer months, they have a lovely outdoor seating space too. A great range of drinks is matched by food an irresistible food menu, with plenty of gluten-free and vegan options too.
Address: 63B Holland Rd, Hove BN3 1BA
A sizeable and delicious food menu means V&H Café on Holland Road makes for a fantastic lunch spot.
Hixon Green - Hove
Now we’re really in Hove. Hixon Green is near the large Tesco and George Street, making it great for those deeper into Hove, Actually. Hixon Green is pretty new, ultra trendy, and all about comfort. Expect beautiful sofas to sink into, lovely armchairs, and all of it spread across two floors. It’s oh so sleek. It’s one of the pricier venues on this list, but they’re so lovely and welcoming that you can’t sniff at the costs, and the wifi is great too. Very quiet and calm atmosphere.
Address: 124 Church Rd, Hove BN3 2AE
Presuming Ed – London Road
It almost feels like Presuming Ed was built with freelancers and remote workers in mind first and foremost. Sure the coffee is wonderful (and good value), and the décor is nice and funky too. But great wifi, plug sockets all over the place, and even a bookable meeting room complete with whiteboard make freelancers and remote workers feel right at home.
Address: 114-115 London Rd, Brighton BN1 4LJ
The bookable meeting room in Presuming Ed. This place is a coffee chugging freelancer's dream!
NOVA - London Road
Tucked around the corner from the Brighton Open Market on London Road, NOVA's unassuming frontage gives away to a deceptively spacious interior. A perfect space for you grab a tucked away table, hit up the stonkingly good smoothie selection, maybe treat yourself a fry up, and crack on with work. Take a little lunch break wandering around the Open Market (disclaimer: I cannot be blamed if you end up buying mountains of knick-knacks and trinkets), before it's back to work. Their wifi is great, and on a sunny day you can still get connection at their outside seating.
Address: 113 London Road, Brighton BN1 4JG
Moe's at The Circus - Preston Circus
Just on the hub of one Brighton's busiest intersections, Preston Circus, Moe's at the Circus is ready to keep your freelance mission fuelled all day and well into the evening. Not only do they have great coffee (and cakes, oh the cakes!) and free wifi, they stay open until 9pm on weekdays, and 10pm on Friday and Saturday.
Address: 1 Clyde Rd, Brighton BN1 4NN
Redwood Coffee House – Near the station
Trafalgar Street is awash with coffee shops trying to catch the London crowd who are hopping down to Brighton for the day. There’s some great coffee but a surprising lack of wifi. Redwood Coffee House doesn’t have quite the same hipster vibe as many its counterparts on the street, yet still serves impeccable coffee. And most importantly for our list, they have free and reliable wifi with a decent speed.
Address: 99 Trafalgar St, Brighton BN1 4ER
Nowhere Man - West Brighton
Tucked away from the hustle and bustle of Western Road just one street up on Upper North Street, Nowhere Man is a haven of killer bagels, delicious pancakes, and beautiful coffee – the combo of which will bring out the glutton in anybody. But, of course, we’re not here to eat, we’re to work! (and eat...). Nowhere Man has a great, relaxed atmosphere and is generally quiet, with a great wifi connection to boot.
Address: 53 Upper North St, Hove BN1 3FH
Moksha - St Peter's Church area
Cursed with one of those names that even long-term customers mispronounce (typically as 'Moshka'), Moksha is a bright and airy café with a little bit more of a Starbucks vibe than many of the others on this list. That's no bad thing though, as the coffee is far better than any of the mainstream choices. They also have a range of smoothies and a vast food menu. A great area at the back seems geared up for freelancers, with a nice long rustic table with benches. They open up super early too - 7am on weekdays. A couple of issues with this one though - plugs have been sealed off, and the wifi is limited to just 2 hours. Great for short bursts of work but don't plan on spending half a day there.
Address: 4-5 York Place, Brighton, BN1 4GU
Large, bright and open. Moksha is a clear favourite for many freelancers, and it was packed on our recent visit.
The Longhouse Café - St Peter's Church area
My sadness at the amazing Nordic Coffee Collective closing was quickly overcome as this wonderful little café has opened in its place. The Longhouse Café is a beautiful space, serving stupendously good Horsham Coffee. Branding itself as a community space first and foremost, you'll be surrounded by likeminded creatives during the day as this is rapidly becoming a favourite spot in Brighton. The menu is great, packed with interesting and inventive vegan dishes. Scrambled tofu is a must! Oh, and the wifi is speedy as can be too, of course!
Address: 16 York Place, Brighton, BN1 4GU
RIP Nordic Coffee Collective... but hello The Longhouse! This wonderful café more than makes up for the closure of the NCC. A new Brighton favourite!
Ground Coffee House - Seven Dials
Previously Maple Café, this is a gem of a café just off Seven Dials. The coffee is some of the best I've had in Brighton, the food covers every sweet or savoury snack craving you could have, and the space is beautiful. The wifi is great, and just about covers the outside seating for those days when the sun is shining. Run by lovely folks too who know a thing or ten about coffee, that’s for sure. Part of the same team who run Ground in Kemptown too.
Address: 19 Chatham Place, Brighton, BN1 3TN
Other wifi cafés in Brighton
Let me know your favourite wifi cafés in Brighton in the comments below. I’m always looking for a good excuse to go and drink more coffee, so I’d love to try them out, and I'll be updating this list in the future.
Also, for freelancers with dogs, I recommend checking out the comprehensive listings on Bring The Pooch for dog friendly locations.
