In the 1820s, Thomas Read Kemp began building a crescent of white houses above the sea and named the place after himself, which is very nearly all one needs to know about him.

The residents had a problem: getting from their private gardens to the beach meant crossing a public road. So a brick-lined tunnel was built beneath Marine Parade, giving them a route to the seafront without having to meet the rest of Brighton on the way.

Below it stood Reading Room, where residents could sit, read and look out to sea.

Kemp’s grand plans cost him dearly. Deep in debt, he left for France and never returned to the town that still bears his name.

The tunnel is still there. So is the room.

What they mean to Brighton has changed rather a lot.

Over the years, Reading Room became a committee room, a potting shed and, eventually, a place left empty for decades. It has had less official lives, too. Men met men here quietly when discretion was a necessity. In the nineties, the sound systems arrived and the parties carried on until morning.

Then Karl Jones and his sons, Sebastian and Ashley, took on the space and made a home for Reading Room again. The kitchen went outside. The bar followed. The chairs came from everywhere and not one of them matches.

An empty room became a family business. Then the family got larger: the people who work here, the morning regulars, the children, the dogs, and the ones who came in for a coffee and stayed, somehow, until dinner.

Once, a tunnel was built so that neighbours could avoid the public road.

We opened the doors instead.

Welcome to Reading Room.

You belong x

The whole story ›

What’s on

The diary

There’s always something happening at the Reading Room. Guest chefs take over the kitchen, seasonal menus make the most of what’s here, and some evenings call for a little more theatre. Come for the food, bring your favourite people, and see where the night takes you.

Planning something special of your own?

From birthdays and celebrations to private dinners by the sea, we’d love to help you make it happen. Get in touch and tell us what you have in mind.