A League of Its Own: Crossbar Brighton Opens This Week

Brighton is about to make history again, and this time it’s all about leveling the playing field for sports fans. This Friday, February 6th, the UK’s first bar dedicated exclusively to showing women’s sports, Crossbar Brighton, is officially opening its doors right here in the city.

Founded by sisters Lucy and Pippa Tallant, Crossbar is located at 22–23 Upper North Street. The idea behind the venue is simple but powerful: creating a space that brings together the elements they felt were missing in traditional sports bars—women’s sport, good wine, and a great place to hang out. As Lucy and Pippa noted, while those things exist separately in Brighton, finding one place that combines them all, while prioritizing women's athletics, has been impossible until now.

This new venue directly addresses the challenge many fans face: watching women’s events that are often hidden behind paywalls or simply not shown in public spaces. Crossbar aims to remove those barriers, ensuring fans know their team will be on, creating a central hub for celebration and community. The immediate demand is clear: table bookings for their opening night, which is themed around the Winter Olympics, sold out in just four minutes.

Crossbar is designed to be a flexible and inclusive space, welcoming fans of all genders, including women and non-binary fans, and it’s even dog-friendly. The venue is split into three distinct areas—the main Crossbar, The Clubhouse, and The Boot Room—featuring a total of eight screens for multi-sport programming. While women’s sport is the priority, the multi-room setup means they can accommodate requests for men’s sports when there are no clashes with major women’s events.

Beyond being a viewing spot, Crossbar is set up to be a true 'clubhouse away from home.' The founders are committed to supporting local amateur and grassroots teams by offering free use of their function rooms for meetings, post-match gatherings, and planning sessions. This focus on community and representation at every level of sport is a key part of their mission.

If you stop by during the day, Crossbar operates from 9 AM as a coffee, meeting, and workspace, offering pastries and freshly prepared focaccia sandwiches. They even serve Boxx2Boxx coffee, making them the only venue outside of England football legend Jill Scott and partner Shelley Unitt’s Manchester coffee shop to do so. In the evenings, the focus shifts to the bar experience, featuring a curated wine list (including sparkling wine), draught beers, ciders, cocktails, and sharing boards with vegetarian and vegan options. It sounds like the perfect spot to catch a WSL match or cheer on the Red Roses while enjoying a much better drinks menu than your average pub. With the opening just days away, it’s exciting to see Brighton leading the way in creating dedicated spaces for the rapidly growing audience of women’s sport.