Inside Crossbar: The UK's First Women's Sports Bar

Brighton has always been a city that does things differently, so it feels right that the UK’s first dedicated women’s sports bar, Crossbar, chose to open its doors here. Located at 22–23 Upper North Street, tucked on a hilly side street just off the main central strip, this spot is the project of Lucy and Pippa Tallant. After nearly a decade of talking about the lack of spaces where women could comfortably watch sport, they left their corporate jobs to renovate a derelict 19th-century townhouse themselves. The bar officially opened on Friday, February 6, 2026, and the response was immediate; table bookings for the opening night, which coincided with the Milano-Cortina Winter Olympics, sold out in less than five minutes.

The interior avoids the sterile feel of many modern sports bars, opting instead for a traditional pub aesthetic with dark wood finishes and exposed brick. The main bar area is painted in a forest blue-green and features five screens, a pool table, and a corner with sofas and a fireplace for a more relaxed viewing experience. Upstairs, the space is divided into two bookable rooms: the Boot Room, which displays memorabilia like boots from Saracens Women and bobsledder Michelle Coy, and the Clubhouse. One of the more unique features is the "Lesbian Ledge," a bar shelf fixed outside one of the front windows that has already become a fixture on local social media. Even the bathrooms follow the theme, using "Home" and "Away" labels instead of traditional gendered signs.

While the focus is firmly on women’s sport—prioritising everything from the Women’s Super League (WSL) and Premiership Women's Rugby to cricket and the Winter Olympics—the owners are clear that the space is for everyone. It functions as a daytime workspace and coffee shop from 9 am, serving Boxx2Boxx coffee, a brand founded by England legend Jill Scott. As the evening progresses, the screens take over. During the opening weekend, fans from as far as Middlesbrough travelled down to watch Arsenal defeat Manchester City, highlighting a demand for a space where women and LGBTQ+ fans can watch games without the rowdiness sometimes found in traditional boozers.

The choice of Brighton as a home for Crossbar isn't accidental. The city has a strong history with women’s sport, having hosted matches for the UEFA Women’s Euros and being home to Brighton & Hove Albion’s WSL side. The Tallants have made a point of supporting the local scene by offering their function rooms for free to grassroots teams for meetings or post-match socials. It is a venue that seems to have filled a very specific gap in the city’s social landscape, providing a permanent home for a community that previously had to search for places willing to show women's matches. Whether you are there for a specific game or just a coffee, the atmosphere is designed to be welcoming to those who might otherwise feel overlooked in a standard sports bar.