Raise a glass to Worthing’s newest pub

Named after the traditional pub game, The Toad in the Hole in Newland Road, where The Castle used to be.

It is the latest venture from Hand Brew Co, which also has a pub in Brighton, and will be a community, music and art-driven venue.

The Toad team is made up of those at Hand Brew Co and some new faces. They put on an opening weekend on Saturday, March 5, which included live entertainment, food and a line-up of Hand Brew Co beers.

Hand Brew Co held an International Women’s Day event on March 8 at its brewery in Wothing.

A spokesperson for the Toad in the Hole said: “The acts on the night kicked off with French Yé Yé and Rock’n’Roll duo Les Chéri Chéri, followed by ‘raucous’ ‘angular’, ‘muscular, art-punk’ band KEG, who are at nearly every big festival this year.

“Finishing the live music was ‘grunge-o-billy-swing’ band The Jones Street Boys, who got the entire pub dancing with their two-hour set.

“Tables were quickly whisked away to make room for the swing dancers to add even more energy to the room. As night fell, DJ and gentleman Andy the Dandy donned his sharp suit and played a mix of all styles, ending in good, old-fashioned dance.

“On Sunday, Jason Henson, Dan Shepherd and Sara Oschlag - Brighton Jazz stalwarts - played the afternoon, before The Hand Me Downs led the evening with a set of Irish Folk.

“The playlists you’ll hear at The Toad are thoughtfully created by the Hand team - they’re eclectic, interesting and they change with the mood of the room. From Ethiopian jazz to Welsh indie and everything in-between, you’ll be Shazaming all day and night.”

At the moment, The Toad staff plan to get the kitchen back up and running soon, but they said that in the meantime regular food pop-ups will appear and customers are welcome to order food in from local take-aways.

The line up of drinks offerd at The Toad will mainly focus on Hand Brew Co’s core range and specials, including Lobo, Shaka, Otto, Yuba, Jukebox, Chop, Bird and more, but there will be local ciders and other guests and imports on the bar too.

The opening hours for The Toad are midday to 11pm Monday to Saturday, and midday to 10.30pm Sunday. The pub is dog-friendly.

You can keep an eye on Hand Brew Co’s socials @thetoadworthing, @handbrewco, @handbrewpub and @handbrewtap.

To contact The Toad directly you can email [email protected] and for more details, you can visit The Toad’s website.

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