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A little of everything, by the pool

Skylark coffee & fresh cakes daily Poolside breakfasts, long lunches & Sunday roasts Weddings, events & celebrations Dogs welcome, families welcome Heated pool, sauna & gym An iconic Art Deco landmark on the Sussex coast

All dishes created from fresh, locally-sourced produce, prepared by hand, every day.

EAT.

Long, lazy afternoons by the pool, bring your friends, we'll bring the rest.

Come for a swim, a sauna, then tea and cake

Fresh flowers daily, a slow lunch, the lido just over there

Fresh pastries daily, baked from scratch every morning

Everything made in-house, from pastries to Sunday roasts. After a swim, come for coffee, stay for lunch, bring the dog.

Food Menu BOOK NOW

Our own Skylark blend, the only non-profit specialty coffee in the world, probably the best in Brighton

DRINK.

Cold glass, warm sun, a long afternoon by the pool

Iced matcha latte, slow stirred, served the way summer asks for it

Bright drinks, brighter afternoons, the lido does the rest

A wine list with Sussex at its heart, the world on its shelves

Not drinking? We've got you, Sanpellegrino over ice, fresh juice, no compromise

Cocktails crafted with care, wines chosen with intention. From a post-swim spritz to an old fashioned at sunset, where the evening begins.

Drinks Menu BOOK NOW

Fill the balcony with the people you love, the lido does the rest

GATHER.

Every canapé handmade, every event different

Tables shaped and styled around you, intimate suppers to long banquets

Hospitality that comes from the heart of the kitchen

Always room under the table for a good dog

Private dining, celebrations, weddings and events, an extraordinary setting for life's most memorable moments.

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Saltdean Lido, Saltdean Park Road
Brighton, BN2 8SP

Tel 01273 750694
Email Info@readingroomlido.com

OpenMon – Wed8.30am – 4pm

Thu – Sun8.30am – 4.30pm

BreakfastDailyAll day

LunchDailyfrom 12pm

DinnerThu – Sat5 – 9.30pm

Last orders 3.30pm, Monday to Wednesday

Festive opening hours ›

Easy to reach by car, bus or bike. Parking is free for all our guests, with a quick registration at the desk for stays longer than two hours. We're on the major Brighton coastal bus route, with a Brighton & Hove e-bike drop-off directly outside the door.

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We are family

Saltdean Lido is nestled within the white chalk cliffs, a very short stroll to the sea. Carefully restored and Grade II* listed, it has stood since 1938 and is as beautiful today as the day it was built. At the heart of the Lido lies the Reading Room, and at the heart of the Reading Room lies the kitchen, on from first thing, bread proving by the window, pastries warming the air.

We cook with what's fresh and close to home, the menu shaped each week by the season and the catch. Everyone is welcome, however you arrive: casual or Sunday best, dogs at your heel, children in tow, alone with a book or six round a table. We are family, and we love family.

The tunnel to the sea

Adventure begins at our door. The tunnel beneath the coast road was cut in 1933, five years older than the Lido that now stands above it. Restored and reopened in 2020, it carries a sea-life mural by Brighton artists Sarah Gillings and REQ, and brings you out onto the Undercliff Walk, rock pools and pebble beach at the foot of some of the oldest chalk cliffs in England. Bring your boots, your dog, your kids, your appetite. It's a day out worth the journey.

Saltdean Lido

We sit at the heart of something remarkable. The Reading Room is the hospitality home of Saltdean Lido, a Grade II* listed Art Deco landmark on the Sussex coast, just along from Brighton.

Designed by Richard Jones and opened in 1938, the Lido's sweeping Streamlined Moderne curves make it one of only a handful of its kind in England, and one English Heritage has counted among the "Seven Wonders of the English Seaside." After years of community campaigning and a restoration of around £7.5m, it has been brought fully back to life, and today it runs year-round.

It is owned and run by Saltdean Lido CIC, a not-for-profit community interest company whose purpose is to safeguard the building and keep it as an asset for the people of Saltdean and beyond. We are proud to be part of that story.

Far more than a pool

At its centre is a 40-metre heated open-air pool with sunbathing lawns. The restored building and grounds hold so much more. It is a genuine destination, with something for everyone.

SAY HELLO

This message reaches the Saltdean Lido team

Or reach them directly
info@saltdeanlido.co.uk · 01273 751515

Daytime Menu

Served daily from 8.30am · until 3.30pm Mon–Wed, 4.30pm Thu–Sun

Our dishes are freshly prepared and may arrive at different times. Sit back, relax, and enjoy as everything makes its way to you.

The First Edition

Served all day

Enhancements: bacon £2.50 · salmon £2.50 · poached or fried egg £2 · scrambled egg £2.50 · mushrooms £2 · cheese £2 · RR beans £2.00 · avocado £2.50

From the Pantry

Served from 12pm

The Reading Room Burgers

All served with thick-cut chips tossed in rosemary sea salt and rainbow slaw

Add a fried egg or caramelised onions to any burger for £2.00 or bacon for £2.50

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Evening Menu

Curated evenings at the Lido · Thursday to Saturday, 5 – 9.30pm

Our evening menu, served Thursday to Saturday. A story in five chapters, from snacks and seasonal starters to slow, generous mains, and something sweet to finish.

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Drinks

Cocktails crafted with care, wines chosen with intention, beers we are proud to pour. From a morning Skylark coffee to an espresso martini at sunset, the bar at the Reading Room is where the day softens into evening.

Cocktails

Sparkling

125ml · btl

Beer & Cider

Spirits

25ml · 50ml

Softs

Coffee

We proudly serve Skylark specialty coffee and organic MD teas, ethically sourced, full of flavour, and crafted with care.

Syrups: vanilla, caramel +60p · Iced +30p

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Weddings & Events

Weddings, celebrations, and gatherings made for the moment.

Saltdean Lido is a Grade II* listed Art Deco landmark on the Sussex coast, built in 1938. Its elegant curves, sunlit terraces and beautiful ballroom create a setting that feels both timeless and relaxed, and the Reading Room is its hospitality heart. One of the most distinctive wedding venues in Brighton and the South Coast.

We host every kind of gathering. Weddings overlooking the pool. Drinks on the terrace as the sun goes down over the sea. Birthdays, anniversaries, christenings, milestone moments. Long lunches with family. Quiet dinners with old friends. Gatherings to remember someone special.

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Sunday Roast

Every Sunday · Breakfast 8.30am – 12pm · Roasts from 12 noon

Every Sunday by the sea. Breakfast is served from 8.30am until 12pm, then small plates and slow-cooked roasts from 12 noon. Bookings recommended.

The First Edition

Served from 08:30 – 12:00

Enhancements: bacon £2.50 · salmon £2.50 · poached or fried egg £2 · scrambled egg £2.50 · mushrooms £2 · cheese £2 · RR beans £2.00 · avocado £2.50

Sundays at Lido

From 12 onwards

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Supper Club

The Supper Club is an evening of food and wine at its very best, held a few times a year for a small room of guests.

The idea is simple. We give our chefs and their team free rein, and we set them a challenge: take the finest produce Sussex has to offer, from the land and from the sea, and make something remarkable. No set menu to answer to, just their skill, the season, and a table to impress.

These evenings are kept deliberately small. We hold the numbers low so every plate is exactly as it should be and the quality never slips. Often we team up with a local Sussex vineyard as well, matching their wines to the food course by course. However the night is built, it comes back to three things: taste, craft and passion.

Come with friends, come with family, or come entirely on your own. Our hospitality is second to none, and whoever you walk in with, we will look after you from the first welcome to the last goodnight, and send you home with a night you will not forget.

This is your invitation to become part of something. Places are few and they go quickly. Take your seat at the table.

This autumn, Executive Chef Anna Quemard joins forces with Henry and Cassie from Butler's Wine Cellar for one rather special evening at Reading Room at Saltdean Lido.

Anna has created a five-course menu celebrating the very best of the season, full of deep autumn flavours, clever details and the thoughtful cooking she is known for.

Henry and Cassie have taken on the very serious job of choosing five brilliant wines to accompany it. Expect characterful bottles, a few stories from the cellar and plenty of Henry's unmistakable flair as he talks us through each pairing.

Good food, excellent wine and three people who know rather a lot about both, brought together for one unforgettable night at the Lido.

The Menu

Five courses · Five wines

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JOIN THE SUPPER CLUB

Previously at the table

Summer Wine Tour · Wednesday 15 July 2026

Our very first. Head Chef Josh Fallon alongside Henry from Butler's Wine Cellar, five courses matched to five wines, a tour through England, France, Australia, Italy and Portugal.

This Christmas, leave the cooking and the washing up to us and settle in for a wonderfully relaxed afternoon at Reading Room at Saltdean Lido.

Your celebration begins with a chilled glass of Rathfinny Classic Cuvée and a selection of festive canapés, followed by a generous three-course Christmas feast with sharing sides and all the traditional trimmings.

Next, a selection of the finest Sussex cheeses with accompaniments, then delicious warm mince pies topped with brandy butter, accompanied by a glass of port.

And all of this upon a beautifully dressed traditional table with Christmas crackers and a Reading Room gift bag to take home.

Everything is ready to make this a Christmas Day to remember, spent with the people you love.

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Gift Cards

The best gift is a seat at a good table, and a day to remember it by.

A gift card for the Reading Room is an invitation to all of it: the bread our bakers pull from the oven each morning, the pastries glazed and still warm, the small plates that come from the pass when the kitchen is in full flow. A long lunch on the terrace, a glass of something good as the sun drops, a Sunday roast carved at the table with the sea in the window.

Every dish is shaped by our head chef and the team, every loaf by our bakers, every cocktail by the bar. Real cooking, real craft, every day, all from a kitchen and a bar that take real pride in what leaves the pass.

Send a card for a birthday, an anniversary, a thank-you, or just because someone deserves a wonderful day out. Cards arrive instantly by email, ready to forward or hand over, and can be spent on anything in the Reading Room.

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Bookings

We're currently building our online reservation system. In the meantime, drop us an email or give us a call and we'll sort your booking by hand.

Let us know the date, the time, and how many of you are coming — and anything else we should know, like a birthday, a dog, or a window seat in the sun. We'll come straight back to you.

EMAIL US CALL 01273 750694

We aim to reply the same day, every day.

FAQ

A few things people often ask before they visit. If your question isn't here, we'd love to help. Call us on 01273 750694 or email Info@readingroomlido.com.