WHEN Ben Brown took over managing The Dorset Bar and Kitchen, he knew he had set himself a huge challenge.

Having gained a reputation as a run-down pub, the Dorset had been through three managers in as many years, haemorrhaging money and alienating its customers by getting rid of discounts.

But all of that was set to change.

“So far it’s been going really well,” said Ben, who has been managing The Dorset for just over four months. “We’ve given the whole place a lick of paint, got a new kitchen, and redecorated.

“It feels much more ‘Brighton’ now.”

The new paintwork has turned The Dorset a lush dark bottle green, with mustard accents and plenty of light delivered through 300 metres of fairy lights dotted around the pub and restaurant.

Ben agrees the pub needed the change, having frequented it in his teenage years and then returning there to work in 2014, making his way up from a waiter.

He said: “I’ve worked here for three-and-a-half years, from a part-timer now to manager.

“It was one of my favourite pubs growing up but I had been away for five years and came back to find it had turned into a kind of rockabilly, old-man pub.

“The walls were bare and no money had been put back into it.

“Managers in the past haven’t been able to keep their promises but we’re trying harder to make sure what we want to happen actually happens.”

As well as redecorating, Ben has been keeping busy with other elements of the pub, including employing a new head chef, Ashley Barton, who has in turn created a fresh new menu.

Gone are the uninspired dishes of yesteryear, replaced with plates that are much more in line with modern Brighton eateries.

“We wanted to rework the menu which had become very outdated and meat-centric – not very Brighton at all.

“Instead, the majority of the flavour will be in the vegetarian option with meat added almost as an extra, so those who don’t eat meat will still get a delicious meal.”

Diners will find calamari, pigeon, arancini, and crab starters on the new menu, with veggie tacos, pepper gnocchi and grilled mackerel also featuring as mains.

For dessert, the kitchen has been inspired by a fine dining style synonymous with Brighton, with its bread and butter pudding, which comes accompanied with a perfectly balanced assortment of mixed berries, currants, custard cinnamon and salted popcorn.

There was, however, one dish the kitchen couldn’t bear to cut: the mussels.

Ben said: “They’ve been on the menu for 22 years at The Dorset. We thought with such a close proximity to the sea, and the fact they’re a signature Dorset dish, we just couldn’t cut them.”

According to Ben, the menu will go through changes in the future, keeping only mussels, the burgers and beer battered fish and chips on the regular.

The kitchen has also promised to ensure all its sauces remain homemade (and let me tell you, the sweet chilli served with the squid is a hit).

Of course, there is much more to a pub than its kitchen, which is where Ben’s sister Amy comes in.

Under the watchful eye of the two, the pub has transformed into a far more social place than it had ever been before, as the duo aim to unify the bar with the restaurant.

Ben said: “Nothing made people feel very welcome at all, but we wanted to get rid of all that and create an inclusive atmosphere where everyone – men, women, older generations and students – is equally welcome.”

As the founder of Cult Milk, a growing creative team passionate about sharing the positivity of creativity through play, Amy has begun to host weekly creative workshops at The Dorset.

She has also bought board games for the pub to encourage punters to socialise, and the pair have begun to regularly host open mic nights as well as a monthly live jazz event.

The two have come up with daily events, such as Margarita Mondays and Workshop Wednesdays, and have reintroduced Happy Hour from 5pm to 7pm, Monday to Friday, something they condemn the abolishment of under the old management.

Ben added: “The pub was losing money, so for some reason the manager thought it was a good idea to punish the regulars.

“Yeah, it didn’t make much sense to us either, so we brought it back.”

Along with Happy Hour, the pub has also brought in a student deal of £1 fries with a pint of beer.

Amy said: “All the other pubs in Brighton have been upping their game, so we thought we should too.

“We are a part of the North Laine but The Dorset didn’t really embody what Brighton is about – until now.

“But we still have a million and one things we want to do.”

The Browns have a long road ahead of them if they want to turn around The Dorset but they seem to be well and truly on their way.