Church Road and the connecting Western Road form Hove's main commercial strip — a kilometre or so of independent shops, neighbourhood restaurants, wine bars, and cafes running parallel to and slightly inland from the seafront. The character is noticeably different from Brighton's Lanes: less vintage and quirky, more neighbourhood restaurant and independent bookshop. The area has a high concentration of what the locals call "Hove actually" establishments — places frequented by the city's substantial creative and professional community.
The street is best on weekday mornings, when the cafes fill up with people who work from home and the bakeries are fresh. At weekends it becomes more lively. Ginger and Dobbs are among several independent coffee shops that have become neighbourhood institutions; the restaurants along this stretch change more frequently but maintain a consistent level of quality.