Kenza Restaurant and Lounge

Kenza exists below street level in Devonshire Square, behind an arched courtyard entrance just off Liverpool Street — and that sense of discovery is part of its appeal. Descend the mosaic-covered spiral staircase and the City disappears entirely, replaced by a subterranean world of hand-crafted lamps, rose-scented incense, water fountains, and the sound of live belly dancing. It's the creation of Tony Kitous, who also founded Levant, Pasha, and the Comptoir Libanais chain, and it represents the more opulent end of his restaurant empire.

More Than a Restaurant

What separates Kenza from other private dining venues in the City is that the restaurant itself is the entertainment. Nightly belly dancing is standard. For private events, the roster extends to fire eaters, snake charmers, henna artists, tarot readers, drum performers, and live acoustic Moroccan music. Combined with authentic Lebanese cuisine served sharing-style and a 3am licence, this is a venue where the evening builds in atmosphere and spectacle without requiring external production. Corporate guests who default to familiar restaurant choices find themselves somewhere genuinely different — and that's the point.

Inside Kenza's Riad

The interior commits fully to its Moroccan riad inspiration. Ornate ironwork and artisan wood screens divide the space. Beaded chandeliers cast patterns across satin cushions. The lighting flatters everyone and everything, which matters for events where photography is part of the evening. Multiple rooms — from the 55-seat Dar Cherifa to the 14-cover Dar Lazrak and the intimate Alcoves — allow private dining at different scales without leaving the immersive environment.

Lebanese Cuisine at Kenza Restaurant

The kitchen serves authentic home-style Lebanese and Middle Eastern dishes — all in-house, with no external catering permitted. Sharing-style mezze, feast menus, and canapé selections suit groups naturally, and the format encourages the kind of communal dining that formal plated service often inhibits. Tony Kitous's restaurant group brings decades of experience in Middle Eastern hospitality, and the food here reflects that heritage rather than adapting it for a City audience.

A City Venue That Runs Late

The 3am licence is unusual for a City restaurant and significant for event planning. Corporate celebrations and private parties that would otherwise need to relocate to a separate bar or club can develop naturally within the same space. Liverpool Street station is a minute's walk away. The venue operates Monday to Friday from noon, Saturday from 5pm.