Le Bab Covent Garden

Le Bab arrived in Covent Garden with a deceptively simple proposition: take the kebab — arguably the most underestimated format in London dining — and treat it with the same technical ambition and ingredient quality as fine dining. The Mercer Walk restaurant, a collaboration between founders Stephen Tozer and Ed Brunet and executive chef Manu Canales, delivers on that promise across two floors and three distinct event spaces.

The ground floor draws you in with its open charcoal grill, the kind of visible kitchen that gives a room energy before the food even arrives. Booth seating in racing green, natural light from the street-level windows, and an atmosphere that sits comfortably between casual and considered make the space feel like a restaurant that takes food seriously without taking itself too seriously.

Downstairs at Le Bab: The Lounge and Kebab Queen

The basement reveals Le Bab's more theatrical side. The Lounge stretches across a space decorated with 50,000 playing cards and exposed kitchens — a room that photographs well and creates an atmosphere that standard basement bars rarely achieve. For events, it handles 200 standing or 60 seated, functioning as anything from a late-night party venue to an intimate dinner setting.

Kebab Queen occupies a hidden corner downstairs: a 12-seat counter where Manu Canales and his team serve an 8-course tasting menu entirely without plates. Stainless steel walls, pink velvet, cobalt blue leather stools, and the focused intensity of counter dining create something closer to a Tokyo omakase experience than a Covent Garden restaurant. For private dining at its most unusual, this is genuinely hard to replicate anywhere in London.

Seven Dials and the West End

The Covent Garden position is more than a postcode. Mercer Walk sits at the heart of Seven Dials, where the energy of the West End's theatre district, independent retailers, and restaurant scene converge. Pre-show dinners, post-work gatherings, and celebrations that extend into the surrounding area all benefit from a location guests already know and enjoy. Covent Garden tube is a short walk, with Leicester Square and Holborn also within reach.