Disclaimer – We have received this item for free or on a loan basis for the purpose of this review/feature but all words and opinions are our own.
In the alleyways between Regents Street and Carnaby Street, you’ll find Kingly Court tucked away where you can’t see it. On the top floor sits Le Bab, the World-influenced kebab restaurant that’s part of a chain across London.
The moody, candlelit atmosphere is far from overlooked thanks to being on the highest floor and overlooking a gallery looking down to the restaurants below. There’s a maximum of 40 covers including the bar and window seats and even when half full there was atmosphere. We started with cocktails, including an incredibly strong Negroni as you can see from the photo!
We ordered the mixed mezze for starter, which included hummus with steamed broccoli and two different naan breads including garlic bread. This was delicious, and could have been a meal in itself! The bread was obviously baked on site because it was so fresh and so warm. The broccoli was not something I’d seen before, as it was arranged like a tree on the plate and cooked whole. We cut off pieces of the broccoli tree, tore up the garlic naan bread and devoured the hummus bare handed.
Next were the mains. I had the Dirty Bab; a chargrilled lamb with chips, piled with pickles, chilli, lamb’s lettuce and mayo. My guest tried the Mixed Grill Kebab with chicken and lamb plus red cabbage, chilli and mayo topped with leaves. Both kebabs were sitting on a flat bread, so you could wrap them up if you wanted to, or cutlery is brought to your table. In both meals, the lamb was incredibly tender and the flavour from the chargrilling was fabulous. The chilli can be on the side, which I’m very glad we both chose to do because it was so hot, but it added yet another layer of flavour to the meal if we wanted to. Both of us had to leave some of our kebab because there was so much!
For dessert, there was a choice of only two items. We could have done with something with ice cream as the chilli was so hot and the meal so filling, but we each had the desserts; baklava and sticky toffee pudding. The STP was extremely light, not heavy and dull like most puddings. It was covered with chocolate sauce, giving the sweetness you crave at the end of a meal. The baklava was also sweet, and as one huge piece, it was a meal on its own.
We enjoyed the meal and the restaurant immensely. There was far too much food in three courses for two people, but I’m glad we got to sample the kebabs as well as the mezze. The mezze alone would have been a great meal, but there’s plenty more on the menu which I could happily have ordered – or maybe I’ll come back another time and sample it!
Le Bab Soho, Top Floor, Kingly Court, Carnaby St, Carnaby, London W1B 5PW
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