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Marc Summers, Founder of Middle Eastern restaurant Bubala, announces the opening of his newest London restaurant in Covent Garden this September. Building on the success of Spitalfields, Soho and King’s Cross locations, Bubala Covent Garden will bring the restaurant’s signature bold and vegetable-led cooking to London’s historic theatre district.
Since first opening in Spitalfields in 2019, Bubala has steadily grown into one of London’s most respected restaurant groups, building a fiercely loyal following around its generous, vegetable-led cooking and warm, informal style of hospitality. Although interest in Bubala has continued to build, the approach to expansion has remained measured and intentional. For Marc and the team, Covent Garden represents a natural next step.
As Bubala’s most ambitious site to date, the opening reflects seven years spent refining not only the food, but also the atmosphere and style of hospitality that have become central to the restaurant’s identity. Alongside being named winners of CODE Hospitality’s Happiest Places to Work in 2025, Bubala was recently named in The Times Best Places to Work 2026 and received OpenTable’s Restaurateurs’ Choice Impact Award 2026, recognising its commitment to hospitality, community and workplace culture.
The new restaurant will open within a Grade II-listed building at 14 Garrick Street, one of Covent Garden’s most historic streets, long associated with London’s theatre and cultural scene. The site will feature 60 covers on
the ground floor, an additional 32-cover downstairs dining room, and 30 alfresco seats overlooking Floral Street. Interiors have been designed to balance the character of the original 1860 building with the warmth and informality Bubala has become known for.
Alongside an à la carte menu featuring Bubala favourites such as Halloumi with chamomile and fennel honey and Crispy confit latkes with toum, as well as many of the dishes featured in Marc Summers’ debut cookbook BUBALA, published last year, the restaurant will continue to offer the much-loved ‘Bubala Knows Best’ set menu across all sites. The decision reflects Marc’s response to the current pressures facing both diners and the hospitality industry, with the aim of keeping the full Bubala experience accessible without compromising on generosity or quality. Designed to be shared, the menu remains the best way to settle in with a Gazoz and let the kitchen take the lead.
In addition to the set and à la carte menus, there will be a selection of regularly changing seasonal specials such as Wild garlic and asparagus börek in spring, Whole grilled baby corn with pilpelchuma butter in late summer, and Slow-roasted Badger Flame beetroot and feta pastilla in winter. The opening will also introduce an expanded wine and cocktail focus, including bottles sourced from across Europe and the Middle East alongside a new cocktail list built around ingredients from the kitchen.
Marc Summers comments on the opening, “We were especially drawn to the site in Covent Garden because parts of it reminded us of Spitalfields when we first opened Bubala. There’s a similar energy to the area too – busy, creative and full of character – and being on the corner of Garrick Street and Floral Street makes it feel even more special.
What’s mattered most to us throughout all of this is that Bubala still feels like Bubala. The food, the atmosphere and the way we look after people all matter equally to us, whether that’s guests or our team. Covent Garden is the biggest opening we’ve done so far, but we want it to feel just as warm and personal as the first site did.”