Street Food Market, 21 Traders, Walk-In: Seven Dials Market

Seven Dials Market is on Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX, in the middle of Covent Garden, and it is the indoor street food market that KERB built for central London. It holds 21 independent traders, two bars and two private event spaces, and it is mainly walk-in. Only groups of five or more can reserve a table, so for most visits you simply arrive, find a seat and decide what to eat once you have looked around.

The market is run by KERB, a membership organisation for what it calls London's most promising street food traders. KERB's founder, Petra Barran, began talent spotting and organising traders from her chocolate van, Choc Star, in 2010, and the idea grew from there. KERB launched in 2012 at King's Cross, and its own history page says it has spent the years since professionalising an industry that used to be largely unorganised.

Seven Dials Market was KERB's first step indoors. The point, according to the market's About page, was to give independent traders a permanent home in the heart of the city rather than a rotating pitch on a street corner. That is why the line-up changes: the team says it regularly refreshes the hall, so a trader you loved six months ago may have moved on to its own shop. In 2026 the market has also set out seven steps towards sustainability, which it publishes on its site.

Two names do most of the drawing power. Bleecker Burger is listed by the market as the winner of World's Best Burger 2026, and Bad Boy Pizza Society holds a National Pizza Awards win. Around them sit counters that cover a lot of ground: Masa Tacos, Lucky's Hot Chicken, Dirty Bagels, Mezzo Pasta, Kolkati, Arnabeet, Sukoshi, Hoko, Stakehaus and Yum Bun, plus Oshpaz Dumplings for Uzbek-style dumplings.

The most talked about counter is Pick & Cheese, which the market calls the world's first cheese conveyor belt. Small plates of cheese travel past the seats and you take what you like. It runs its own bookings, separate from the main hall, so if a seat at the belt is the reason for the trip, reserve it through Pick & Cheese's website before you come. Walking up on a Saturday evening and hoping for a stool is a gamble.

Leave space for something sweet. Big Kid Ice Cream, Little Pudding, Mello Deluxe and Chin Chin are the dessert end of the hall, and Matchado handles matcha drinks. Chai Guys is the useful one for early arrivals: the FAQ notes that street food is served from midday on weekdays, but you can get a hot drink or a bite from Chai Guys before the kitchens get going. If you have already eaten a Bleecker burger, skip the queue this time and spend the money on a counter you have never tried.

Warehouse Bar is the main bar, pouring craft beer from Gipsy Hill Brewing Co., wine and cocktails made with East London Liquor Co. Bar Nana is the tropical-feeling drinking corner on the ground floor, with saucy cocktails, fresh pints from Gipsy Hill and seasonal specials. Bar Nana also takes smaller bookings for four to eight people, which is a handy middle ground for a group that is too small to reserve in the main hall.

Dials After Dark is the market's after-hours series, with live music, DJs and headline acts every Friday and Saturday from 7pm once the plates are cleared. If you want a quiet dinner, aim for earlier in the week or arrive well before seven at the weekend. If you want the noise and the crowd, Friday is the night the hall feels most like a party, with the DJ booth replacing conversation as the main soundtrack.

The opening times on the homepage are Monday and Tuesday 12pm to 10pm, Wednesday to Friday 11am to 11pm, Saturday 11am to 11pm and Sunday 11am to 9pm. The outdoor tables on the street outside are walk-in only on a first come, first served basis. They are not covered, and that outdoor space shuts at 10pm, so on a damp evening the indoor tables are the only real option.

Dogs are not allowed in Banana Warehouse, the main hall, but they are welcome in Cucumber Alley, the second food area, so dog owners should head straight there. The building has full step-free access, with a lift and wheelchair-accessible toilets. Not every trader serves halal meat, so ask at the counter, and allergen information is available from each trader on request before you order.

The Market Bookshop is a bookshop by day and a private room by night, with space for up to 40 seated and 50 standing. Bar Nana can be hired for larger dining tables and private events, holding up to 60 seated and 100 standing. Pricing for both is handled by email through the events team, and the bigger private hire enquiries go through DesignMyNight.

For a birthday or work dinner, the useful detail is that the hall can feed a group with completely different tastes without anyone having to compromise. One person can have tacos, another a bagel, another hot chicken, and everyone ends up at the same long table. Because tables for five or more are the only bookable seats in the main hall, a reservation is worth making for any group dinner on a Friday or Saturday, when Dials After Dark is running.

Covent Garden station on the Piccadilly line is the nearest Tube, a few minutes' walk away, and Leicester Square on the Northern and Piccadilly lines is close too. The market sits just off the Seven Dials junction, where seven streets meet around a sundial pillar, which makes it easy to find without a map.

Before dinner, walk to Neal's Yard, the small courtyard of brightly painted shopfronts a short stroll from the junction. After eating, the Covent Garden piazza and the theatres of the West End are close enough for a pre-show meal. If the main hall is packed, walk through to Cucumber Alley and its separate set of traders before giving up, and if both are full, the restaurants around the piazza make a reasonable plan B.

Address: Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX. Hours: Monday and Tuesday 12pm to 10pm, Wednesday to Friday 11am to 11pm, Saturday 11am to 11pm, Sunday 11am to 9pm. Mainly walk-in, with table bookings for groups of five or more and separate bookings for Pick & Cheese. Outdoor tables close at 10pm. Dogs are allowed in Cucumber Alley only.

Live music and DJs run every Friday and Saturday from 7pm. Step-free access with a lift. Start with Bleecker Burger or Bad Boy Pizza Society if it is your first visit, then explore the smaller counters on a return trip. To plan the rest of your Covent Garden evening, from a pre-theatre drink to a late dessert, open the Karpo APP and map it around the market.