The outdoor tables shut an hour before the market does, and they are not covered.
“Our outdoor tables are available for walk-ins, but be quick, they’re limited and on a first come first serve basis. Just a heads up, it’s not covered and closes at 10pm.”
Wednesday to Saturday the market itself runs to 11pm. So from 10pm the terrace is cleared while the hall keeps going, and if you took an outside table at half nine you are moving inside at ten.
Two more things follow from that sentence. The outdoor tables cannot be booked at all, however large your group. And not covered means exactly that: no roof, no shelter, nothing between you and a London October.
A table for two cannot be booked. Four can
The booking rule is new and it has a threshold.
“We’re mainly walk-in only, but we do now take bookings throughout the food market for tables of 4+.”
So the market has gone the opposite way to Dishoom, which bars bookings under six after 6pm. Here the line is four, and it applies all day.
If there are three of you, you walk in and take your chances. If there are four, you can guarantee a seat. It is worth knowing that adding one person to the party is what unlocks the booking.
The Cheese Bar is booked separately, through its own website, not through the market.
Monday and Tuesday are an hour shorter at both ends
The week has a clear shape and the start of it is the thin part.
Monday and Tuesday: midday to 10pm.
Wednesday to Friday: 11am to 11pm.
Saturday: 11am to 11pm.
Sunday: 11am to 9pm.
Read it across and Monday and Tuesday open an hour later and close an hour earlier than the middle of the week, a two hour difference. And Sunday closes at 9pm, the earliest of the week, which catches people who assume a Sunday market runs late.
Note the overlap with the terrace rule: on Monday, Tuesday and Sunday the outdoor 10pm cut-off is irrelevant, because the whole market shuts at or before it.
Friday and Saturday turn into a music venue at seven
Dials After Dark runs every Friday and Saturday from 7pm, with live music, DJs, headline acts and DJ sets taking over “once the plates clear”.
So a Friday evening here is two different places. Before seven it is a food hall; after seven it is a room with a programme. If you wanted a quiet dinner, Wednesday and Thursday still run to 11pm without it.
Twenty-one traders, and the ones worth the detour
21 street food traders and two bespoke bars.
Three the market names itself:
Bleecker Burger, which it describes as winner of World’s Best Burger 2026.
Bad Boy Pizza Society, winners of the National Pizza Awards.
Pick & Cheese, which the market calls the world’s first cheese conveyor belt.
The line-up is refreshed regularly, so a trader you came for may have gone. The conveyor belt has not.
Full step-free access, including a lift
Better than most London food halls and stated plainly.
“Here, we’re open to ALL. We have full step-free access, including a lift and wheelchair-accessible toilets.”
A lift in a Covent Garden building of this age is not a given, and it puts Seven Dials ahead of most of the street food market category on access.
It is run by KERB, and the spaces hire out
The market is a KERB operation and a social enterprise.
Two private hire spaces worth knowing about if you are planning something:
The Market Bookshop, which is a bookshop by day and an event space by night.
Bar Nana, taking bookings from 4 to 8 people, up to 60 seated and 100 standing.
Where it is
Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX.
Covent Garden and Leicester Square are the stations. It is the same street and the same postcode as the Donmar Warehouse, which makes it the obvious pre-theatre stop in Seven Dials: the market opens at 11am Wednesday to Sunday and the Donmar is a two minute walk.
How to plan it
Group of four or more: book. Three or fewer walk in.
Want to sit outside: arrive early and leave by ten. Limited, unbookable, uncovered.
Monday or Tuesday: nothing before midday, and it shuts at 10pm.
Sunday: it closes at 9pm, the earliest night of the week.
Want the DJs: Friday or Saturday from 7pm. Want to avoid them: Wednesday or Thursday.
Booking The Cheese Bar: go through its own site, not the market’s.
Pre-theatre at the Donmar: it is the same street.
Seven Dials Market
- Address
- Earlham Street, London WC2H 9LX
- Nearest
- Covent Garden and Leicester Square
- Hours
- Monday and Tuesday midday to 10pm. Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 11pm. Sunday 11am to 9pm. Outdoor tables close at 10pm every day
- Booking
- Mainly walk-in, with bookings taken throughout the food market for tables of four or more. Outdoor tables are walk-in only. The Cheese Bar is booked through its own website. Private hire of the Market Bookshop and Bar Nana by enquiry
- Price
- Street food prices across 21 traders and two bars. Free to enter
- Standing
- A KERB-run street food hall and social enterprise in Covent Garden with 21 traders, two bars, and Pick and Cheese, described as the world’s first cheese conveyor belt
How to get in
Tables of four or more can be booked but smaller groups cannot, so adding one person is what unlocks a guaranteed seat. The outdoor tables are uncovered, unbookable and close at 10pm, an hour before the market itself Wednesday to Saturday. Monday and Tuesday open an hour later and close an hour earlier than midweek. Dials After Dark brings live music and DJs every Friday and Saturday from 7pm. Full step-free access including a lift and wheelchair-accessible toilets.
Where to go next
London’s food markets compares the halls, and Borough Market is the big one, closed Mondays and shut by 5pm.
Covent Garden covers the streets around it, and the cheap theatre tickets page covers the Donmar at the other end of Earlham Street.
Questions we get asked
Can you book a table at Seven Dials Market?
Only for four or more. The market is mainly walk-in but now takes bookings throughout the food hall for tables of 4+, so a party of three walks in and a party of four can reserve. The outdoor tables cannot be booked at all, and The Cheese Bar is reserved through its own website rather than the market's.
What are Seven Dials Market's opening hours?
Monday and Tuesday midday to 10pm, Wednesday to Saturday 11am to 11pm, and Sunday 11am to 9pm. Monday and Tuesday open an hour later and close an hour earlier than midweek, and Sunday is the earliest close of the week.
Does Seven Dials Market have outdoor seating?
Yes, but with three conditions. The outdoor tables are limited and first come first served, they cannot be booked, they are not covered, and they close at 10pm every day, which on Wednesday to Saturday is an hour before the market itself shuts.
What is Dials After Dark?
Seven Dials Market's after hours series, running every Friday and Saturday from 7pm with live music, DJs and headline acts taking over once the plates clear. For a quieter evening, Wednesday and Thursday still run to 11pm without it.
Is Seven Dials Market accessible?
Yes. The market states it has full step-free access including a lift and wheelchair-accessible toilets, which is better than most London street food halls of a similar age.
Who are the traders at Seven Dials Market?
There are 21 street food traders and two bars, refreshed regularly. The market names Bleecker Burger, which it describes as winner of World's Best Burger 2026, Bad Boy Pizza Society, winners of the National Pizza Awards, and Pick & Cheese, which it calls the world's first cheese conveyor belt.
Written by Robert J Wills, no. 336 in the guide.
Last checked 6 October 2026 against the venues' own published information. Nobody pays to appear here and we take no bookings.
