Brekky at The Barbary Next Door, Covent Garden

They didn’t have to ask me twice. This was an invitation I would have moved mountains to attend. I LOVE The Barbary and ever since its little sister – The Barbary Next Door – arrived next to it, I’ve been itching to go.

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LM and I headed to The Barbary Next Door on Sunday morning, without Izzy (thank you, grandparents) and propped ourselves up at the zinc counter, which seats only 10 and is backed by a distressed antique mirror and lime washed walls. It’s a gorgeously relaxed neighbourhood restaurant and wine bar in the heart of Covent Garden in Neal’s Yard, and takes its inspiration from airy Moroccan courtyards and backstreet Andalusian bars…

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The menu is packed with fragrant spices and smoky flavours of Moorish Spain and North African cooking, and includes an assortment of daily pastries baked in-house: Sfenj, Ras-el-hanout pumpkin bread served with a pumpkin and sunflower seed clotted cream, Milk bastille and vanilla anglaise… Savoury dishes include maaqooda, a Moroccan tortilla and aioli spiked with pickled peppers known as shifkeh and Bus Station Eggs – a dish of ‘roadside’ eggs and Merguez, eaten straight from the pan, which is exactly what I gobbled up. It was completely delicious.

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We loved sitting at the bar, chatting, eating and watching the chefs at work – I love being able to see the food being prepared – feels like a real privilege.

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This is the perfect place for a relaxed breakfast that packs an enormous punch. We loved it. We’ll be back. And we’re going to order EVERYTHING.

p.s. Booking recommended!

The Barbary Next Door
16a Neal’s Yard
Covent Garden
London, WC2H 9DP

*We were guests of The Barbary Next Door