Dinner at Babuka
An evening built
around the fire
Seven courses, one open kitchen and a dining room that runs at the pace of the food. Fine dining without the ceremony, served from six until late.
Our story
Twenty eight years of cooking the same way
Babuka began as a twelve seat counter with a single grill. The dining room that grew around it kept the same idea: cook over real fire, buy from people we know by name and let the ingredient lead the plate.
The evening menu changes with the season and with whatever the harbour boats land that morning. Our team writes it by hand each day, so no two months at Babuka taste quite the same. What does not change is the pace of service, the depth of the wine list or the fact that the kitchen is in the room with you.
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Years on Harbour Lane
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Local suppliers
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National awards
The tasting menu
Eight plates, one evening
Served from six until ten. The full menu changes with the season; this is how it reads tonight.
$96 per guest · wine pairing $54
Reserve the tasting menu
9 awards
Since opening night
Behind the pass
Marcus Adeyemi, executive chef
“A tasting menu is not a performance. It is eight chances to give someone exactly what the ingredient deserves, in the right order, at the right temperature.”
Marcus opened the first Babuka counter in 1998 and still walks the harbour market every morning before service. Twenty two years of open fire cooking have shaped a kitchen that treats a whole turbot and a plate of fries with exactly the same seriousness.
Open fire cooking
Every protein on the tasting menu meets coal, wood or cast iron.
Whole ingredient
Trim becomes stock, stock becomes sauce. Nothing leaves the kitchen unused.
Read the full profile
Marcus Adeyemi
The experience
What an evening here actually feels like
Three things guests mention most often when they write to us afterwards.
From tonight’s pass
Featured dishes
Chef's Pick
Coal-Fired Ribeye
Thirty-day dry aged ribeye over white coals, finished with rosemary butter and sea salt.
$32.00
Chef's Pick
Portside Seafood Platter
Day boat prawns, oysters, dressed crab and smoked mussels with lemon and sea herbs.
$38.00
New
Ocean Bloom Sushi Set
Twelve pieces of nigiri and maki cut to order by our raw bar section.
$28.00
Dark Cocoa Fondant
Seventy percent cocoa fondant with salted milk ice cream and toasted buckwheat.
$10.50
Recognition
Kept honest by people who know
Awards are never the point of a service, but they are a useful reminder that the standard has to hold on a quiet Tuesday as much as on a full Saturday.
Our full history2026
Regional Restaurant of the Year
Newhaven Hospitality Awards
2024
Best Open Fire Kitchen
Coastal Dining Guide
2022
Sustainable Sourcing Commendation
Harbour Market Association
2019
Chef of the Year, Marcus Adeyemi
Newhaven Hospitality Awards
What our guests say
In their words
We have marked every birthday in our family at Babuka for nine years. The kitchen has grown, the welcome has not changed one bit.
Priya Raghunathan
Regular guest since 2016
The ribeye is cooked with real confidence and the wine list is refreshingly free of ego. This is a kitchen that knows exactly what it is.
Daniel Okoro
Food writer, Newhaven Post
Twenty two guests, one long table, and not a single detail out of place. The team handled dietary requirements without any fuss at all.
Sofia Marchetti
Booked a private dinner
The express counter gets me back to the office in half an hour with something that actually tastes cooked to order. Rare combination.
Ethan Brooks
Orders lunch every week
The room
An evening, photographed
Reservations
Dinner is served from six
We seat once per evening, so every table is yours for the night. Tasting menu bookings close at nine, and the a la carte kitchen runs until ten.
- Monday - Thursday11:00 - 23:00
- Friday - Saturday11:00 - 01:00
- Sunday12:00 - 22:00
- Public HolidaysClosed