By Babylon Garden Affair
The most common thing we are asked at the door is some version of “where should we sit?” — and it is a better question than it sounds. Babylon is divided into distinct areas rather than one open floor, and the gap between the quietest and loudest parts of the same room is wide enough that two tables can have genuinely different evenings on the same night.
What follows is every seating area on the floor, what each is actually good for, and the trade-off you accept when you choose it.
The main bar — twenty-one stools
A long curved counter running the length of the room. Sitting here puts you directly across from the people making your drinks, which means you can ask a question and get an answer without anyone crossing the floor.
The trade-off is conversation. A row of stools puts your group in a line rather than a circle, so it works beautifully for two people and poorly for five. Bar seats are also not reserved — they are first come, first served, which is worth knowing before you plan an evening around them.
Garden booths and garden tables
The greenest part of the floor, and the quietest part of it before ten. Booths seat a group facing each other, which is the arrangement you want when the point of the evening is the people at your table rather than the room around it.
This is the area we recommend most often to people visiting for the first time, and the area that fills earliest on a Thursday or Friday.
The islands — ten of them
Raised seating arranged around the floor, each with a view of the stage at the centre of the room. The stage is positioned so that it is visible from every island, which is the whole reason the islands are shaped and placed the way they are.
Islands suit groups of four to six who came for the night rather than for dinner. You are in the room rather than beside it.
VIP tables — ten
More separation than an island, without being enclosed. A middle option, and usually the right one for a group that wants its own space but does not want to feel sealed off from the evening.
VVIP booths — three, along the west wall
Enclosed booths, positioned beside the DJ booth. Being this close to where the night is run is the point of them, not a drawback — but it does mean they are the wrong choice for a table that wants to talk.
There are only three, and on a Friday they are spoken for well in advance.
Private rooms — two
Properly separate rooms rather than a screened-off corner of the floor. Because they exist, a private booking does not have to mean taking the entire venue — a smaller group can have a genuinely enclosed evening without paying for a room built for three times their number.
The cigar lounge
A quieter corner set off the main floor. Its most useful function is not the obvious one: it is where a table goes when the room has become more than they wanted, without the evening having to end.
Small practical things
- Restrooms are on the west side, past the garden booths. A second set sits beside the private rooms.
- The photobooth is tucked beside the garden tables.
- The bottle collection sits behind the east tables — walk past it before you sit down.
- There is a second exit on the west side of the floor.
- The kitchen is open from noon until late and serves every floor, so where you sit never limits what you can order.
The short answer
Two people who want to talk: a garden booth, before ten. Two people who came to drink: the bar, any night. Four to six who came for the night: an island. A group that needs its own room: ask about the private rooms rather than assuming you need the whole venue.
And if you are unsure, say so when you book. Telling us what the evening is for gets you a better table than naming an area you read about.
