When Le Bab opened their first location in 2016, an iconic spot in the heart of SOHO at Kingly Court, the goal was to bring elevated kebabs to the masses.

“We’ve all worked in Michelin star restaurants, and we’ve all had this passion for dirty, naughty food, but we wanted it to be super tasty and fresh and work with local farmers and have this beautiful British produce and make it amazing,” shared Sam Brotchie, COO of Le Bab, the passion he has for food coming through in every word. “We want to bring the best of our knowledge into a dish that is quite humble.”

But, as many restaurateurs know, fine-tuning your menu and offering up the best quality food is only part of the equation. Having the right technology to keep your restaurant running seamlessly and provide a great guest experience makes all the difference.

As Le Bab continued to grow, currently offering their famous kebabs at six locations across London, their offering has become more bespoke and the restaurant experience more digitalised. The team at Le Bab realised they needed a technology partner that could connect all their operational needs, provide more efficiency, and deliver a better customer experience.

And that’s where Toast comes in.

Switching to Toast from an EPOS that just wasn’t cutting it

With Le Bab’s previous electronic point of sale (EPOS) system, Brotchie and the team were left in the dark when it came to reporting.

“Some of the challenges we’ve had with our past system have mainly been around reporting and having an overview of what’s going on in real time,” he shared. “As an operator with multiple sites, it’s really important that we have an overview of what’s going on and for our GMs to have a quick report at the end of the day.”

With Toast, Le Bab is able to dig into performance metrics to get the business insights they’ve been craving. Real-time data and easy-to-use daily reports keep them in the know. Plus, they can view performance on the go from any mobile device.

For Le Bab, the introduction to Toast started across the pond. “We actually discovered Toast in the U.S.,” Brotchie shared. “My partner Stephen was over there and saw the system in use. Once we knew Toast was in the UK we wanted to have that conversation.”

Building a fluid connection between front- and back-of-house with kitchen display systems and handhelds

Beyond the reporting, Le Bab was looking for an EPOS that would truly connect their operations.

“What we really want from an EPOS system is to make the communication between front-of-house and back-of-house as fluid as possible and also allow our front-of-house staff an ease of service,” said Brotchie. “What we’re really looking for is having a system that’s very quick to use so they can put their full focus on the customers.”

One way that Le Bab has done this is by implementing kitchen display systems, also known as KDS. Having a KDS allows everyone in the kitchen to have the visibility they need to prepare a top-notch meal, effortlessly. With all-day display and production item counts, back-of-house (BOH) staff can spend more time focused on preparing food and less time counting tickets.

“We’ve seen an increase in speed of service, especially in our site in Battersea where we are managing to turn tables in 35-40 minutes,” Brotchie reports. “This is thanks to Toast with their kitchen display and handhelds that are so efficient for our front-of-house team. It allows them to focus on the customer and has really increased speed of service.”

While results will vary from restaurant to restaurant, using handheld devices for tableside service has proven to be helpful in accelerating service and speeding up checkout. Brotchie added that, with their previous EPOS, “it would take at least an hour or an hour and a half” to turn a table.

Outside of the efficiency, Le Bab is also benefiting from increased insight on how the kitchen team is doing thanks to the KDS. “It gives us, as business owners, visibility on who is performing and who isn’t, and how we can get them up to speed to perform at the standard we want,” Brotchie added.

Hardware built for restaurants (and all the spills and battering that comes with it)

A restaurant environment isn’t for the faint of heart — and it certainly isn’t for fragile technology.

“One of the key benefits of this hardware is that it’s built for restaurants,” Brotchie shared. “It gets thrown around, battered a lot, and it’s really robust. Unlike when you have to use iPads and the screens crack after five minutes.”

Spill-proof, drop-proof, and dust-proof hardware is a must. With Toast, servers are no longer worried about a cracked screen or sopping wet tech, leaving them with more time to focus on the guest and deliver a memorable experience that keeps them coming back.

Looking forward to a future with Toast as a partner

The Le Bab team is happy with the results they’ve seen since implementing Toast, sharing that they would “definitely recommend” Toast to other restaurants.

“Toast is built for restaurants, so they get it,” Brotchie says, adding, “They get the struggles that we have.”

Of course, things aren’t always as straightforward as a kebab skewer. For those times when the Le Bab team needs help, Toast is ready with support, services, and training.

“Their support is amazing. Whenever we need them they’re there,” shares Brotchie. “We’re super excited to work with Toast and to have Toast as our partner. It’s a no-brainer to have that long-term partnership.”

Based on self reported results from 2023 comparing restaurant performance after switching to Toast with historical averages from performance when using their prior POS system. Does not account for confounding factors. Actual results will depend on several factors and individual results will vary.