Not resting on their laurels, having only just opened Jacuzzi in Kensington, Big Mamma are getting ready for their next restaurant, Carlotta in Marylebone.
While Big mamma is known for delivering extravagant restaurants with a party feel, they say that with Carlotta they're looking to tone things down a little. The restaurant is being touted as having more of a loungey feel with a focus on being a little more relaxed than their other openings.
As originally spotted by an eagle-eyed Hot Dinners reader (thanks Zac), they're taking over what used to be The Natural Kitchen, a space that seems closer in size to Gloria than the behemoths like Ave Mario or Circolo Popolare.
The main area will be a skylit dining room with leather furniture and booths with apparently a soft suede ceiling and a small marble bar area. As with all the Big mamma restaurants, different areas of the restaurant will have a different vibe with the basement being called a "80s midnight blue velvet paradise".
As for the food, this time it'll all be about traditional Neapolitan and Sicilian classics with an Americano twist. In charge is Chef Armando, originally from Napoli and who's cooking is inspired from his Nonna's trattoria in the 50s. So we're told to expect a focus on retro sauces, seafood and barbeque. Promised from the menu so far will be rosé veal tartare, tempura shrimp cocktail, penne alla vodka with Cornish crab and lamb arrosticini skewers, a speciality from Abruzzo.
As ever with a Big Mamma restaurant, there will be a supersized dessert. Here it's promised as a "giant ten-tiered choco fudge cake". So you can expect to see that around the room and adjust your intake if you want to save some room for it.
So in all, a little different from the Big Mamma restaurants so far - but it'll still be an instant hit, we think.
More about Carlotta
Where is it? 77-78 Marylebone High St, London W1U 5JX
When does it open? May 2023
Find out more: Visit their website or follow them on Instagram @bigmamma.uk.
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