Big Mamma Group to open its biggest London restaurant in Covent Garden
Big Mamma Group has revealed plans to open its biggest London restaurant in Covent Garden, called Ave Mario.
The 7,000 sq ft, 295-cover site at 15 Henrietta Street will open on 25 June, joining Gloria in Shoreditch and Circolo Popolare in Fitzrovia.
The venue has been inspired by traditional osteria (which in Italy refers to a place serving wine and simple food) and will have two terraces and a dining room with a 3,500-bottle wall at the feature bar, as well as a 1970s-style mirrored basement with counter dining.
Chef Andrea Zambrano, Big Mamma Group's youngest head chef at 23, has designed a menu beyond the group's classic dishes, including carbonara ravioli filled with pecorino cream, egg yolk and guanciale flakes, and Cotoletta Milanese, a fried breaded veal cutlet.
The pizza bases will be made using biga, a type of pre-fermentation used in Italian baking. Some dishes will use Italian Baeri caviar, and there will also be a 60cm tall Stracciatella ice-cream cake marbled with chocolate spread on offer.
Photo: Jean-Baptiste Strub