Carlotta

Dining at Carlotta is like heading over for dinner at a family member's home, with its perfectly mismatched crockery, staff that seem genuinely happy to chat to you, and the kind of portion sizes that you’d only find at your grandparents house. Whilst it’s been branded as an intimate addition to the Big Mamma Group, there’s still the classic grandeur that runs throughout all of their restaurants - think large red leather booths, marble table tops and what can only be described as a maximalist bathroom (they’re not fooling anyone here).

The starters set the tone for the evening, with each dish managing to hit the sweet spot of intensely flavoursome without becoming overbearing. There are garlicky razor clams, rosé veal tartare with salsa tonnata and smoky stracciatella with confit tomatoes and basil, each transporting us from an overcast Marylebone to the sunny climes of Naples.

All dishes here come with a certain level of Instagram appeal, whether it’s the truffle alfredo that’s mixed tableside and embellished with shavings of fresh truffle, or the Carlotta wedding cake that looks like it was made for slow-mo reels. But Carlotta is more than just the aesthetics, because the food here is genuinely very tasty. The creamy tomato and vodka pasta with Cornish crab and clams was a well balanced mix of rich sauce and fresh, light seafood, whilst the lamb chop Milanese came as a perfectly cooked plate of meat that was only improved by the addition of cheese and a crispy exterior (perfect for dunking into the roasted pepper cream).

For wine, you’ll find an entirely Italian menu, apart from an organic, carbon neutral Champagne that has been granted as the exception to this rule. Rogue? Perhaps. But we admire the commitment to only offering the best.

There’s no doubt that Carlotta is a space for indulgence, but we can’t think of a better restaurant to immerse ourselves into a sea of carbs, whilst inevitably undoing a belt buckle or two.

After the all-conquering success of restaurants like Gloria, Circolo Popolare and Jacuzzi, Big Mamma Group returns with a fifth site (sixth if you count pizza-slinging takeaway Napoli Gang). Big Mamma Group has become famous in London for opulent, kitschy interiors and extra dishes, and Carlotta provides more of the same fun, though the group claims that it is ‘a more tempered down spot’ than previous openings.

Sitting pretty on Marylebone High Street, Carlotta is a little more sultry and intimate than the group’s other restaurants, providing lots of unique nooks and crannies around the restaurant and terrace for couples and Instagram-happy influencers. That said, you can still expect plenty of marble, leather and suede throughout, and a good dose of maximalism from the long, skylit dining room. The restaurant also has a large ruby red terrace that will no doubt be packed during the aperitivo-heavy summer months.

Exec chef Armando di Costanzo takes charge of a menu that delves into traditional Neapolitan and Sicilian dishes. Carlotta’s menu will also go big on large meat and fish cuts cooked over an open grill - new ground for Big Mamma’s restaurants - with all produce provided by Phillip Warren Butchers. The menu features retro classics like rose veal tartare, shrimp cocktail, as well as the likes of penne alla vodka with Cornish crab and smokey lamb arrosticini skewers.

Big Mamma are experts when it comes to extreme desserts, and Carlotta continues the trend with a giant ten-tiered choco fudge cake. Meanwhile, a drinks list includes a wide range of big, bold Italian wines, as well as classic cocktails like whiskey sours and martinis, plus all your favourite aperitivo sips.