Big Mamma, London's hottest restaurant group, isn't slowing down anytime soon. Since opening Jacuzzi in January 2023, a beautifully decadent restaurant in West London with a White Lotus aesthetic, they haven't stopped to catch breath before it's onto the next one.
Carlotta is an entirely new string to Big Mamma's bow. While the restaurants are known for their maximalist interiors and overstated decor, their fifth London outpost feels a little different. Of course, there is still lots of extravagance – bold design, dramatic visuals, indulgent touches – but it feels more sentimental than the group's previous endeavours.
The idea for each of the group's restaurants come from a distinct story or memory, which becomes the founding inspiration for the new site. For Carlotta, it was a blend of tales; part Italian-American family-run trattoria; part-underground New York drinking den; part thrill-seeking Italian family takes Las Vegas. The entire space is a personal homage to Italian culture in America.
On Marylebone's prim-and-proper high street, Carlotta's bright-red exteriors and giant gold lettering are hard to miss. Pull back a velvet curtain to unveil a gilded bar, complete with black marbled countertops, backlit bars and ancient stone busts found in an old Italian marketplace.
Head through the bar to arrive at the main restaurant. Some corners feel like they've been lifted straight out of an Italian ristorante in New York's Little Italy with red leather banquettes, dark wooden tables, Sicilian crockery and mismatched diner-style chairs.
Others feel like a rustic Neapolitan betting bar with backlit tables, crumpled posters of boxing matches, boxer shorts, vintage Gucci silk scarves and framed black-and-white photographs of historic boxing matches. Some inspiration was taken from Las Vegas wedding chapels – think 60s-influenced pink-and-green patterned carpets and giant pictures of Italian weddings, all starring parents, grandparents and family members of the Big Mamma team.
Descend a red-lit staircase for an entirely different dining experience. A sultry spin on retro, it's a moody suede lounge with low lighting, dark furnishing and a 1980s mirror-striped curved ceiling. This area feels more like a hidden Milanese drinking den, complete with a bustling open kitchen of clanging pans and gesticulating Italians adding to the whirlwind of recognisable comforting chaos.
In classic Big Mamma style, the bathrooms are part of the main design allure. Take your time on the staircase leading to the toilets: the walls are covered in old family wedding photographs from each member of the Big Mamma team. Red light bulbs emit a seductive glow, mirrored panels create a dizzying nightclub atmosphere, and neon lights with phrases like "PLEASE FLASH" and "THINKING OF YOU" beg for bathroom selfies. Plus, there's a Jesus effigy with freshly cast boxing gloves attached to his heaven-facing hands – what's not to love?
The food is as you'd expect from this restaurant group: giant plates of Italian classics, with extravagant twists. The fettuccine alfredo al tartufo is an indulgent affair served à la russe; the decadent penne alla vodka is topped with Cornish crab meat, chilli, tarragon and delicate clams, and the lobster comes drizzled in a beurre blanc with 20g of black Venetian caviar, accompanied with crispy cheesy layered potatoes (plus it's entirely de-shelled, an appreciated touch to remove any effort on behalf of the diner – it takes around 90 minutes to de-shell 20 lobsters).
The menu includes generations-old recipes from members of the team – the pasta alla norma, for example, is a recipe developed by Chef Armando's grandma, with homemade paccheri in a tomato sauce with roasted aubergines, served on a bed of ricotta al limone. Cocktails are suitably decadent – try the Rossini for strawberry-infused Amaro Savoia, cranberry juice and Champagne, or the Sunset Sour for Wild Turkey bourbon, Apricot Merlet, Primitivo wine, orange and lemon juice, and a herby dill syrup.
Carlotta may not be as decadently theatrical as its predecessors – its distinct chapters are revealed more slowly, as if the space is telling a story, peeling back like layers of Italian heritage spread across America. It's warm, inviting, familial and complex – a tiramisu of flavour, nostalgia and sentimentality.