Mama Shelter opens in London

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French hotel group Mama Shelter makes its long-awaited UK debut in London today (2 September), with the launch of Mama London in Shoreditch.

Featuring 195 rooms, the hotel will be placing a lot of its focus on its neighbour-style restaurant with an ‘informal’ menu centred on large family-style sharing plates.

Dishes available at launch will include pork belly baos with char siu sauce, pak choi and hajikami ginger; and crab doughnuts with pickled cucumber; as well as brand favourite French staples such as coquillettes pasta with mostellos jambon and soft-boiled Burford Brown egg.

The menu will also have a Local Classics section ‘created to honour the food traditions of London’s East End’. It will feature a dish of pie, mash and liquor; and an East London iced platter with produce from the Essex coast including Mersea oysters, crayfish, jellied eels, pickled cockles and Bloody Mary mayonnaise.

The 100-cover restaurant will have an island bar and an outdoor courtyard, with the ‘tongue in cheek design’ including vintage lamps, Liberty prints, and chalkboard ceilings adorned with graffiti by graphic designer and artist Beni loys.

Mama Shelter, which was launched by Club Med co-founders the Trigano family in Paris in 2008, first announced plans to open in London in 2014 after global hotel giant AccorHotels bought a 35% stake in the business.

Targeting tech-savvy millennials, the brand has expanded worldwide in cities including Rio De Janeiro, Los Angeles and Belgrade, with further openings currently scheduled for Luxembourg, Dubai and Santiago.