What: A 'four-storied pleasure palace' in the heart of London’s Kensington.
Who: Jacuzzi marks the first West London opening for Big Mamma, the French-owned Italian restaurant group led by Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux. The pair exploded onto the Parisian restaurant scene in 2013 with their cult, quirky restaurants that were a breath of fresh air in the French capital, which had long been short on Italian casual dining options. They’ve since opened a number of lively trattorias there including East Mamma, Pizzeria Popolare and La Felicità, the last of which is claimed to be the biggest restaurant in Europe. Big Mamma launched in the capital in early 2019 with the opening of the 172-cover Gloria in Shoreditch. This was followed up with the opening of 300-cover Circolo Popolare in Fitzrovia’s Rathbone Place, which also opened in 2019; and the 295-cover Ave Mario, which opened in Covent Garden in the summer of 2021.
The food: Led by head chef Manuel Prota, Jacuzzi's menu features a typically indulgent selection of Italian dishes including starters of cured ham from Onesto Ghiradi served with gnocchi fritti; burrata with fresh seasonal truffle; and pizzette topped with truffle, caviar and bottarga. Mains, meanwhile, range from lobster risotto with half lobster, clams, red gurnard and cuttlefish; to a gut busting veal Milanese featuring high welfare rose veal cotoletta on the bone. There’s also a sharing plate of truffle pasta with fresh black truffle, truffle cream and parmigiano foam, which is prepared tableside in a 4kg wheel of pecorino; as well as numerous pizza options. Prices start low at around the £5 mark for some smaller plates and rise steadily with many of the larger sharing dishes ranging from £20 to £30 each.
The vibe: At 172 covers, Jacuzzi is smaller than Big Mamma’s previous two restaurants in the capital, but spread over four floors across a 4,000sq ft space, it still feels big. Very big. Described as a ‘pleasure palace’, it has the appearance of a stately Italian villa with a bougie, bucolic interior design that includes a botanical mezzanine with retractable glass ceiling; alabaster walls; and stucco ceilings.
And another thing: Never ones to stick to convention, the basement level of Jacuzzi features what has been dubbed as Big Mamma’s first 'disco toilet'; a characteristically rambunctious creative addition that comes complete with numerous glitter balls, a 'cove of mirrors', and even a karaoke cubicle.
Big Mamma has cornered the market in accessible, larger-than-life casual dining restaurants, but where does it go from here?
Big Mamma’s decision to launch their latest London outpost in the middle of January was without doubt a masterstroke. Jacuzzi’s spirited and affable persona provided the perfect antidote to the post-Christmas blues. And as is always the case when it comes to Big Mamma, the crowds flocked; a velvet barrier rope stationed permanently by the door to manage the inevitable queues.
Since arriving in the capital back in 2019 with Gloria, Big Mamma has somewhat cornered the market in creating accessible, larger-than-life restaurant experiences within the casual dining space. Even though all four of their restaurants ostensibly offer the same thing – albeit always in a slightly different guise – the hubbub they create suggests each one is bringing something completely new to the table. And the group’s ability to harness that clamour from London’s diners, who are always on the hunt for the city’s next big thing, continues to pay huge dividends for the brand. Even now, four years on, queues still regularly form round the block at both Gloria and Circolo Popolare; and good luck trying to get a last-minute reservation at Ave Mario on any given day.
Big Mamma’s success has certainly not gone unnoticed either, with others looking to muscle in on its territory. They include Richard Caring, who recently invited Londoners to ‘indulge in life’s riches and rarities’ with the launch of Bacchanalia in Mayfair (pictured below), which takes its cues from the booze-fuelled Roman festivals it’s named after and features a dining room full of 2,000-year-old antiques, giant sculptures by Damien Hirst, and a selection of Greek and Roman art.
Meanwhile, Glasgow is about to welcome its own 'flamboyant' Italian restaurant, called Oi Mamma, which is described as having ‘maximalist, interiors and extravagant Italian dishes’ said to honour ‘the strong, extroverted, and passionate nature’ of Italians.
Neither are likely to worry Big Mamma founders Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux – Bacchanalia, in particular, is arguably pitched at a more monied crowd. But the question remains, where does Big Mamma go next? Does it continue its focus on the capital, or does it look to spread its wings further afield? Afterall in France, where the group first made its name, Big Mamma has now expanded well beyond Paris to the likes of Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux and Marseille. It also has outposts across both Berlin and Munich in Germany. Who’s to say it couldn’t work in the likes of Manchester, Leeds, Portsmouth or Liverpool?
Time, of course, will tell as to what Big Mamma has up its sleeve. The group has previously mooted the possibility of opening a food market in London, under a similar model to its Paris-based La Felicità. There’s also its pizza delivery concept Napoli Gang, which clearly has the potential for scalability and currently operates a single site in Ladbroke Grove. Whatever it decides, though, Jacuzzi’s early hype once again demonstrates that Big Mamma’s grasp on the London restaurant scene remains firm.
94 Kensington High St, London W8 4SJ
