Major Parisian Operators’ First London Restaurant Is in Shoreditch

Restaurateurs Victor Lugger, Tigrane Seydoux, and the team behind Big Mamma group’s La Felicitá, Pink Mamma, and six other businesses in Paris have confirmed reports from February that they will open a first restaurant in Shoreditch, east London. The restaurant will be called Gloria, the duo have confirmed it will be an Italian trattoria, in keeping with the rest of the group’s portfolio.

The restaurant will accommodate 160 covers over two floors and replaces Red’s True Barbecue, whose closure coincided with the early reports of Big Mamma’s acquisition at the start of the year. The owners want to design the restaurant in a manner that reflects the aesthetic of Capri in the 1970s, the glamorous heyday of the small island off the coast of Naples. About that chosen direction, Lugger and Seydoux said the design should be warm, democratic, and authentic. “We hate ‘faux-old’ and we like the feeling that from the day we open, it feels like it’s always been there.”

“We are moving to London because the city is an absolute dream for us,” the two added in a statement. “Now that we have built a team in Paris we feel we can cross the channel. It may sound silly to talk about fate, but that’s what we feel is happening here — to have found this great site.”

To try and bring an authentic Italian experience and to “transport” their guests, Big Mamma will “ensure all our products are directly sourced from Italy, from suppliers that [they] know and love.”

They say the Big Mamma project was born after a three year trip across Italy, which involved sourcing products from Emilia to Puglia. “We love Stefano Borchini and his incredible Parma ham, Emmanuele Cammarrota in south Puglia and his creamy burrata and Vittorio Calla makes the best n’duja we ever tasted.”

Everything, they say, will be produced in house, including fresh pasta and “strong, slightly bitter,” coffee which the company roasts in Paris. But gelato will be made on-site, as will Big Mamma’s home-brewed beer and limoncello.

Why? Because: “We do that because that’s how they do it in Italy. Plus it’s way more fun and ensures we have kick-ass quality and 100 percent traceability. Our entire team is young, gutsy, passionate and Italian, and to us — that’s what matters most,” they say.

Shoreditch and Old Street is a restaurant neighbourhood reenergised in 2018. In the past twelve months, new openings have included Smoking Goat, Brat, St Leonards, Leroy, Nuala, Passo, Blacklock, Two Lights, Mãos, Cecconi’s, Rascals, The Frog, and Mikkeller. Pachamama East is due to open in two days.