If the thought of yet another exposed brick and bare bulb restaurant interior sends you running for the hills, Circolo Popolare is here to give you a gigantic, Italian-nonna-on-steroids hug. The second Big Mamma restaurant to open in London (after the wildly popular Gloria in Shoreditch), Circolo Popolare is huge, with space for 280 diners and a further 60 on its Sicilian-esque terrace.
From the 20,000 spirit bottles lining the walls (there’s a ladder to access them, old-school-library-style) to the veritable forest hanging from the ceiling, there is nothing subtle about this joint. Fun is the name of the game here – with pillowy-crusted metre-long pizzas, Insta-baiting carbonara served in a wheel of cheese and a lemon meringue pie as OTT as the decor. But it’s the atmosphere, the effervescent all-Italian staff and the unbridled joy of the place that has seen queues since it opened. For a birthday or raucous night out with friends, there’s no better place in London. 40-41 Rathbone Place, W1T ● Words by Jenny Tregoning