Big Mamma heads to Birmingham for first regional restaurant

Big Mamma is to open its first UK restaurant outside of London in Birmingham at the end of this year.

 

The fast-growing group, known for its viral Italian dishes and gaudy restaurant interiors, has taken a site at the Paradise development in the city centre.

 

Its first Midlands restaurant will be named La Bellezza and is inspired by “the charming little trattorias found all across Italy”.

 

Big Mamma is known for its large London sites and the Birmingham restaurant will seat 150 indoor covers with space for 25 guests on a terrace.

 

Big Mamma co-founders Victor Lugger and Tigrane Seydoux said: "We are hugely excited to be coming to Birmingham, not only to be part of its incredibly vibrant restaurant community but to also bring our superb Italian products, which we spent 3 years personally sourcing from small family-run artisans, to another major European city.”

 

Lugger and Seydoux founded Big Mamma in Paris in 2013 and have since grown the brand to 26 restaurants across France, the UK, Spain, Germany, Monaco and Italy.

 

They have opened five London restaurants since 2019, when Londoners queued up to enter its debut site Gloria in Shoreditch (pictured below).

 

In 2023, Big Mamma was valued at £233m in 2023 when private equity firm McWin took a majority stake in the business.

 

Speaking to The Caterer last year, Seydoux said the group saw potential for more restaurants in London and was considering opening in Manchester.

 

Big Mamma’s success saw Lugger and Seydoux win the Restaurateur of the Year Catey in 2023.

 

Birmingham’s Paradise is also home to restaurants including Dishoom, Albert’s Schloss, Rosa’s Thai Café and the experiential F1 Arcade.