Mamma Mia!-themed restaurant planned for London

A site near Waterloo has been earmarked for a restaurant themed around the Mamma Mia! musical.

Mamma Mia! The Party has been operating in Stockholm since 2016. Guests are served Mediterranean food and drink on a ‘set' replicating a Greek taverna while ABBA songs are performed by singers around them. The immersive dining experience could be coming to the capital subject to council approval.

Lambeth Council planning committee has granted permission for a temporary development at 108 Stamford Road to house the show for five years, and was set to vote on the proposed visitor management plan yesterday, however deferred the decision until next month for further consultation to take place. The planned venue will accommodate approximately 520 visitors per show.

After failing to find an adequate existing and available venue in London, the team settled on the vacant site owned by Coin Street Community Builders, which was formerly an office for Boots and has been vacant for several decades. The building would be covered in a ‘shimmer cladding' facade of blue and green discs that ripple in the wind.

Björn Ulvaeus, a former member of the Swedish band ABBA and co-composer of the musical, is behind the plans.

Campaigners have requested permission to apply for a judicial review opposing the approval arguing that the site should have been considered for affordable housing.

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