DINNER AT MAMA SHELTER LONDON SHOREDITCH REVIEW

To begin to tell you about Mama Shelter, you have to know The Mama Shelter journey started with the launch of Mama Paris East. Founded by the Trigano family – Co-Founder of Club Med, Serge Trigano, with his sons Jérémie and Benjamin, and world-renowned designer Philippe Starck, Mama Shelter believed in launching in lesser-known, ‘out of the way’ neighbourhoods in iconic cities, allowing guests to uncover new and exciting cities.

Mama Shelter now has hotels across Europe, Americas, and the Middle East. The founding Paris property was followed by Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Los Angeles, Rio de Janeiro, Prague, Belgrade, Toulouse, Lille, London, Paris West, Luxembourg, Rome, Lisbon and Paris La Défense, with upcoming openings in Dubai, Bucharest, Rennes, Dijon and many more.

We visited Mama Shelter London Shoreditch(www.mamashelter.com/london-shoreditch/) last year to experience this dynamic and playful hotel (with it’s restaurant, bar, ethereal Garden bar, events, Atelier and karaoke rooms) ourselves.

Part of the high-energy Mama Shelter powerhouse portfolio of 16 hotels across the globe, Mama Shelter London Shoreditch is a truly inclusive urban refuge that is not only beautiful and modern, but also flamboyant, friendly and sexy. We loved the design, decor and vibe of the hotel. With its bright colours, funky furniture and fun artwork, everything is eye catching and exciting.

We’re told it’s a dog-friendly hotel which has 194 rooms, ranging from Small Mamas to Large Mamas; 160 cover restaurant with private dining room; cocktail bar; outdoor courtyard; state-of -the -art gym; two large event room Ateliers and a private meeting room, and dedicated workspaces. Pretty impressive, if you ask us.

While we can’t tell you what a stay is like… yet… we can tell you what it was like to eat there. When we visited last August, it was a little disappointing to find that the menu is not gluten free/ coeliac friendly. Despite this, my guest did manage to find three courses. She went with the salad to start, pork belly and creams brûlée, while I went with chicken schnitzel (a must have for an Aussie) and strawberries and ice-cream for dessert. The food was tasty but we’d love to see more options for dietary requirements.

While we didn’t try one of Mama Shelter’s Cocktails, we’re told that Mama’s experienced bartender’s can shake up your preference, with their signature cocktails including Mama’s Porn Star No 2, a twist on a Pornstar Martini or the Holy Smoke, a delicious and boozy blend of Jameson’s Orange Irish whisky, Jameson’s Black Barrel and Disaronno. Mama’s Jugs make the ideal choice for groups of friends, including the fresh-tasting, Into The Jungle. Friends who have been to Mama Shelter have told me I missed out by not trying the cocktails, so this will be the first thing I order when I get a chance to visit. Those who aren’t partial to a cocktail, can enjoy an extensive range of wines, beers and spirits, as well as a specially curated virgin cocktail list in partnership with London Essence Co. We opted for a bottle of Prosecco on the evening because you really can’t go wrong with a bottle of bubbles.