Lunch at Carlotta

This Big Mamma Group spot is a cracker

Seems you can’t swing a handbag in London without careering into one of Big Mamma Group’s restaurants. One I haven’t visited yet, is the delightful Carlotta – Italian inspired and situated in the heart of Marylebone Village.

We were hunting for spots to go for a Christmas work lunch and decided there was no better time than any to visit the latest hot spot. Surely it would be a bit less busy. How wrong we were, busy it was, but in that wonderfully nostalgic way. Around us people were having long, boozy lunches on a Friday again, hurrah!

When seated, our preppy and smiley waitress helped guide us through the cocktail menu. We’d seen many a TikTok on the beautiful mixology and decided to indulge with variations on Negronis, Aperol Spritz and a Dirty Martini for me – naturally. The martini was fantastic. In fact, I’d had one at Soho Farmhouse days before, and whilst you really can’t knock the Soho Farmhouse (I really wanted to hate it, but alas I couldn’t), Carlotta’s martini squashed theirs.

We decided to share a selection of starters and went down the cheese route, it’s Christmas after all! We chose Pesto Burrata, which was a very generous portion, alongside a Truffle Camembert. The sharing style starter stole the show with a deep umami taste and generous lashings of grated truffle. The burrata was also very good with a crunchy crouton topping.

The mains boast a range of classic Italian dishes, think Spaghetti and Meatballs and a twist on an Arrabbiata. What stuck out most on the menu, which maybe explains why five of us ordered the same dish, was a Pasta Alla Vodka. To go one better, the dish was served with fresh Cornish crab and clams.

Portion sizes are certainly generous here and happily you get a fair share of crab and clam for the dish. I think the sauce could have used a touch more vodka, but this is coming from a Pasta Alla Vodka enthusiast – and perhaps I’m more liberal with the pour when making it at home…

We were full and pretty good to go, until our waitress literally insisted we have dessert, Thank goodness she did. We opted for a serve of the famous Carlotta Tiramisu and Vanilla Cheesecake. Vanilla cheesecake sounds boring right? My friends, you couldn’t be more wrong. Baked, sultry and divine, the silky cheesecake is served with ‘burnt’ vanilla and it’s quite literally the best pudding I’ve had this year. Go just for the dessert!

With its prime central spot, Carlotta is a great venue to tap up this week if you’re investing time into panic Christmas shopping. The interiors are classy and fun, almost a bit tacky, but in that good, home away from home way. I won’t tell you about the toilets, some things are best experienced as a surprise…

Find out more > www.bigmammagroup.com/en/trattorias/carlotta