Ave Mario is London’s new temple to pizza, cocktails, and good times.
And I say temple fairly literally, because new Italian joint Ave Mario takes cheeky inspiration from the Church to provide a heavenly dose of comfort food and good times. The latest opening from the Big Mamma team – who’ve already brought the obscenely fun Gloria and Circolo Popolare to town, along with delivery service Napoli Gang – Ave Mario is the group’s biggest venue yet, filling 7000 square feet of space with joyful Italian food. You can find it in Covent Garden from today, and there’s plenty to get excited about…
Ave Mario has its foundations in the traditional osterias of Italian, though with a few touches of Florentine glamour that’ll allow it to fit perfectly into the West End. They have three separate dining areas with their own individual identities, the biggest of which is a green and white Duomo-striped dining room, lit by a number of skylights. Downstairs, you’ll find a mirror basement room with serious 70s vibes, and featuring counter dining where Ave Mario’s pizzaiolos work their magic in front of you.
A cosy indoor courtyard boasts one of the restaurant’s two dining terraces (the other can be found at the front), and there’s a jaw-dropping bar with a bottle wall of 3500 spirits. (It’s not quite Circolo Popolare’s 20,000 bottles, but I still want it in my home.) Whilst Ave Mario won’t be serving the gloriously OTT dishes that are the hallmark of their sister restaurants, the food will still be a sight to behold.
Drawing on all regions of Italy, from Liguria to Venice to Milan, Ave Mario boasts dishes such as carbonara ravioli, filled with pecorino cream and crispy guanciale flakes, and cotoletta Milanese made with high-welfare veal. They’ll also have a photo-ready dessert to rival that infamous lemon meringue pie: this time, it’s a 60cm tall stracciatella ice cream cake, marbled with waves of chocolate spread. It’s enough to have you singing Avvveeeeee Mariiiiiiiooooooo all day long!
Find it at 15 Henrietta Street, Covent Garden, from July 2. Nearest stations are Covent Garden, Charing Cross, and Leicester Square.