Sophomore efforts are a tricky business, especially when your first hit was Gloria, a smash-hit Italian eatery known for their elaborately over the top dishes. Still, the Big Mamma team definitely pulled it off a second time when Circolo Popolare opened their Fitzrovia spot back in summer 2019. They’ve been serving up pretty awesome food ever since, and have nabbed the (unofficial) crown for Most Instagrammable Restaurant In The City.
Circolo Popolare brings the style of the Sicilian coastline to Rathbone Square in Fitzrovia, with an armada of plants, lights festooned everywhere, and 20,000 bottles of booze lining the walls. Yes, 20,000 bottles. As you can see from the pictures, the effect is right in the Gloria wheelhouse of OTT-ness, creating a rustic Italian restaurant with enough booze to make the leaning tower of Pisa even more wobbly.
Somewhat presciently, they also have a 60-seater outdoor terrace was in plentiful use when dining was restricted to the outdoors back in the post-lockdown days of 2021 – and if they can bring sunshine as dazzling as their food, we’ll be pretty chuffed. Speaking of which, whilst there may be a different name, different food, and different décor to Gloria, the intention remains the same: laudably outlandish dishes that leave you utterly stuffed.
Whereas Gloria was more of a catch-all Italian joint, Circolo Popolare focuses on the cuisine of Sicily and the Mediterranean, with small, easily-digested plates like their metre-long pizzas on offer. Other dishes include Sfoglia Norma — gigantic sheets of pasta topped with tomato and aubergines — and pork skewers al Arrabiata. Dessert evokes the ludicrous spectacle of Gloria’s lemon meringue pie, with the ‘OTT 1L Sundae’ featuring coma-inducing amounts of ice cream and giant cookie chunks.
They’ve also got a cracking brunch menu, featuring ‘classics with a twist’ like the Full English the Italian Way with fried egg, Tuscan pork sausage, beans from Pigna, roasted tomato and crispy layered potatoes, and Avocado Toast with stracciatella. We tried the Dirty Veggie Plate which is very similar to the Full English but with portobello mushrooms in place of sausages, and the Scrambled Eggs with added truffle (trust me, it’s worth it). That said, the people on the table next to us had The Big Boy French Toast and that looked absolutely insane. Can you recommend something without having eaten it yourself? Cos I think I just did.
Circolo Popolare is basically an overwhelming assault on literally all of your senses. La dolce vita has never been quite so extra, and we’re very into it!
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Also published on Medium.