British GQ - 09.2019

● 40-41 Rathbone Place,

London W1.

bigmammagroup.com

Circolo Popolare, London

The Restaurant

The Recipe

Shoreditch ‘It’ trat Gloria too small fry? Meet its Fitzrovia follow-up

Back in February, a fun-

loving French company

opened an outrageously

over-the-top Italian trattoria in

East London’s trendy Shoreditch.

An explosion of Capri-inspired

colour, chaos and charm, Gloria

was the ultimate antidote to

the doom and gloom of Brexit

Britain, where every day felt

like la dolce vita. It was Insta-

fabulous with bells on. So how

do you top the most exciting and

extravagant restaurant opening

of the year?

According to one of the

cofounders of the Big Mamma

Group, Victor Lugger, it’s easy:

you’ve got to go large, be bigger,

brasher and even more OTT.

“Let me tell you something,” the

34-year-old says mischievously.

“One of our mottos is: if it’s too

big, it’s not big enough. And we

think that anyone who tells you

that size doesn’t matter proba-

bly has a small dick.” (You won’t

be surprised to hear that another

of his group’s mottos is: “We

Crab pasta

by Salvatore

Moscato from

Circolo Popolare

(Serves four)

Ingredients

80ml oil

300g crab meat

40g tomato paste

concentrate

600g ice

Method

Pour the oil into a

pan and once hot

take the brown

meat and legs

off a whole crab

(it should end up

weighing around

Ingredients

80ml olive oil

320g white crab meat

60ml Cognac

Method

Heat the olive oil

in a separate pan

Ingredients

150ml olive oil

25g garlic

15g fresh chilli pepper

320ml bisque

(from step one)

160ml hot water

Method

In a pan, heat up the

Ingredients

400g fresh pasta

Up to 10g bottarga

di muggine

Method

Boil the pasta until

al dente.

When the pasta is

300g) and fry until

it changes colour.

Add the tomato

paste concentrate

and stir.

Then add three

batches of ice,

200g at a time,

waiting until

each batch melts

before adding the

next portion.

When the bisque

(sauce) thickens up,

take it off the hob,

strain and set aside.

and add the white

crab meat.

When it’s piping hot,

add the Cognac.

Flambé for 2-3

seconds, take off the

hob and set aside.

ready, drain and place

in a serving dish.

Grate bottarga di

muggine to taste.

Add the bisque and

toss with the pasta.

Then take the white

crab meat, spread on

the pasta and serve.

Step one: The bisque

Step two: The crab meat

Step three: Finish the sauce

Step four: Assemble the dish

olive oil with the

garlic and fresh

chilli pepper.

When this is hot, add

320ml of the bisque.

Add the hot water.

Keep on the hob for

1 minute.

are serious about food, but not

serious about ourselves.”)

Big Mamma Group’s new restau-

rant, Circolo Popolare, is certainly

well-endowed. With 280 covers,

plus space for another 60 on the

outdoor terrace, it measures 835

square metres and is every bit as

flamboyant as Gloria. The interior

features more than 20,000 bottles

on the shelves, beautiful lighting

and forests of foliage. Almost all

of the staff are Italian, the food

is affordable, filling and delicious

and the vibe is something like a

Summer wedding in Sicily.

“We want people to fall in love

with us and have a great time,”

Lugger explains. “At the moment,

things are going great and we

feel we can do anything, but it’s

because we think carefully about

every detail, work hard and have

fun with everything. If we aren’t

having fun, how can we expect

our guests to?”

And if you don’t have fun at

Circolo Popolare, you won’t have

fun anywhere. PH Illustration

Joe McKendry

Photograph

Pixeleyes

09-19TasteRestaurant.indd 132 01/07/2019 10:15

120 GQ.CO.UK SEPTEMBER 2019