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Design restaurants you need to know: Ave Mario, London

In our series of restaurants with stunning interiors for design lovers, Effect Magazine searches the world for beautiful eateries which have elevated the senses through exceptional attention to interior design. This week, we visit Ave Mario in the heart of London’s Covent Garden

With its kitschy interiors and pun-laden menus bursting with comforting Italian dishes, Big Mamma Group is no stranger to the appeal of Instagram-worthy restaurants when it comes to drawing in the crowds – its bustling outposts in Paris, Lille, Lyon, Bordeaux, London and Madrid are testament to that. Its newest opening in the British capital is perhaps its most daring yet – an impressive 7,000-square-foot space in the heart of Covent Garden defined by Murano globes, Fiorucci posters and a distinct Venetian jewelled colour palette that screams good times.

“With Ave Mario, we wanted to create the feeling of entering the Duomo di Siena: authentic, punchy, beautiful, multi-layered Italian interiors, unpredictable, and always with a surprise,” explains interior designer and head of in-house studio Apolline Lugger. “The cathedral-style stripes in the main dining hall are cool rather than overpowering because the shade of green is not garish – in fact, it’s so rich and dark it often looks black.”

We wanted to create the feeling of entering the Duomo di Siena: authentic, punchy, beautiful, multi-layered Italian interiors, unpredictable, and always with a surprise.

Apolline Lugger, interior designer

As with all Big Mamma restaurants, a myriad of 3,000 liquor bottles line the walls in the main dining room – “we love the colours, chaos and Italian charm they bring to the shelves,” says Lugger. Head out back to discover a space resembling an al fresco courtyard style of dining, with gingham table cloths that offset the terracotta flooring and bring a dash of Tuscan warmth to a cold, rainy London night.

As for the basement, expect a technicolour space complete with unique 1970s-style banquette sofas designed by the interiors team themselves. “We worked with various French fabric houses and mills in North London to create the perfect orange for the room,” adds Lugger. “It’s playful, matches the carpet, and if everyone were to dance on it, it would still survive.”

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