Ahead of its Dublin opening, I flew to the Milan restaurant to find out what we can expect …
Gloria Osteria is a new restaurant opening on Westmoreland Street in Dublin, the first Irish outpost from French restaurant group, Big Mamma. Even if you’ve never been in a Big Mamma restaurant before, you’ve likely seen their elaborately designed restaurants online. They have around thirty restaurants already across France, Italy, Germany, Spain, the UK and next Ireland; all with a curated, enviable format of reimagined Italian menus, beautiful interiors, and a very fun approach to eating out.
Gloria Dublin promises to embrace that well-known Italian glamour in design and dining, fitting for the grand 19th-century Westmorland Street building they have taken over. As Dublin eagerly awaits this opening, I’ve had a sneak preview of what’s in store, firstly by travelling to Milan to experience Gloria Osteria there, meeting chefs and suppliers to get a taste of what’s to come. Then, back in Dublin, I went behind the scenes to witness the final creative touches and meet some of the design team in the almost finished restaurant.
THE VIBE
If Milan is anything to go by, the interiors will be gorgeously over the top. Stepping inside, you’re transported from the everyday into a room of hedonistic decor, and Dublin should be no different. The design inspiration for all Gloria’s is 1970s Italian glamour dreamt up by Studio Kiki, the Big Mamma’s in-house design team. They eschew traditional restaurant interiors and instead lean more into a feeling of a plush residential home, according to Dubliner Chloe Townsend, who’s part of the Studio Kiki team. She’s thrilled to be working on such an iconic project that requires working around listed elements of the 19th-century building, including original wood panelling and brickwork. The fawn colour dotted throughout the venue, she says, is a nod to the deer in the Phoenix Park. There will be deep-piled carpet underfoot, and Gloria’s trademark Jacopo Foggini chandeliers will hang from the ceilings, and a sweeping 10-metre-long Rosso Levanto marble bar anchors the room full of specially sourced Italian antiques and art. White tablecloths will be standard on all tables, along with even more pops of colour from the quirky painted plates, and waiters will wear retro-style pink uniforms. Early word is that the most coveted seats will be at the bar looking out across the decadent dining room.
THE MENU
A room like this needs a menu to match, and that comes in the form of a long, delicious list of reimagined Italian classics made with artisan ingredients directly imported from their own suppliers in Italy, paired with some local Irish suppliers. Sharing antipasti featuring fresh Italian cheese, burrata and stracciatella, cured meats, and carpaccio will be popular. They do a signature starter of seasonal savoury tarte tatin – the winter version is divine with pumpkin and pecorino version with pecorino chantilly cream. Fresh pasta will be big business, particularly their one-metre-long spaghettone tossed in a creamy truffle sauce and the Girella alla Ossobucco, a long curl of ravioli stuffed with slow-cooked meat. Delicate risottos will be served properly on a plate. Not to be missed desserts lean into the fun element – tiramisu spooned out tableside or the impressive 6-inch-tall lemon meringue pie.
THE DRINKS
Italian-leaning cocktails set the tone here – think pre-dinner Negronis, spritzes, and martinis. The wine list should be a fun one to dig into, representing Big Mamma’s dual Italian French roots with plenty of bottles sourced directly through Big Mamma’s own Italian suppliers, meaning new names and vineyards for Irish drinkers to discover, from deep reds to crisp whites, sparklings, Lambrusco, and even an Alpine blanc de blanc.
THE PRICE
When you’re booked to eat somewhere like this, the tendency is to dress up and spend – and it will be the perfect place for doing just that. Although there will be plenty of choice on the menu, meaning you can go all out or keep things low-key. Either way, you should bear in mind that the prices are as much about the plush seats you’ll sink into and the dramatic decor that surrounds you as what is on the plate. They will be open for lunch also, which should offer a more entry-level option for eating in what is going to be one of the most glorious dining rooms in the capital.