‘It’s just Frankie & Benny’s for rich people’: Italian restaurant chain loved by middle class diners faces backlash over ‘overpriced mediocre meals’ and claims eateries are overrun with influencers
When the doors to the over-the-top Italian restaurant Gloria first opened in Shoreditch in 2019, the cool and hip set of the capital rushed to indulge in fresh, homemade Neapolitan pizzas and pasta amid quirky, vibrant decor.
Soon, other sites followed, Jacuzzi in Kensington, Carlotta in Marylebone, Circolo Popolare in Fitzrovia, Ave Mario in Covent Garden and Barbarella in Canary Wharf, and no outing for middle class diners wanting an experience a cut above Pizza Express was complete without a booking at one of the trattorias.
The French-owned Big Mamma restaurant group – which started its Italian restaurant chain in Paris in 2015 – then set its sights on Birmingham, opening La Bellezza in 2024.
Its second location outside of London was in Manchester in 2025, with the launch of Circolo Popolare.
And with each opening, the buzz surrounding the restaurants grew, despite the prices being rather more expensive than other chains.
Meals at the restaurants range from a truffle pizza for £21 to a crab tagliarini for the same cost or a lamb pasta for £19.50, while their ‘must-have’ dessert, a lemon pie, is £8.50 and cocktails are priced between £11 and £16.
But the tide seems to be turning. Some recent reviews on social media and Tripadvisor complain of a playground for ‘wannabe socialites’ and ‘all style over substance’, with critics claiming the eateries have been ‘designed for Instagram, over taste’.
Others slammed the ‘mediocre meals at premium prices just because the lighting is cute’ and said their experience was filled with young women posing for their social media pages and blocking main staircases and seats for the perfect snap.
A woman poses up a storm as she enjoys an Italian dinner at one of the Big Mamma restaurants in London
A quick scroll on Instagram confirms that plenty of diners looking for a social media-worthy picture have used the vibrant decor of the restaurant and the appealing-looking food as props for their photoshoots.
But for some, the eccentric, eye-catching interior design of the chains hasn’t distracted from the ‘average’ food.
One person who recently experienced Jacuzzi, in Kensington, negatively dubbed it the ‘Frankie and Benny’s for the well off’, describing how the ‘food was average at best’.
The diner wrote on Tripadvisor how their party’s steak was cooked wrong, before apparently taking too long to be replaced.
‘As a piece of busy, dining theatre, this works well. As a place to come and eat good food – definitely not,’ the person, who dined at the eatery in November, insisted.
‘£210 for lunch – four mains, three starters, two soft drinks and three glasses of wine between us. My impression of the quality of food was “Frankie and Benny’s for the well off”,’ they added, after noting that the ‘front of house staff were excellent’.
Another anonymous diner said Jacuzzi was ‘more style than substance’, claiming the restaurant was ‘full of 18 to 20 year old females who are posing for their Instagram or social media account, blocking the main staircase or mirrored [’70s style] toilets’.
‘Service is mediocre throughout. The whole vibe of the place is all about style rather than service,’ wrote the customer.
Jacuzzi, in Kensington, has proved to be a popular spot for those wanting to capture glam content for their Instagram accounts. Pictured, a diner posing at the location
A woman in a sheer sleeveless dress puts on a glamorous display at the chain in Kensington
They added: ‘Arrived 20 minutes early, to have pre dinner drinks and was greeted by a queue to enter restaurant. Followed by being turned away as there is no bar area! Thank you The Ivy for hosting our pre dinner drinks.
‘Upon dinner, starters arrived before drinks! And my wine was served in a beer half pint. Sadly, we won’t be returning and such a shame as I’d heard wonderful things about the Big Mamma restaurant group.
‘Those looking to be seen as a wannabe socialite, this is your place,’ complained the diner.
Another scathing review read: ‘Marginal at best. Okay food, lousy service and a restaurant that needs to get over itself. I hate to leave negative reviews but in London, there are lots of Italian options. Choose one of them.’
A fourth person, who went to the eatery this week, said: ‘The food was basic pizza and pasta. The decorations were garish.’
But it wasn’t all complaints for the food location, with one person writing how they ‘loved’ the chain, with its ‘lovely’ atmosphere and ‘probably the best interior I’ve ever seen for a restaurant’.
‘I would return and highly recommend,’ they added, while someone else said: ‘Delicious, the truffle pasta was amazing and very beautiful interior. Our server Elias was great, and very charming. A+’
However, Big Mamma restaurants elsewhere also haven’t been without criticism as of late, with one West Midlands based food reviewer, going by the handle iMallyUK, taking to Instagram in December to share his opinion of La Bellezza in Birmingham.
Dubbing the restaurant an ‘aesthetic scam’, the critic said: ‘I am fed up of aesthetically pleasing restaurants serving mediocre food and charging premium prices just because the lighting is cute.’
A woman poses with her cocktail as she enjoys a drink at the chain’s Manchester location
The bar at Big Mamma group’s Barbarella restaurant in London’s Canary Wharf
Showcasing the various parts to his meal, which included a £13 Solero Spritz, truffled crispy potatoes for £9, a £17 pizza and the lemon pie, as well as footage of the ‘cramped tables’, he explained how he went to the eatery for a birthday meal.
But instead, he insisted it ‘felt like daylight robbery’. He claimed the cocktails were more ice than actual alcohol and the food wasn’t ‘anything to scream home about’.
The critic suggested he could’ve easily made the meals from Gousto recipes, adding: ‘Do not be in a rush to come here if you value money. There are much better Italian spots out there that actually respect your wallet.’
Some of the comments on his post echoed his assessment, with one person writing: ‘I have to agree because my own experience was disappointing.’
However, others were delighted with the picturesque restaurant, with a diner saying: ‘I loved it here. Thought the place was beautiful, food was amazing and got a complimentary drink and card for our anniversary. Staff were lovely in my opinion.’
Manchester’s Circolo Popolare also didn’t escape similar criticisms of being a ‘place made for Instagram’.
A customer, called Susan, who went to the restaurant in October, claimed she had a ‘very, very disappointing experience’.
‘This restaurant is extremely overrated and the only positive I have was the decor,’ she insisted. ‘The food was below average, better meals have been had elsewhere for far cheaper; the quality does not justify the price in any way.
A quick scroll on Instagram confirms that plenty of diners looking for a social media-worthy picture have used the vibrant decor of the restaurant and the appealing-looking food as props for their photoshoots
‘It wasn’t even presented in an appealing way and the “spaghettoni” looked like mush. Additionally, we were left waiting for at least 20 minutes before someone asked us if we wanted any drinks and even then we’d had to call them over.
‘I’d highly recommend going to a different Italian that would have nicer food and better prices, this place is clearly just about the aesthetics for Instagram. Will not be dining here again and would not recommend it to anyone.’
Similarly, Polly, a customer at the Manchester chain earlier this month, claimed: ‘They are charging the same as The Ivy for the set lunch menu but there is no comparison.
‘We were initially seated at the back on the right but had to move because it was so cold. Our new table was plagued by fruit flies and the food was stodgy and uninspired. Really not impressed and certainly won’t be going back,’ she wrote in her review.
Another recent criticism of Circolo Popolare said it was ‘designed for Instagram, not for taste’.
The diner wrote: ‘Lovely looking place. However, that feels like it’s the whole thing. A place made for Instagram.
‘Food quality simply not good enough for price. Indeed, it’s clear that how the food looks is given more importance than how it tastes.
‘The menu makes a big deal of being largely in Italian but the food is far from real Italian. Everything is centered on how things look and the taste gets lost along the way,’ they claimed.
Some reviews were scathing in their assessment of the chain, labelling them ‘disappointing’
However, others were delighted by the restaurants, claiming they were ‘a feast on the eyes as well as your tastebuds’
‘There are far better Italian restaurants in Manchester where you won’t be served overpriced lukewarm pasta,’ another brutal takedown read.
But some customers left feeling impressed by their experience at the eatery, with one person writing: ‘A feast on the eyes as well as your tastebuds! Excellent night! We booked this for our anniversary and it didn’t let us down.
‘Great atmosphere, food was authentic and excellent, spoilt for choice really. All in all, a great night.’
One diner, called Theo, labelled the place ‘outstanding’, adding: ‘I loved every second, every mouthful. The mozzarella, oh my goodness, one of the best I’ve had if not better than some I had in Italy when I lived there.
‘Texture of the homemade pasta, perfect. Portion amount manageable but full of flavour. So impressed, a truly outstanding Italian restaurant.’
The Daily Mail contacted Big Mamma for comment.
