Big Poppa’s

Since 2016, Italian joint Big Poppa’s has been proudly flying the flag for late-night dining and dancing in a city that’s not necessarily renowned for either. Upstairs is a mostly Italian restaurant, with a classic black-and-white look and some Chianti bottles around for character. Downstairs has more of a cocktail-bar-meets-nightclub vibe; enhanced by dim lighting and leather booths.

The main menu sports about a dozen options, more than half of those containing cheese. But things get really serious in the dairy department on the chef’s cheese selection – which might include anything from a French cremeux de bourgogne, a soft triple-cream cow’s milk cheese, to a pecorino il predicatore, an Italian semi-hard sheep milk cheese pressed with Tuscan grapes.

Springing for a couple of pastas is a very good idea here. The hand-cut pappardelle with lamb shoulder ragu has been a hit from day one, and seasonal options might include a pink peppercorn cacio e pepe featuring curly mafaldine. Other mains range from a hunters chicken to a hulking pork chop with Jerusalem artichoke, caper and sage brown butter.

Amazingly, you can partake in a few cocktails and drops from Big Poppa’s extensive, multinational wine list right up until closing time. But if you roll in early, there’s one hell of a happy hour in store.

Fair warning: you’d better like hip-hop. That’s mostly all that plays at Big Poppa’s, which is named after The Notorious B.I.G. track of the same name.