Got a birthday coming up, a christening to celebrate, a slightly special family get-together, or a work do to organise? And does the idea of hiring an empty hall, sorting out catering, decorations, crockery and clearing up at midnight already give you a headache? We understand. That’s exactly why more and more people are choosing to hire a restaurant exclusively rather than taking on a lengthy organisational job.

At Mamma Maria, la nostra trattoria in the heart of La Louvière, we regularly welcome entire tables of guests who want a proper evening out, with no hassle. We’ll tell you all about it in this guide: why it works so well, for which occasions, how we organise things together, and how to book your date.

Why choose an exclusive-use restaurant in La Louvière

Hiring a restaurant exclusively is very simple: you book the whole venue for yourself and your guests. We close the dining room to the general public, and it becomes yours for the duration of an evening or a lunch.

The advantage over an empty function room? Everything is already there. The tables are laid, the kitchen is running, the pizzaioli are at the wood-fired oven, service is taken care of, and the washing-up sorts itself out at the end. You arrive with your guests, settle in, and enjoy yourselves. That’s it.

Then there’s the atmosphere. An Italian trattoria is warm and welcoming by nature. The brickwork, the fairy lights, the smell of the wood fire, laughter rising gently over the antipasti… there’s no need to transform a cold hall into a pleasant venue: l’atmosfera is already there.

In La Louvière, right in the heart of Hainaut, we’re lucky to be easily accessible from Houdeng-Goegnies, Strépy-Bracquegnies, Haine-Saint-Pierre, Saint-Vaast, Maurage, Boussoit and Trivières. Guests coming from all over the region? Nessun problema, that’s exactly what we’re here for.

What occasions can you hire us for?

We welcome all sorts of life’s moments, and that’s what we love about our job. Here are the most common occasions:

  • Birthdays: teenagers turning 18, as well as 40th, 50th, 60th and beyond — la festa is our speciality
  • Christenings and communions: a lunch or dinner with the extended family
  • Family meals: reunions, end-of-year celebrations, gatherings of cousins
  • Hen and stag dos: the fun and food-loving version of hen or stag celebrations
  • Evenings out with colleagues: end-of-year parties, retirement send-offs, celebrating a project well done
  • Club meals: sports clubs, drama groups, choirs, social clubs
  • Receptions after a ceremony: small weddings, engagements, vow renewals

In short, if you’ve got people to bring together around a big table with good pizza and good wine, that’s exactly our element.

How many people can Mamma Maria accommodate?

Our dining room can be hired exclusively for up to 42 guests. That’s the ideal capacity for a large family or friends’ gathering: enough people for it to feel truly festive, yet intimate enough for everyone to still be able to talk to one another, raise a toast, move between tables and share a genuine moment together.

Fewer than 42? No problem either. We just as happily arrange exclusive hire for 25, 30 or 35 people. The dining room becomes yours, and the atmosphere adapts to your group. There’s no strict minimum: we discuss it together, look at the date, and work something out.

If there are fewer of you but you’d still like a space of your own, we can also reserve a large table for you without hiring out the whole restaurant. Tutto è possibile – just get in touch and let’s talk.

Planning a gathering of 20 to 30 people? Also check out our tips for organising a group meal in La Louvière.

How it works in practice

We’ll walk you through it step by step, because we know that organising an event for the first time can raise a thousand questions. With us, it’s very straightforward.

1. You give us a call

A quick call on +32 64 28 32 73, or a short email to mammamarianet@gmail.com, and we start chatting. How many of you there will be, on what date, for what occasion, and what would make you happy.

2. We pencil in the date

If the date is free, we’ll put it aside for you. If your date is already taken, we may suggest an alternative — especially for Saturday evenings, which get booked up fast.

3. We talk menu

We’ll suggest options suited to your group: antipasti to share, pizzas (including the 60×40 cm pizza, more on that below), and homemade dolci. If you have allergies, particular preferences, or vegetarians in the group, we take all that into account. We adapt.

4. A deposit to confirm

To definitively secure the dining room, we ask for a small deposit. Nothing complicated – just enough to secure the booking for both sides.

5. The big day: you arrive, we take care of the rest

You walk through the door at 40 Rue de la Loi, 7100 La Louvière, the room is ready, the tables are laid, and the wood-fired oven is already roaring. Buon appetito!

The 60×40 cm pizza: our signature for large tables

If you follow us at all, you’ll certainly have seen it. The 60×40 cm pizza is our signature dish, and it’s become the highlight of almost every exclusive-hire evening we host.

Picture this: we bring a long 60×40 cm pizza to the table, fresh from the wood-fired oven, golden and perfectly topped. The whole table gets up, phones come out, people film it, everyone claps. It’s a real moment. And then it’s shared: a 60×40 cm pizza easily feeds between 8 and 12 people.

We prepare it to order, so we need you to let us know in advance. Several 60×40 cm pizzas side by side for larger groups? We’ve done it before, and it’s quite a spectacle. Worth noting: our dough rests for 48 hours before baking, and we use fior di latte, San Marzano tomatoes, DOP Parmigiano Reggiano, and all our imported Italian products.

To help plan quantities and toppings, take a look at our guide to the 60×40 cm sharing pizza.

And what about the budget?

We prefer not to display fixed prices, because every evening is different. The number of guests, the choice of antipasti, the number of 60×40 cm pizzas, drinks, desserts… all of that affects the total.

What we suggest: give us a call, and we’ll sort it out together. We’ll give you a clear price range from the very first phone call, based on what you have in mind. No surprises, no small print, no jargon. We just talk it through simply, the way we would with family.

For more details, you can also take a look at our Exclusive Hire page and our FAQ, where we’ve gathered answers to plenty of the questions we’re often asked.

How to book

The simplest way is by phone. We’ll answer, note everything down, and secure your date.

  • Phone: +32 64 28 32 73
  • Email: mammamarianet@gmail.com
  • Address: Rue de la Loi 40, 7100 La Louvière
  • Opening hours: 7 days a week except Tuesday, 12pm–2.30pm and 6pm–10.30pm

We look forward to discussing it with you. A presto!

To tell us about your event, send us your exclusive-hire request, letting us know the date and number of guests.