I had to admit up-front on meeting Stefano, who is both owner and CEO of the Ponti’s group, that I had never eaten in a Ponti’s restaurant before. I explained that my previous impression of this chain of restaurants was that they were canteen-like and not somewhere that I would necessarily want to spend time having a meal with friends. Of course Stefano understood exactly where I was coming. He said that the transformation of these two Italian Kitchen branches in central London marked the start of his vision for the future of Ponti’s.
To give a little background to where they are now, Stefano gave me a brief history to the family business. His father Pino effectively started the group when in 1963 he opened a cafe in Elizabeth Street, Belgravia. The food that he served there in the early days was broadly standard English, like full English breakfasts and hearty lunches. But, over time he started to introduce his customers to the delights of authentic Italian cuisine. Pastas dishes, Italian coffees and more were introduced to the menus, and it was this development shaped the future of Ponti’s. Over time the group grew with coffee/sandwich bars that were largely self-service, and from 2001 to 2007 they enjoyed a great deal of success with their Caffe Italia outlets at airports and shopping centre. But over time they began to see that customers wanted more than counter service and they started to experience cover decline. It was in 2007 that things began to change, the former CEO of Ponti’s resigned his position and Stefano, as owner by then, also took on the CEO role for the 18-strong Ponti’s/Caffe Italia group.
Stefano was keen for me to taste some of the desserts and of course, I was happy to do so. The Torta di Amaretti, a vanilla cheesecake that had a good crunchy base and a topping of crushed Amaretti biscuits was lovely. And the Torre di Meringa, a take on Eaton mess, was equally good with its layers of good fruity berry compote and cream with a berry coulis streaked meringue sat on top. A very good cappuccino finished off the meal perfectly.
All in all this was a great lunch, in bright comfortable modern surroundings and in good company; the 2 hours I was there flew by. The dishes I tasted had vibrant flavours and overall, I was favourably impressed. The question is; would I see myself going to a new style Ponti’s as a destination restaurant with friends? And the answer would be no. But there is a niche for them, Stafano sees Ponti’s as middle range restaurants serving authentic Italian cuisine and if the remaining 16 outlets in the group are up to, or close to, the standard of the Italian Kitchen, I see no reason why his vision shouldn’t be realised. If you were to ask me would I go back to a re-styled Ponti’s the answer would be yes. I could quite see Ponti’s as a place I would have lunch, or maybe a meal before (or indeed after) seeing a film or going to the theatre. The food is very good.
I wish Stefano the best of luck in making his vision a reality.