Pontis Restaurant

3.5 stars! i would definitely come back.
saw their lunch deal and strolled right in! lunch deal 5.95 for soup (minestrone or soup of the day) and side (3 choices). got insalatona (very fresh) — which had avocado, 2 fresh olives, mixed greens, tomato, boiled egg, eggplant, red peppers — and it was delicious! also got mushroom soup (yum) and earl grey tea (bag not loose leaf) that comes with a tiny bit of biscotti. i don’t normally like salad, ever, but theirs was delicious! friend got tortellini piacent (spinach) which was okay. cute little location, good deal, and free wifi!

I used to regularly breakfast at the Ponti’s in Picadilly but now that has closed to make way for something else I had to find a new venue, and this modern café just off Oxford Circus is a gem. I’ve only ever had breakfast here, but it is always great, fresh and hot. As you would hope from an Italian family business the coffee is superb.
It’s comfortable, bright and airy and good value. There’s a pizza oven over there (points) but I’ve never had one, but they do look nice.

My husband, six-​year-​old and I all ducked in here one night after my husband left the office late. It was 8:00, we were all starving and we pretty much entered the first nicely lit, personable looking place we came to that wasn’t a pub.
Having not lived in London very long, we had no idea that Ponti’s was a chain. Now, I don’t have anything against chains in principle, but I do have something against paying £10 for £5 pasta. This was definitely £5 pasta.
The interior was very nicely done and had «ambiance», but the service was terrible. After our initial drinks order, no one ever even once came back during the meal to find out if we’d like another one. And they messed up my order and brought me the wrong food.
Also, I wish that the menu had made clear that the «bread basket» was going to consist of two half-​slices of bread and a whole lorry-​load of some sort of cracker. The crackers made the olive-​oil and balsamic vinegar they brought completely pointless.
I wonder, do they survive off of the random tourist that stumbles in? Or do they really have a dedicated following? All I know is that I don’t like mediocre food or bad service and I’m not willing to pay to sit in nice lighting.