Eat & Drink
Originally published on Tuesday, 26th May 2009
Mambo Italiano
Once upon a time, long before Carluccio's existed, going 'up West' for the day with my mum meant refueling at Ponti's, mid-shop, with a frothy coffee and a slice of Madeira. Even then, to my eleven-year-old-ish sensibilities, the Italian café chain managed to feel both vaguely exotic and stuck in the Fifties.
So I was mildly intrigued to hear that two of the branches had been upgraded to 'Ponti's Italian Kitchen ', complete with posh table service and trendy bare brickwork. For old times’ sake, I'd love to say it was a make-over worth making but, as I discovered last week, at best the place has moved into the Sixties, with trad favourites like calamari and lasagna… which is fine if you're a 'food as fuel' kind of person but I can't help feeling they could have done better – although the service from the smiling waiters was faultless.
If you love real Italian food and atmosphere you'd do far better to head up to Arjun Waney's new Il Baretto in Marylebone, where you can either go for fragrantly wood-baked pizzas or pastas like tagliolini with langoustines (surprisingly reasonable) or serious mains like whole salt-baked sea bream (pricier) all of which have been made with so much amore that I'm surprised the chef has a heart left. And the buzz is the type you usually only get in the hippest places in Rome or Florence; a little bit flashy but still molto cosy.
Cosi cosi or 'Mama mia!' - the choice is yours.
Ponti's Italian Kitchen - 54 Duke Street, W1K 6JN
Il Baretto - 43 Blandford Street, W1U 7HF