Ponti's Italian Kitchen — Restaurant in Sheffield

We visited in Aug 2025 and frankly, our meal was abysmal. All the mussels were stringy with no substance (you expect the odd one, but not ALL of them), the scallops were scarce and bland tasting. The meals in general were nothing to write home about (I could go in more detail, but I know this is a waste of time given the replies Ponti's have given to their plethora of 1* Google reviews!). The bill came to approximately £170 the three of us (two adults and a child), which is scandalous given the quality of the food and the service received. We were rushed to eat as well which made it an all ‘round miserable experience on what should have been a happy and memorable evening. We regularly eat Italian, it’s our favourite, and have tried many restaurants in our locality and further afield; both chains and independents, but this offering has been the worst by far. Definitely a last visit by us.

UPDATE* As you can see by their reply that they didn't even bother to read the review properly. I explained why I didn't raise it as not not spoil my daughter's special day further by ending it on a sour note (this is where I demonstrated my 'common sense') and I said I've been working away, which I noted. We salvaged what we could of the evening despite the poor meal. If it was a disappointing experience, I'm quite well within my rights to share this with prospective diners, regardless of when I post it as I wasn't expecting anything from it. Your response is typical and as expected. What we experienced (not what we FEEL we experienced) is not at complete odds with the feedback you've been given, there's plenty of low ratings/bad reviews. You couldn't just accept you effed up, no you'd rather call us churlish (no, I'm not rude or mean-spirited, I simply...

I've been to Ponti's a number of times and always had an enjoyable experience. However we recently enjoyed the meal & show experience that has prompted this review.

I've never been fussed about the idea of tribute nights. I always imagined they'd be a bit too cheesy to enjoy much less to make a long, dining experience out of it too. I was wrong.

FOOD It was a 3 course meal with a glass of fizz on arrival. My wife and I enjoyed every single element of our courses. I enjoyed the meatball starter, salmon & basil mash main whilst my wife also enjoyed the Burrata Croquettes & Tortellini main. Everything served was fresh made (including the pasta) and the desserts were also excellent.

DRINK Lovely cocktail menu done to a good standard. It was hard to choose one but we opted for the Whisky sour & Amaretto Sours. Very nice.

SERVICE We arrived a little earlier and the staff were warm & attentive. The food arrived promptly & to a high standard which is a huge compliment to any team mass catering for an event. Special shout out to all the staff but especially Arg for being accommodating and friendly throughout, it made the experience feel intimate & personal.

SHOW The upstairs room is an excellent function location. Good sized bar, classy décor and has a private balcony. The singer (Johnny Mack) was 10/10 in his singing ability but also his showmanship with the crowd. He created a brilliant atmosphere that got the whole room dancing and singing along. He was still going at 10:30pm when we left!

Overall - a wonderful experience. So much so we've pre-emptively booked the Elvis Presley night in February 2024 but I'll definitely return to the Johnny Mack/George Michael one again.

Thank you Arg, Jonny & the whole team for a top,...

Great Italian food but not an Italian meal experience.

An Italian meal is a 4 course (or more) leisurely experience. NOT a 3 course British Meal.

But only 3 stars? Why - Staff were good but service model is flawed:

'Antipasto is the traditional first course of a formal Italian meal. Usually made of bite-size small portions and served on a platter from which everyone serves themselves, the purpose of antipasti is to stimulate the appetite' (Wikipedia) - It is not a 'Starter'

At Ponti's the Antipasto Bruscetta portions are too large (order 1 for two people)

Also they will serve it with your starter course - so if you have ordered 4 courses (like we did) you have to eat your appetiser then your starter straight away otherwise the hot starter goes cold. This means you are too full for your Secondi! Which came only 5 minutes after our starter (We could not eat all of ours)

We raised this with the Manager who said this was the way they normally served. He offered us a complimentary desert. But our meal had been ruined.

Top Tip - be explicit with the waiting staff that you want the meal as 4 courses with time between courses.

Atmosphere - decor is nice, however accoustics are poor which means it is noisy, where we sat was like a corridor and with a private event in the 1st floor that means at least 60 people going passed your table.

Would we go back? Probably but not...