The Ponte: LA Restaurant Review

When we started this project (Must-Visit Restaurants in LA), we knew there would be challenges depending on our schedules, but we vowed to keep the wheels on the wagon and here we are for our third installment. While we didn’t order our top 40 list, The Ponte definitely would’ve fallen into the top 10. With Food Network celebrity chef Scott Conant behind this high-end Italian restaurant and considering his reputation for pasta mastery, our expectations were high.

But then, we were thrown a curveball. When researching The Ponte, it seemed as if they had a slew of entrees in the $28-32 dollar range, which is in our $$$ range. However, I didn’t consider that my Valentine’s Day reservations might have come with a third wheel on our date: a fixed, four-course meal. Still, as we valeted our car and walked through their enchanting entrance at the back of the restaurant, we decided that our entire focus would be on enjoying this experience.

And. we. did.

If you’re not from LA, you might not realize that nearly every waiter/waitress in town is trying to make it big in the industry, aka Hollywood. As a result, you get a ton of really attractive staff that are really good at making you feel comfortable; from the smiles on their face to their ability to keep your glass of water full, the service here is excellent. They’re very clear in their explanations of the food, which wasn’t even that necessary with such a small menu. Oh, and it is worth mentioning that the hostess acknowledged our reservation as if we were some of their most esteemed guests. “Ah, Mr. Tucci, right this way.”

Not that you need such service to feel comfortable in such a beautiful place. We gazed into the well-lit and fancily decorated dining room, but were far from envious as we were dining under the cover of a massive tree with lights strung across it. The greenery on the walls and the surrounding stone made you feel as if you might just be tucked away in a small town in Italy, not in a concrete jungle. The only qualm was the proximity of the tables. It is a funny story that we’ll save for another time, but we were forced to listen to our neighbors the whole time, and it seemed like they stumbled into the wrong restaurant.

Now that we’ve established that the service and atmosphere were essentially flawless, let’s consider the most important part of any meal: the food. As we mentioned, there were few choices to be made, and in the interest of sampling everything, we ordered opposites for every course. Let’s compare each course, but first, acknowledge the quality of the ciabatta and eggplant caponata. While we could’ve used more of the caponata, it was potent with sweet and bitter notes punching through. The ciabatta was clearly fresh and soft as a cloud on the inside. Their olive oil was hardly as garlic infused as they claimed, but top-tier nonetheless.

For the first course, the salad of roasted root vegetables & burrata outshined the hamachi crudo. While the hamachi was clearly fresh and well-prepared, the dish lacked flavor. Only when you had a bite of that beautiful citrus (blood orange?) did it truly sing. Unfortunately, there were only a few small pieces so most of the time, you were having good sashimi. The salad, however, was a much larger portion and had more complex flavors. There were earthy and nutty tones from the squash, tang from the cheese and acidity all around. It was exceptional. 

For the second course (pasta), the agnolotti brought the flavor that the pomodoro lacked, although the pomodoro was cooked better. All the noodles were a perfect al dente, but the sweet robust body that you’d expect in a pomodoro sauce was missing. It was bland. The angolotti was far from bland, singing in overpoweringly rich tones that some might not be able to handle. We loved it and wanted to shove it down our throat as fast as possible. Sure, some of the pasta was overcooked, but we didn’t care. We’d take that sauce home in a jar and use it on just about anything.

Then we come to the main course, where I consumed one of the best pieces of meat I’ve ever had. Sure, the bronzino was nice and the skin was fairly crispy, but I almost can’t remember anything else about it since I was so laser-focused on that steak. I knew I was in for a treat when the waiter didn’t ask how I wanted it cooked. It was just a touch over rare, with a beautiful sear on the outside that gave it just enough textural contrast. The meat was clearly of the highest quality and melted in your mouth. If it needed any flavor, the jus all over the plate had it with plenty of salt and smoke. The potatoes, which were al dente themselves, provided a little more body to the dish and gave that final bit of textural complexity when you took a bite of everything at once. It was easily the highlight of the meal, but I’m surprised I didn’t die from lack of oxygen as I ate it without breathing.

As you may know, we’re not huge fans of dessert, especially when we’ve already had to unbutton our pants to make some more space. Still, we appreciated what was going on in the panne cotta and chocolate cake. The panne cotta was well-prepared to the perfect consistency and the basil syrup really stole the show. It was floral and sweet, but not overpowering and definitely a refreshing end to the meal. The cake was, however, a much heavier end to the night as it was relatively dense and the plate was inconsistent in quality. While the chocolate crunch scattered on the bottom of the plate was a joy to eat with the cold and creamy gelato, the icing on the cake tasted extremely artificial. I can’t even think of the right word to describe it, but we didn’t eat it.

An expensive night, but they do serve you large glasses of wine and delicious cocktails with a smile on their face in this beautiful outdoor patio, so we’d love to return and try their regular menu. Grazie mille! And as always, stay hungry and fit!

**Apologies for the lack of high-quality pictures. This restaurant wasn’t quite the place to take light-up/click pictures.