Pontefino, Gunthorpe

What can I say about a restaurant that chooses to advertise it's services using porn stars on Nottingham City Transport buses. It is truly a mixed up kind of place. On the surface, it is trying to be posh, but the veneer is truly just that and very thin.

With the exception of one person, the staff were rude, ill mannered, inattentive and it has to be said, snooty. This is a shame really, because if they were not, you might be inclined to overlook some of the other short comings of the place.

The decor is on the whole tasteful, but is let down by a lack of attention to detail. For example the menus are grubby laminated affairs, which would be more at home in a cheap pizzeria, as would the cheap paper serviettes they were using. Again, these would not be major issues, if it wasn't for the high brow effect they are going for and the fact they are charging top dollar.

We had the soup of the day, which was supposed to be vegetable, it was extremely salty and had a thick layer of oil on the top and was on the most part inedible. Both our bowls were returned half empty and although we were asked if there was a problem, we did feel inclined to tell them, given the previous attitude of the staff.

The main course of pizza was adequate, but to be fair, we conceded that we had both had better. Another member of our party had lasagne, which although it looked OK, was said to be bland.

I would sum the place up as a restaurant trying to be something it is not, despite its pretentious staff and high prices, the food was poor and the staff were surly, bordering on rude.

3 Jun 2011 23:54