Ponte, Birmingham

I don’t know if the owner recognises me but he is asking a lot of questions. How is the focaccia? Is the wine okay? What do I think of the menu, the pasta, and the pizza? I answer, mostly, in nods and half smiles, telling him on one occasion, half-jokingly, that I am difficult to please. Sophie says that my face is incapable of lying. He tells me that he wants the truth, and, quite brazenly, that he wants “the worst reviews in the world now so that they can get better”. Okay, the focaccia needs a lot more olive oil, the negroni needs a better vermouth, the wine list needs to lean into the more interesting bits of Italy, I hate the generic Italian pop music, the interior already feels a decade old, the portions are way too big and the pizza base needs a slower, more consistent, proving. Happy? I can carry on with the rest of my review now. And that is everything negative I have to say about Ponte out of the way, because it’s actually quite sweet and they are clearly trying very hard to…