A really nice Italian restaurant near the London Bridge right along the Thames River. It's honestly one of the best Italian places I've had, at least in the pasta department. We had 5 people and there were 5 pasta choices so I called all 5 so we could try them all out. They were all great in flavor, pasta was al dente, and thus I have nothing to complain about. Can't attest to the other options, thus this post is strictly pasta speaking. I'm going to guess the pasta were all made in house to achieve such texture and such beautiful al dente goodness. That, or they bought their pasta fresh rather than a dried pasta. Ravioli Ricotta E Spinach - A decadently buttery ravioli dish that is chewy but with the mild spinach ricotta filling. Get this if you love ravioli elevated. Risotto ai funghi - Very very mushroomy for those who love mushrooms. If you are a huge mushroom fan, this is one of the most mushroomy risottos I've had in my life. Get this if you are that person. La Lasagne - A good home lasagna. Not the cheesy Brooklyn New York kind but the kind you probs find in someone's Italian grandmother's home cooking. A good comfort dish for those looking for a familiar staple. Pacheri- A good meaty sauce on top of some really nice al dente thick chewy dish. If you really like your pasta and the luxurious dough, this is the dish to get to really appreciate this place's good quality noodles. Also has a nice kick to their sauce which keeps this dish interesting. Linguine allo Scoglio - A good pasta tomatoey dish with seafood. There's a slight spicy kick to this dish which is pleasant bc I feel sometimes seafood dishes either err too close to fishy, too tomatoey or the pasta comes out too soft bc it soaked up all the sauce and you're left with soggy noodle seafood dish. The spicy kick keeps this dish, the pasta was perfect al dente, not too much sauce, and seafood was all well done. If you like a linguine fruits del mer type of dish, this is a good one with a spicy kick We came for lunch on a weekday and it was not busy. Service was decently prompt- all 5 dishes came out within 20 mins and they were all freshly made. The waiter was decently attentive- the other people around us seemed to be business folk hanging out over beers and light lunch wearing nice pressed blue suits discussing matters leisurely. Great view by the water btw and very good place to relax after your excursion on London Bridge read more

Beautiful setting on the Thames River, heart of London. Great food, great people watching too. We started with gin and tonic and an Aperol spritz (happy hour spritzes at the end of the week) then moved on to terrific appetizers and mains. I enjoyed the polpetta (juicy meatballs) followed by the tartella (fluffy round raviolis with ricotta-spinach stuffing--highly recommend). My partner had the calamari and then a fungi tagliatelle dish. We closed a out a great meal with lemon pannacotta and an almond-pistaccio cake. Fabulous. We will return. read more

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Most portion sizes are low, with a few dishes not including a base or sauce to round out the meal (the Salmon dish). Service was a bit uncomfortable and the restaurant decorated itself with Barilla boxes as if they're nice. It's nice being by the tower bridge otherwise should you sit outside read more

Came here for dinner one cold spring night! It is in a pleasant location and easy to get to where you can take the scenic route and walk along the Thames. We were greeted at the door and offered to the table straight away or, to have a drink at the bar. We opted for the bar as we were early. Here there is a selection of wine, beers, spirits and cocktails. We fancied a cocktail with whiskey but there was none on their list however they were more than happy to show off their skill and make one for us which tasted wonderful! At the bar we were also offered a selection of snacks including mussels, cheese and breads which we could eat as many as we liked. It started off as a fairly empty restaurant, by the time we left is was full and buzzing. Clearly we were just early birds. The service was attentive although they did forget our greens and the food tasted good. There is an outside seating area which I imagine is fought over when the weather is nice. read more

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This is one of a collection of expensive (and slightly touristy) restaurants on the south bank of the Thames just after London Bridge. It's technically Shad Thames I suppose and is definitely in keeping with the renovated warehouse and industrial yuppyness of many of the surrounding bars and apartments. The food is nice, it's pretty authentic Italian I believe and although I had a pretty standard dish last time I blame that more on my close minded, habitual ordering process rather than anything else. Risotto, if you're interested. The wine selection was actually really good though and we all ended up having a nice time. read more

Cantina del Ponte - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

Quite a letdown. Disappointing service (even for Europe) and bland food in an otherwise beautiful space. Located on the south bank of the Thames, Cantina del Ponte offers a standard menu and a set two or three course option. Dining with a large group for work, I gathered that no one was impressed with much other than the appetisers (soup of the day photo attached). My sea bass was properly cooked but ridiculously bland. The salad tasted like bits of rocket soaked in salt. The dessert course was served and it was clear that the gelato itself at melted and then been re-frozen as it was crusted in ice crystals; the pear tart tasted nothing of pears, just disappointing all around. Quite a lovely view of the river and bridge if it's nice enough to sit outside though, so your best option may be to enjoy a bottle of wine and the sights from the terrace. read more

Cantina del Ponte - Soup of the day - courgette and croutons, the only tasty thing on the menu. - Italian Near Me - London, XGL

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Only 3 stars? Really? Great staff, good wine, the food was delicious. It's good, really good. It's more 4.2/3 but really decent if you're in the area. The barman makes a good martini and the wild boar ragu on the pappardelle was rich and delicious. It didn't break the bank and I left very happy. read more

We had to flag down a man to ask for water after we had been at our table for 14 minutes. After another 10 minutes, we were still waiting for the water and nobody had asked for a drink order or to ask if we had questions about the menu. Then we left and nobody even noticed. The place was infernally warm and loud. Just don't bother. read more

I'm not sure what to say about this place. The location is fantastic and if you sit outside you have a wonderful view of the Thames and Tower Bridge (hence the name). The staff were friendly and helpful, but the place was majorly let down. I started by ordering what I thought was a reasonable value set menu for £15.50 for a starter, main and dessert. The food wasn't bad at all, and although not the best I've had, I found myself wondering why other reviews had been so scathing. Then we got the bill, and had been charged £22.50 each for the set menus, not £15.50 as advertised. I had to go and query it with the manager who explained that we had been given the lunch menu instead of the dinner menu by mistake. The menus were identical except the price. He happily agreed to charge us the lunch price so all was well, but the mistake shouldn't have happened in the first place. I grow increasingly weary of this annoying tendency restaurants have to charge you more for the same food depending on the time of day. We should be aiming for a 24 hour society, not randomly introducing awkward rules for no reason! Anyway, long story short, the food was ok at £15.50 but for £22.50 each its a bit of a rip off and you're better off going elsewhere. read more

Since this restaurant is very close to where I live, I want to like it more than I do. Atmosphere: Situated on the row of restaurants by the Thames next to Tower Bridge, it has a good location and a terrace view of the iconic bridge if the weather is nice. Choose this option if you go, as the indoors has tile floors and nothing to really keep the noise level down in the big room. Service: Tends to be Italian trattoria friendly and very slow. There's often several people lingering around chatting behind the bar while only a couple are trying to get the actual food preparation and serving done. Food: traditional Italian menu, with very good portions for the price... but, the food won't blow you away. I had a fairly basic salad and pasta with pomodoro sauce and shrimp. The pasta was a little dry. The salad was fine. However, they have a very good wine list - and the wine was perfect. In fact, I'd probably go here more for a drink and the terrace than the food. They also have reasonably priced set menus. Bonus points: On this little row - their kitchen stays open the latest - so, when all the others tell you they've closed down for the night - this is the place to head for. read more

Hmm, as part of the string of Conran eateries along this stretch of the Thames my expectations were high. The Chophouse, Pont de la Tour and Blueprint never fail to deliver fine fare. But here at Cantina we had a very disappointing experience. There could only have been three other tables to attend to in the restaurant but our large group of 10 was completely neglected. Food took a long time to arrive and was then delivered in batches, by the time the last mains arrived most of us had finished ours. And I really do expect more from the daily special that some spaghetti with pesto sauce thrown into it. Rustic is one thing but that just seemed plain lazy. And nearly cold as well. Very poor experience, go to any of the other restaurants in this area if you can. read more

Amazing Gnocchi and it's Vegetarian. The manager, Antonio, is the sweetest human being alive. Extremely personable and made the experience memorable. Right outside they have the most beautiful view of the Tower Bridge, Thames River, and London. read more

I had dinner here with a friend after she heard rave reviews from colleagues. Maybe they were having an off-night, but our experience was distinctly underwhelming. If I wanted to be naive I could say that our waiter had an unfortunate facial tic. Being a cynic, it's my belief that he didn't agree with our choice of wine. Upon hearing what we wanted his face contorted into hideous disapproval. Granted we weren't ordering the most expensive bottle of wine on the menu, but it was by no means the cheapest. My starter of goat's cheese bruschetta was stone cold. Am I just a heathen and it's supposed to be cold? Any other time I've had bruschetta it's been warm. Even if it was meant to be served cold, it didn't work. My friend didn't rate her pumpkin soup either. The main of salmon with lentils was okay, but my dessert of summer fruits with mascarpone didn't work at all - there were 4 small pieces of fruit floating in a sea of juice with less than a teaspoonful of mascarpone. The interior of the restaurant is a mixed bag. The rustic tiles are gorgeous but the back wall of the restaurant is taken up with a cliched and tacky mural. I had really been looking forward to dinner at Cantina del Ponte, but was so disappointed I won't be returning in a hurry. read more

This place was one big fat disappointment. I had the warm goat cheese with chilli jam & homemade focaccia bread... which was phenomenal, but the meal went quickly downhill after that. My salmon came wrapped in aluminum foil (who does that??). Upon unwrapping it, I discovered but a tiny sliver of fish. What a ripoff! We were a party of over 40 people, so maybe they didn't have enough salmon for all of us. read more

OK - well the only plus point was the lovely view of Tower Bridge - it was a really warm night and we got a table outside. Sadly the view far outshone the food. I was rather dreading going after reading some terrible reviews online, but my friend had booked with a £10 Evening Standard offer. I hate set menus - and these 'special offers' usually turn out to have the blandest food or smallest portions imaginable. This one cunningly managed to combine both. My friend's tomato soup starter looked rather like someone had opened a tin of passata and stuck it into a bowl. We had a tomato risotto for the main course - it was rather bland, but I ordered a side of spinach (the best bit of the meal) and mixed it in with lots of black pepper which improved it. But the dessert was the real disaster - there wasn't a great choice on the wretched set menu - but the seasonal fruit and berries sounded a reasonable option on a hot summer's night, even though I am more of a sticky-chocolate-proper-pudding sort of girl. The waitress described a lovely sounding mix of fresh fruits - but what arrived was quite simply the worst dessert I've ever had in my life! Tescos would have been ashamed to flog this one. It consisted of - 4 grapes, a very overrripe cherry, 3 tiny bits of melon, and a blueberry. Plus a splodge of some kind of cream, and a minute biscuity thing which had half gone soggy sitting among the fruit. At least the view was some consolation.... but really, £15 each for what we ended up with was certainly no bargain. read more

All of the restaurants along the south bank of the Thames near the Tower Bridge kind of blend together. This one however has an excellent dessert. The budino al cioccolato was very good. Next time, I'm going to have four or five desserts and skip the main. read more

Went for lunch and stuck with the fixed price menu. I could have had the three course, but dessert wasn't high on my list. The two course lunch was plenty. I had the smoked swordfish starter (excellent) and the baked salmon main dish (also very good) and my wife had the butternut squash soup and a chicken main dish, both very tasty. The service was impeccable, and the seating outside with the Tower Bridge right there, amazing. Not real cheap but not overly priced for the quality of the food, the service, and the atmosphere. A nice place to eat. read more

5 of us went to Cantina del Ponte for dinner. We were warmly welcomed. The Christmas menu (£29.50 for 3 courses) was normally only for 8 people or more, but the manager was very accomodating and the selection was good (Included carpaccio, octopus salad, fillet of beef) Food was delicious and nicely presented. Service was nice, but a bit slow. All in all a good evening and I would go back. read more

Very disappointing. The only thing to recommend this place is the location. The service is slow beyond belief and the food is very average: no better than you could cook at home. With so many great places to eat in London this one doesn't deserve a second visit (or even a first!). read more

Over-priced for the quality, taste and size of their portions. For main I had the chicken breast and shared a desert. There's nothing else really to write home - as I cant remember if it was any good, which usually means it wasn't. They have a good selection of wine tho', but I went there for dinner and came out feeling rather hungry, and annoyed at the price. It has a nice view though+good location. read more

The Seafood Spaghetti was a unique dish that was very good. However one of our party had a very small portion of Lasagna that was quite average. read more

We walked around and checked out the other restaurants in Shad Thames and decided to try out Cantina Del Ponte. The hostess Tanya was lovely and found us a table outside with a fantastic view of the London Bridge. The food was excellent -we all had pasta dishes -the pasta with lobster, the pasta with spicy sausage. Coffee and dessert was yummy. We had the Swordfish caparccio and Veal tartare as appetizers-these were amazing -these are a must to try. Service was efficient and friendly. I would highly recommend this place. Prices were reasonable for good quality authentic Italian food. read more

Each to their own as they say, well this place is ours! We first popped in years ago when we couldn't get in next door. Simply one of the finest places to eat in London and very good service. We ordered the wrong wine a few years ago and they simply removed it and brought a bottle of the one we meant to order, it's that kind of place. If you ever pop in for dinner the mix of diners will be a giveaway, suits who've come straight from work mixed with locals in their Polo chino's and oxford shirts! Mediterranean dishes cooked with authenticity and care, this really is one of London's all round best eateries. read more

Lovely, very attentive waiting staff, not their fault that the menu is very out date / very boring and the food is AWFUL, had just one main course and left quickly. It was meant to be a special occasion!! read more