Note: I was invited as a guest of the establishment and received a complimentary meal. This was not in exchange for a positive review and opinions expressed are my own.
Why Come Here? West African and French influenced fare in an intimate bistro
Ponty Bistro is the labor of love of Chef Cisse, a Jean-Georges vet who wanted to bring the flavors of his native Senegal to Manhattan. On the labor side, Cisse serves as owner, executive and pastry chef, beverage director and as he likes to add “dishwasher.” But there’s also the love. When you dine at Ponty, you’ll inevitably see Cisse find the time to greet his regulars with the affability of man who wouldn’t want to be anywhere else in the world.
Ponty is named for a famous avenue in Senegal and the interior offers many nods to the West African nation. Walls are adorned with traditional wood carvings, paintings and photos from the country. However the overall feel is more French bistro than African cafe. It’s an intimate space with pale yellow walls, bistro tables and floor-to-ceiling windows that open onto Third Avenue during the warmer months that may or may not actually be coming soon.
The food too is far from being limited to that of the small nation, or even Africa as a whole. While many dishes contain Senegalese elements, Ponty Bistro is really more of a French/African influenced global restaurant. Dishes include everything from a variety of mussel preparations to Sengalese spiced steak to Thai spring rolls. Prices are reasonable and they offer a number of prix-fixe specials including a $19 lunch, a $25 dinner before 6 and $20 brunch with a cocktail. That brunch also offers a large selection of Benedicts, a weekend staple I have found inexplicably lacking on menus of late.
Speaking of cocktails, when you come to Ponty you’ll want to start off with one from their extensive list of martinis. All your favorite fruit flavors are there well as their signature bissap (a Sengalese hibiscus tea) and fresh ginger renditions. They also happen to be 2-for-1 before 7 so get there early. The rest of the bar selection includes a small but global wine list and one of my favorite hard-to-find African beers, Tusker.
I attended a press dinner so portions shown below are smaller than what you would typically receive. Here are my thoughts:
Butternut Squash Soup w/ Berbere Spice 
Even though it was served in a mug with a handle, there was little chance of getting thick pureed squash out without a spoon. Not that that’s a bad thing. The velvety soup was a great start on a cold “spring” day and the African berbere spice gave it as taste I can’t quite put my finger on, but know I want to have again.
Roasted Beet Salad How did beets go from one of the most hated vegetables when I was growing up to a requirement to operate a restaurant? Were we just cooking them wrong from 2007 BC to AD? Whatever happened, they’re delicious here with blue cheese and a tangy refreshing citrus-balsamic dressing.
Wild Mushroom Risotto 
A particularly creamy risotto elevated by parmigiano, asparagus and the magical flavor enhancing ingredient known as truffle oil.
Longlet a L’Echalote (Hangar Steak) This looked so good I actually forgot to take a photo. It’s thinly sliced, cooked medium rare and so tender you could cut it with your fork. The red wine demi-glaze is a good but almost unnecessary.
Striped Bass A lighter followup to the steak was this pan seared bass over an artichoke salad. The red sauce you see on the side was a sort of African marinara that I would like to see in larger quantities.
Chocolate Lava Cake The chocolate lava cake was invented by Jean-Georges almost 30 years ago and who better to serve it up than one of his disciples. I’m not normally big on chocolate-heavy desserts, but this one is really good.
Ponty Bistro
218 Third Avenue (18th & 19th Sts)
New York, NY
&
2375 Adam Clayton Powell Boulevard (@ W. 139th St)
New York, NY
