Simply awesome Italian food!! The cream sauces are fantastic and nicely done service!

Your review helps others learn about great local businesses. Please don't review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you're connected in any way to the owner or employees. Just there on a Sunday summer afternoon , food and service are okay, but we could not hear our server Tell us about the specials. the decibel level, decorum of guests , etc were horrible. We asked to be moved but receptionist could not accommodate, so,if you are a couple or small party avoid this place, they sandwiched my wife and I between two large birthday parties who were loud and obnoxious. Not worth the trip from ocean city, there are better alternatives, during busy summer season. I'm a local and this is not the place to go during busy season read more

Service was horrible. Waited an hour for appetizers and an additional forty minutes for entrees. Food was extremely salty and after informing wait staff and management of how the food was, there was no feedback or action taken. Extremely disappointed. read more

Great authentic Italian food. My husband had gnocchi and they were delicious, everyone at the table tried some because they were so good. My son had the bronzino and he finished the entire fish. It was cooked perfectly. Pretty atmosphere and delicious food. read more

Went here with the in-laws last night, party of six. 4/6 ppl liked their food, a couple of them loved their dishes. 2/6 ppl detested their food. So those are likely to be your odds. I could go into detail about my eggplant rotini and how it was sweetened and had a heavy dose of cinnamon making it barely distinguishable from breakfast pancakes with marinara sauce or how my mother in law said her chicken entree was flavorless and grease laden but I think those descriptions sum up our dinner without unnecessary detail. When asked what we didn't like the scarce waiter listened and apologized and never offered anything to soften the experience of planning a nice night out, skipping lunch in anticipation of a hearty, Italian dinner, waiting 45 mins for the entrees after they were ordered, and having a garish outside green light turn your food to a brown pile on your plate, when the patio blind was raised, only to find the food inedible. I hope this is not a frequent experience but my husband verified that both dishes were terrible. Also, the bread is not unlike days old dry, sliced white grocery store bread, a telling sign of their commitment to fresh, quality ingredients. All in all this place reminds me of a popular restaurant in 90's but c'mon...it's 2019. American cuisine has undergone a revolution! You can do much better. Probably good for older clientele who order that same dish every time they go. Service was ok. Our waiter may have been a cyborg since he struggled to veer from his memorized sentences. The sweet young lady who wanted to fetch our plates before anyone was finished needs some training. These well meaning young servers are not the problem, lack of training and the executive chef are responsible imo. read more

Attractive BYOB Italian restaurant. Good service and very good pizza. The antipasto was enough to share. I had a linguini dish that had calamari capers olives in a spicy tomato sauce. It was excellent. The two pizzas were crispy thin crust and the toppings were delicious. My only complaint was where we were seated. The table was too close to patrons entering. But I still recommend it highly. read more

Not happy. Waited 10 minutes to get a menu and 20 yo get a rookie server. I ordered pasta fagiole which was Luke warm and served long after my other guests got their salads. Would never recommend it. Was thin and weak in flavor. Ordered veal piccata. Woeful. Covered in a pastelike coating that was awful. My colleagues were happier with their spinach salads and salmon and veal Fontana. Between amateur service, poor hosting ( seating later arrivals first) and barely edible veal, there are far better places to go. read more

Service is always excellent. The food was delicious. The gnocchi never disappoints you. Outdoor dining is a must during summer. I totally recommend this restaurant. read more

Was there for dinner last night. No wait. Seated immediately. Unfortunately the noise level in this room was quite uncomfortable. The person 2 tables down from us was talking at the top of his voice about how loud it was to his deaf father. That person was the loudest. However we drove down from Ventnor. Definitely not worth the 40 minute drive. Twelve dollars for calamari . And a small portion. Salad was good and veal parm was mediocre. Average food. Spaghetti dry. Gelato full of sugar. Too sweet. Became diabetic by the end of the meal. Won't be back. Nice renovation job. read more

Not impressed with this restaurant. Have eaten here quiet a few times. It is so loud that it is impossible to hear the waiter tell us the specials. Even had a hard time talking to the person seated across from you. The food was okay, but not consistent in times delivered to the table. I noticed that the 6 surrounding tables received a complementary lemoncello and our table was completed disregarded--- not the first time this happened when we have eaten here. read more

Three 12" pizzas that cost $54 was expensive. Bottoms were burnt, taste was average. I'll never go back

With such a large party at peak hours at such a busy place, it's hard to say they were slow and inattentive. But they were. Everything is always tasty, but the service is lackin read more

Excellent mostly traditional italian seafood pastas, chicken and other dishes. Nice setting, attentive service, byob. We had gnocchi, scampi, mussels, pasta, calamari etc in our group. All very good. Served hot and fresh full of flavor. Half portion was just right for kid also. A very good dining experience overall, would visit again for sure. read more

This place is overpriced and under english spoken. If you are looking for the brick oven wood fired pizza, you'll be sittin outside, guess the upper crust doesn't eat pizza to sit inside. For a BYOB, your beer won't get iced but they take your butter before you're done your bread. read more

I have been to this restaurant many times and have always had a great meal and good service. Was there again on Saturday evening May 23rd with family and close friends. They have redone the entranceway and, although not finished, it looks great. The dining experience, however, was suprisingly disappointing. The chicken in my Chicken Picatta was very tough and lacking in flavor. And two guests who ordered pasta -- gnocchi and risotto - ended up with dishes that had a very unappealing thick sauce. One entree came out very late -- and was served somewhat cold. Worst of all is the noise. The expanded restaurant has outrageously bad acoustics. It was incredibly loud. Guests had to scream at each other to be heard. I have always enjoyed this restaurant very much so I am hopeful they can correct things asap. Sadly, the current noise level alone makes it a poor choice as of now. read more

Been here a couple of times, but the most recent time was the worst. The waiter, who looked like he was a junior in high school, came back once the entire meal. The food was so so, and the prices were astronomically high. It started off by finding plastic in my salad, most likely from the bag they cut it out of. The specials are a rip off, so ask the prices before you order, or the bill will knock you on the floor. I had a bowl of angel hair with a few pieces of crab meat for $30. My wife's 5 langostinos were $65! I think the kicker was my daughter's bowl of buttered noodles for $20! We argued with them about that one, because that is bordering on criminal. I get having to make a buck, but an entire box of penne is less than 89 cents, and you want to charge $20 for a 7 year old portion? No sauce, no meatball...just a small scoop of noodles. It was a dollar a noodle. Absurd. The only thing I enjoyed was the wine, because it was BYO. My advice? BYOE...bring your own elsewhere. read more

My husband and I went here over the weekend for an anniversary dinner. we live at the southend of OC and wanted to try something new. We had 830 reservations but didnt get seated until 9....which normally would be ok but we have a newborn at home and were on a strict time limit....that can be excused though...as for the service....it was better than average...pleasant with wonderful knowledge of the menu....the grilled calamari was ok, tougher than i would have guessed.....the spinach salad was tasty...the veal special was awesome and my husband had a seafood pasta in white sauce which was ok. overall the experience was pleasant and we will go again! read more

Good service on a crowded July 4th weekend. Reservation made for 7 pm and were immediately seated. Prices are what you would expect for the Shore. Chicken Parmesan was large, hot and salty. read more

The food was absolutely delicious!!! We went on a Wednesday evening at 8pm, and we were seated right away for our reservation. The olive oil was very good with the bread. We ordered the Calamari Fritti as an appetizer - highly recommend, it's our favorite - and for entrees we got gnocchi Gorgonzola, veal Fontana, and lobster ravioli special. The special was a little pricey, but everything tasted amazing. We went home with full bellies and leftovers. We will definitely be back! read more

READ THIS! Went there for dinner for our wedding anniversary. Heard the food was good but that they could be a little snobby. Not sure why as it's an Italian restaurant in Strathmere, NJ next to a pancake house and not in the heart of Manhattan. Overall, the food was good but the service was slow. There also wasn't much attention paid to our table to check back throughout the meal. Also here's the WORST part... we found a hair buried in one of our entrees that we had to send back! And it definitely wasn't ours. Afterwards nobody came to apologize or see if we wanted something else, offer to remake it etc until the waiter came back at the end of the meal a good 20 mins later at which point he did apologize and said they wanted to buy us a dessert. But then when they brought us the check they charged us for the entree we sent back and had barely eaten but not the dessert. Was the hair a free gift with purchase? When I told the waiter we weren't paying for the entree, he said he would have to speak to the manager. Then he brought me the adjusted check and took off the entree but then charged me for the dessert. So tacky! If it wasn't our anniversary, I would have argued with them about it as I shouldn't have been charged for the dessert either but wasn't worth the aggravation. I used to work in a restaurant so I am very understanding as these things happen occassionally. It's how you handle it that makes all the difference in the world. I rarely ever post reviews but felt compelled to share this experience. Sadly, because they handled our situation so poorly I can only award them one star. read more

My husband and I and our daughter and son-in-law went for dinner at the LaFontana in Strathmere on Saturday, June 10th of Restaurant week. When we were seated we asked about the restaurant week menu and the waiter came back with 1 crumpled up paper menu. (We were handed the regular menu when we were seated.) In looking over the restaurant week menu, my husband and I decided to go with that menu while my daughter and her husband were going to order from the regular menu. When the waiter came we told him the plan and he advised that the whole party had to choose from the restaurant week menu or it could not be used. So my husband suggested separate checks for him and I and another one for my daughter and son-in-law. The waiter's reply to that was that our food would come out earlier than theirs??? Needless to say, we decided to go with the regular menu because he was definitely trying to sway us from the restaurant week menu. I have never seen a "bait and switch" scheme as this before. If restaurants want to participate in restaurant week they should do it sincerely and not try to "trick" customers by getting them in the restaurant and then deterring them from ordering from the restaurant week menu. These owners own several Fontana restaurants in the shore area and now a few Fratelli's in close proximity to the other restaurants. This experience left me with a tainted image of La Fontana. I will be giving my business to those restaurants that are more sincere and will let others know about this scheme. read more

We did not have a reservation but were quickly seated extremely close to another table. I was excited to try the brick oven pizza, but to my amazement, there was no pizza on the menu (yet I was staring right at the oven, sitting outside). Bus boy mentioned it was a separate business (very odd) and that our waitress would give us a menu, which she never did. Our food was very good, but were absolutely shocked when we got our check. Mahi special was $40!!! 2 dinners and an app were almost $100, & this place is a BYOB! With a price tag like that, I would expect the service to be exceptional, which it was very far from that. I think our waitress actually forgot we were her table. I would assume the staff doesn't push the pizza because they wouldn't make as much in tips as the regular menu. Overall, WAY OVER PRICED. Tables are too close to each other & service was lacking. I'd like to try the pizza, definitely take out, not going to waste my $$$ on overpriced food. read more