La Fontana Del Mare

This was for a special occasion a birthday. We received a confirmation, a follow up on the day of the reservation and when we arrived the restaurant was closed and probably closed for the season. So we tried their other restaurant in town and that one was closed even though their website said it was open. Our birthday was totally spoiled. Someone dropped the ball in taking a reservation for a closed restaurant. Next time we will call the restaurant instead of using open table.

They seemed to overbook and service was affected. We love it and will go back

The deck dining is wonderful just as the food is!

Food and service was great!

The wait staff was attentive and unobtrusive. The Italian bread was good and our dinners were delicious and the portions generous.
The evening could not have been better.

Wonderful meal overlooking the bay in Strathmere

Gnocchi were amazing

Had an 8:15 reservation and wasn’t seated until 9. Sat at the table for 15 minutes before anyone came over. Service was terrible. Waiter came to take our order, drop off food and give the check he never checked on us once. He forgot to bring us our drinks too. Food was just ok.

Arrived at 7:55 for 8 o’clock reservation, was told would be “a few minutes”. Checked back at 8:25 and was told next table is ours, checked yet again at 9, was told my table was “almost ready”. When I asked how open table showed them as having reservation open every 15 minutes from 7-8:30 and there are 59 people waiting when I arrive at 8. Manager said “I don’t pay attention to open table, I just go I order of customers arriving! Unbelievable! Food is good but not worth over an hour wait!!

A fine place But a long wait 45 mins from reserved time . Nice Decor a real Italian Feel

For a pre 40th Anniversary dinner, our daughter and her husband took us for a lovely dinner at La Fontana! Excellent

The food was good but both myself and I got sick. Too much garlic.

We had a reservation on Saturday night- place was packed- reservation setting was 30 minutes late. When we were finally seated-we were a party of 5 , sat at a table for 4 on the patio. I asked them to bring another chair and place setting and when they bought the chair, my sister sat down and the chair broke in half-she proceeded to hit the ground, although the wait staff apologized, the manager never came to the table to investigate if she was okay. The wait staff was slow, no wine glasses were on the table , so we used the water glasses and had to asked several times for additional glasses and water. there was no bread basket provided, so after asking several times-the worst bread basket I ever saw was bought to the table (stale white bread and packages butter). It took at least 30 minutes for dinner to come- the specialty lobster ravioli had no lobster at all. They must have run out and substituted spinach and cheese ravioli with shrimp and scallop in the sauce. The veal dishes were the best. In addition, the rest room was so filthy that we could not use it and the door was wide open so it was impossible that management was not aware of the situation. It is hard to believe that this restaurant has been in business for 21 years, I do not recommend dining here.

AMAZING FOOD
EXCELLENT SERVICE
FUN HAPPY CROWD

LOVVVEEEEEE THIS PLACE

Did not enjoy the atmosphere, because it was so noisy that it was not relaxing or enjoyable .
The food was very good and the service was great, but
The owner needs to remodel the place and address the noise situation.

Terrible! There is nothing positive that I can report. It started with someone taking 2 parking spots — yes that’s right - and when I asked a waiter standing out in parking lot he said just park them in and when they want to leave they will have to come back in and they will announce it. So in other words I would have to interrupt my dinner to move my car? Weird! So parking was an issue. We were seated on the porch and waited and waited and waited before a waiter walked over. We were served a basket of awful bread and water. Finally they brought out appetizer. Inedible — as it was covered with gnats and flys. We left and so glad we didn’t wait around to continue one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had.

We had reservations for a party of four. The small room we were going to be seated in had a party of 40. I said to the hostess”this room is going to be very loud”, she said that. I said d Well I can and I would lije to be seated in another room. She said she could only seat us outside, fine, it is a nice night ! Within a few minutes we were struggling with fruit flies, hundreds of them. Every single employee had no solution, never happened before. Thats the biggest lie. I went in to talk to mgr. He said there is nothing they could do. He said they never had this issue. Total lie.

If they cant resolve this major problem, they need to hire a professional to find a remedy.

The food was ok, our wine was filled with bugs and a zillion where landing on our food.

Mgr came out and gave us a $50 credit towards our meal. La Fontana will never see my family or friends ever again. Nothing nice to say about La Fontana in Strathmere.

This issue needs to be resolved for all patrons.

Another family got up and left.

I have been going here for over 15+ years and this year was awe full. Let’s start with the hair that came out of the bread basket. The vent behind me had 1+ inches of dust which was disgusting. No ice bucket for wine and it got warm. What happened to oil with herbs for bread. We ordered appetizers and main course. We liked the appetizers, my entree was good, my husband ordered lobster ravioli special and swears it was frozen not fresh? I cannot say. Our waiter NEVER checked on us once asking if we liked the appetizers or entree... it was soooo long we decided on no dessert. It was great that we didn’t because it took 45 minutes to pay our bill??? I was extremely disappointed and am not sure why it was such a bad night. Little things are gone??? The dirt is unacceptable. I gave up 3 other restaurants I wanted to try but tried to be loyal. Hopefully it was a bad night but I’d have to come again to be sure? Not sure what to do next time. Always loved this place.

Great food. Good value and excellent service. Xxxxccxccccccccccccccccc cxxxcxxc

Waiter was not very attentive and was slow to bring us our food. The waiter servicing the tables on either side of us provided much better service to his diners. Even though the people seated to my left were seated about 15 minutes after us, they received their food much sooner than we did and were actually finished their dinners and left the restaurant at the same time as us.

Everything was wonderful. We’ve been there several times and so far all dishes, appetizers and main courses have been excellent!

Excellent food! Will definitely recommend and be back!

The bread should be better.

We had heard good things about this restaurant, but were largely disappointed. We invited friends that we had not seen for awhile and we were very dissatisfied with our choice. To start, the greeter at the reservation desk was not very welcoming. The restaurant was so noisy you could not hold a conversation. Twice my guest said that his entree was over -cooked, and it he waiter apologized, but did nothing about it. The other 3 entrees were okay, but not anything to rave about. I doubt that I would go back.

Solid Italian food with a very nice outdoor deck. Noisy but nice for dinner.

Always an amazing meal!

My husband & I both enjoyed the artichoke appetizer and we both thoroughly enjoyed our meals! Everyone from the moment we walked in the door was extremely welcoming and friendly. Our waitress Peggy was very attentive and helped make our dining experience enjoyable!

We started off with the mozzarella appetizer and a salad so delicious!! The Italian bread does seem like a white bread but I still liked it. My husband had the fish/special and he said it was so good. I had the cappellini with lump crab meat, but their lump crab is not lump. Very very small pieces of crab meat! My husband finished with a cappuccino and a tiramisu he raved about that all the way home. The noise level was so loud I couldn’t even hear my husband talk because there was a party of 15. Several people left the dining room. The service was excellent!! rated a four star because of the noise level and the lump crabmeat.

For the shore area, this is a go to as they take reservations, the food is good, waiter was outstanding, byob, as very enjoyable evening. Sat outside. A bit windy, but still very nice.

It was delicious!! Love eating on the porch. Food was great.

Good food and service but the prices are out of control. Expect to pay shore prices.

We ate inside because it was hot. We were seated under an air conditioner that dripped. We asked to be moved and they accommodated us quickly. Service was good. I had the branzino fish that was excellent. My husband had the crab marinara sauce, MP. The sauce was delicious but the crab flavor was lost. The bread could definitely be improved upon. It is BYOB. We did not have dessert but did have decaf cappuccino. They were fine, we would have liked a stronger flavor. Overall, we will definitely go back.

Wait staff was super friendly.
The food was good and the restaurant was large.
Lots of big parties and we didn’t feel overwhelmed.
We will be back when we come to OC.
Ps its BYOB.

Been here many times. Food is always great. Service is questionable at times based on how busy they are.

Dinner was excellent. We had an early reservation (5:00) on a Sunday and had most of the restaurant to ourselves. Restaurant was packed by 6:00. Try the Tiramisu; it’s delicious!

Had an 8:15 reservation - didn't get seated until 9:00!

We went for my son’s birthday. In my open table reservation I mentioned his birthday and requested outside seating. We were seated inside and they never did anything for his birthday. It was so loud that we couldn’t hear each other talk. We were excited for Italian bread and it looked like Wonder bread. My husband did like his veal Parmesan. My son’s fettuccine Alfredo had no taste. The server came to our table twice - once to take our order and once to leave the check. I couldn’t wait to leave.

One and done!

We had a previous bad experience at this restaurant. Wanted to give them another chance. We do not recommend this restaurant, nor will we be going back. Also, while eating our meal, I received a message indicating we were a no show for our reservation. Not happy about that either! Sorry La Fontana... .we are NOT fans of your restaurant!!!!!

Will definitely return soon!!!

Great experience - Service (Tini) and food were fabulous. Party of 4 and we all enjoyed.