Not going back! The special fish entree that isn't very special is priced at $52. And, drowning a light fish like halibut in marinara sauce ruined it. Made the reservation as a result of a gift card that wasn't accepted in the end.
Rob Keefe
We dined in during Tropical Storm Ophelia. The weather was horrendous, but dinner, the staff and the atmosphere were quite pleasant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
JustinP
Restaurant was wonderful even in the off season, highly recommend making a reservation as it can get very busy! Wait staff is excellent in accommodating the BYOB policy bringing side ice buckets to keep wine and spirits cold and even assisting to open! Atmosphere was wonderful. One slight downside is it was considerably noisy, makes it hard to hear the person you're eating with! Overall wonderful restaurant and delicious and well prepared Italian food!!
Food is great!! Originally we were booked to sit outside but when we arrived it was too noisy in the outside area so we asked to be seated inside. It worked out wonderfully! We do love sitting outside here and it's been quiet in the past, this time the outside was full causing it to be loud. Everything was absolutely delicious, highly recommend this B.Y.O.B.
DebW
Our appetizers, the calamari and bruschetta, came out right away. Our group had the penne with shrimp, fettuccine Alfredo, and the veal parmigiana. Everyone thought their food was excellent and we thoroughly enjoy our server. (She was from Albania and we had just visited there.) We were not rushed and it was a pleasant evening. We loved the fact that we could take our own wine!
LoisV
La Fontana Del Mare has dropped off from previous summers. Mussel appetizer had too many bad mussels, the crabs and spaghetti was low on crab, with too much flavor and undercooked pasta. My wife's pasta, which was in a blush tasted “smoky” and also was over flavored. Also, the prices really jumped from last summer. I strongly suggest sitting in the covered patio vs inside, which was very noisy.
First time dining at LaFontana Del Mare and it was excellent—we will be returning on our next visit to Sea Isle City! We were seated promptly and greeted by our server, Ilvana. Ilvana was pleasant, professional, and very attentive and made the dining experience relaxing and enjoyable. The food was top notch! We enjoyed the fried tomato with buratta appetizer special—perfectly fried ripe tomato, over pesto cream sauce topped with buratta and a balsamic drizzle—delicious! My husband enjoyed the lobster ravioli special and I the chicken francese—both were hearty portions and cooked to perfection. We couldn't resist the strawberry cheesecake for dessert and it didn't disappoint. Highly recommend a visit to LaFontana Del Mare!
TedS
Seating was prompt. The waiter was attentive and accommodating. The food was on point with just enough flair to elevate it above the usual "pasta & sauce" joint. Portions filling and nobody left hungry!
Luvdining
We had an excellent dining experience at La Fonta Del Mare. The food was delicious with very generous portions. Our server was excellent, very attentive. The noise level did get high at times, but overall a very nice evening.
Jeanne
We made reservations, first time at this location, for ourselves and an out of town guest. We all enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere, the feel of family and smells of really good food cooking in the kitchen. The staff was attentive and treated us with reminders of holding the door as we walked thru....old school. We all enjoyed our choices for the evening which included specials. Everything was really good quality. We will be back and we now know of a good, reliable place to take out of towners.
Have been here many times. Sunday night of Labor Day weekend however was a disaster. An 8:15PM reservation turned into a 35 minute wait out on the driveway. Server was pleasant but took over 10 minutes to get bread and water. We almost got up and left. We were booked for the outside but gave in to the inside due to the wait. Biggest mistake of the night! Tables were crowded together and the noise level was intolerable. We ordered dinner and got out by 9:30PM...forget dessert and coffee, we couldn't hear each other speak above the noise. Do me a favor, 1) don't book tables after 8PM if you can't seat your guests promptly - it's just greedy 2) limit the number of tables in the dining rooms and give your guests some PERSONAL SPACE! More greed. 3) Put benches outside for your guests who stand for a ridiculous amount of time on the sidewalk and gravel driveway - it's just respectful, especially for your elderly patrons. 4) bread, water and menus should all be delivered to the tables at the same time so as not to have your customers have to ASK - i'm in the business ad I know this is customary. Sorry for th bad review but if it were my restaurant, I would want to know where I need to improve and you have a LONG way to go!
Jean
We had a delicious meal but it was very busy & loud. Our server was probably taking care of more tables than usual. This often happens at the end of the summer. We order 2 special appetizers octopus for $25 & artichokes for $23 which were definitely overpriced. We also had Caesar salad & tomato salad. Our entrees were 2 seafood risotto, gnocchi with cheese & spaghetti carbonara. All were very good. We did not order dessert.
ChrisR
Very good Italian dinner. Waiter was very good. Only issue is if the entrees are between $28-36 the specials shouldn't be $55. It was osso Bucco and an Orange roughy as our entrees Meal was very good just surprised at the special price difference then the traditional menu.
Fun delicious early September night! The place was packed but our food and service was great! Might've been a bit louder than usual but I loved it because everyone was together and so so happy! Great energy! Loved seeing big groups family and friends sharing a beautiful evening! Thanks Fontana!
Dee92
Wow. We've not been to this restaurant for a couple of years. It went from being an upscale, special dining experience to a crowded and noisy cafeteria with people wearing cut-offs. Food and service are good, but this isn't what it used to be.
Not going back! The special fish entree that isn't very special is priced at $52. And, drowning a light fish like halibut in marinara sauce ruined it. Made the reservation as a result of a gift card that wasn't accepted in the end.
We dined in during Tropical Storm Ophelia. The weather was horrendous, but dinner, the staff and the atmosphere were quite pleasant.
Atmosphere: 4
Food: 4
Service: 4
Restaurant was wonderful even in the off season, highly recommend making a reservation as it can get very busy! Wait staff is excellent in accommodating the BYOB policy bringing side ice buckets to keep wine and spirits cold and even assisting to open! Atmosphere was wonderful. One slight downside is it was considerably noisy, makes it hard to hear the person you're eating with! Overall wonderful restaurant and delicious and well prepared Italian food!!
Food is great!! Originally we were booked to sit outside but when we arrived it was too noisy in the outside area so we asked to be seated inside. It worked out wonderfully! We do love sitting outside here and it's been quiet in the past, this time the outside was full causing it to be loud. Everything was absolutely delicious, highly recommend this B.Y.O.B.
Our appetizers, the calamari and bruschetta, came out right away. Our group had the penne with shrimp, fettuccine Alfredo, and the veal parmigiana. Everyone thought their food was excellent and we thoroughly enjoy our server. (She was from Albania and we had just visited there.) We were not rushed and it was a pleasant evening. We loved the fact that we could take our own wine!
La Fontana Del Mare has dropped off from previous summers. Mussel appetizer had too many bad mussels, the crabs and spaghetti was low on crab, with too much flavor and undercooked pasta. My wife's pasta, which was in a blush tasted “smoky” and also was over flavored. Also, the prices really jumped from last summer. I strongly suggest sitting in the covered patio vs inside, which was very noisy.
First time dining at LaFontana Del Mare and it was excellent—we will be returning on our next visit to Sea Isle City! We were seated promptly and greeted by our server, Ilvana. Ilvana was pleasant, professional, and very attentive and made the dining experience relaxing and enjoyable. The food was top notch! We enjoyed the fried tomato with buratta appetizer special—perfectly fried ripe tomato, over pesto cream sauce topped with buratta and a balsamic drizzle—delicious! My husband enjoyed the lobster ravioli special and I the chicken francese—both were hearty portions and cooked to perfection. We couldn't resist the strawberry cheesecake for dessert and it didn't disappoint. Highly recommend a visit to LaFontana Del Mare!
Seating was prompt. The waiter was attentive and accommodating. The food was on point with just enough flair to elevate it above the usual "pasta & sauce" joint. Portions filling and nobody left hungry!
We had an excellent dining experience at La Fonta Del Mare. The food was delicious with very generous portions. Our server was excellent, very attentive. The noise level did get high at times, but overall a very nice evening.
We made reservations, first time at this location, for ourselves and an out of town guest. We all enjoyed the wonderful atmosphere, the feel of family and smells of really good food cooking in the kitchen. The staff was attentive and treated us with reminders of holding the door as we walked thru....old school. We all enjoyed our choices for the evening which included specials. Everything was really good quality. We will be back and we now know of a good, reliable place to take out of towners.
Restaurantji Recommends
Have been here many times. Sunday night of Labor Day weekend however was a disaster. An 8:15PM reservation turned into a 35 minute wait out on the driveway. Server was pleasant but took over 10 minutes to get bread and water. We almost got up and left. We were booked for the outside but gave in to the inside due to the wait. Biggest mistake of the night! Tables were crowded together and the noise level was intolerable. We ordered dinner and got out by 9:30PM...forget dessert and coffee, we couldn't hear each other speak above the noise. Do me a favor, 1) don't book tables after 8PM if you can't seat your guests promptly - it's just greedy 2) limit the number of tables in the dining rooms and give your guests some PERSONAL SPACE! More greed. 3) Put benches outside for your guests who stand for a ridiculous amount of time on the sidewalk and gravel driveway - it's just respectful, especially for your elderly patrons. 4) bread, water and menus should all be delivered to the tables at the same time so as not to have your customers have to ASK - i'm in the business ad I know this is customary. Sorry for th bad review but if it were my restaurant, I would want to know where I need to improve and you have a LONG way to go!
We had a delicious meal but it was very busy & loud. Our server was probably taking care of more tables than usual. This often happens at the end of the summer. We order 2 special appetizers octopus for $25 & artichokes for $23 which were definitely overpriced. We also had Caesar salad & tomato salad. Our entrees were 2 seafood risotto, gnocchi with cheese & spaghetti carbonara. All were very good. We did not order dessert.
Very good Italian dinner. Waiter was very good. Only issue is if the entrees are between $28-36 the specials shouldn't be $55. It was osso Bucco and an Orange roughy as our entrees Meal was very good just surprised at the special price difference then the traditional menu.
Fun delicious early September night! The place was packed but our food and service was great! Might've been a bit louder than usual but I loved it because everyone was together and so so happy! Great energy! Loved seeing big groups family and friends sharing a beautiful evening! Thanks Fontana!
Wow. We've not been to this restaurant for a couple of years. It went from being an upscale, special dining experience to a crowded and noisy cafeteria with people wearing cut-offs. Food and service are good, but this isn't what it used to be.