La Fontana Authentic Italian Restaurant SC

From two Italians we absolutely loved it here. It was cozy, homey, with delicious food. Veronica made us feel as if we were in Italy itself. Great place!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Advice - "Look at the restroom, if it is unsanitary, then you can count on the kitchen being suspect". We walked in and sat down at 5 PM, then visited the restroom. It was a disaster. Dead Cockroach on the floor, no paper towels and no soap. Toilet looked like it had not been cleaned in multiple days. We could not stay and had to walk out.
Restaurant needs to focus on the basics - Clean restrooms and clean windows on the exterior go a long way to invite the public to dine at an establishment.

Atmosphere: 1

I was so excited and then so disappointed. The outside of the restaurant seems outdated, so much so I didn't think it was opened. We went for dinner this week. The inside is not great but appeared clean. The waitress was fine, nothing overly friendly. She did not offer dessert (assuming they have it) or refills of our drink. She took our order, delivered the food and brought the check. The menu didn't offer basic Italian dishes like ravioli or lasagna and even the pasta was a fettuccine bolognese vs spaghetti. I think fettuccine is more suited for alfredo but that is just my opinion. That is what I got. The sauce was basic and not very flavorful. It was certainly not authentic. They have small plates on the table when you arrive but they do not offer bread with oil to start like every Italian restaurant I have ever been to. The real kicker was that if you want bread with your meal or I guess for the table it was $3 per person. Nothing screams nickel and dime them to death like $3 additional for bread. Just roll it into the price and offer it. The prices were higher than I expected but not awful. Overall it was a C- and I would not go back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 2

Service: 3

Very poor quality. Food is not authentic italian. Pizza was uneatable. Ambiente and food does not correspond to the pictures on the website. Very disappointing.

Alfredo tasted like water mixed with some heavy cream, with noodles boiled far too long. Bolognese tasted like Hunts tomato sauce... Service wasn't great, took forever to be greeted and served. Will not be back.

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 1

Service: 1

Worst Alfredo ever. Chicken wasn’t grilled just cooked bland no flavor.
No bread . It was 3 dollars for bread.

Atmosphere: 1

Food: 1

Service: 3

I still haven't been fortunate enough to visit Italy but I think the taste of the food made me travel, my dish was delicious. Thank you!

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Loved this place clean, food is great and filling, the service is wonderful. Every thing is good.

Atmosphere: 5

Food: 5

Service: 5

Recommended dishes: Sausage and Pepperoni Large Pizza, Chicken Marsala, Insalata de Caesar, Spaghetti Alle Vongole

I always pass by this restaurant when I'm at work. I love Italian food, so I asked a couple of my friends to join me this past Friday night at La Fontana for supper. One of my friends is Italian and knows good Italian food. I booked the reservation online because it says that you need to have a reservation in order to be seated. Reservation was set for Friday evening 715. when we arrived, there were only two other people inside eating. That was kind of a red flag for me. We were seated and ordered a cocktail. waitress brings the cocktails and then disappears for 20 minutes or so and then we ordered our food. Fran and I ordered veal marsala and Ed ordered shrimp and pasta. Once the order was put in the waitress disappeared again. We had to walk up to the bar and wave the waitress down in the back. We asked for some Fresh bread and dipping oil, and she said that was fine but that we would have to pay for it. I didn't mind paying for it, but a nice restaurant would have that for you at no extra cost. She brings the bread out and it was actually the best part of the meal. The two orders of veal marsala are brought out and the marsala sauce was like warm water. No color and no taste. The veal was hardly cooked. We have to find the waitress again and tell her that the veal needed to be cooked more. She took the veal back and brought it back out a few minutes later puts it on the table and walks off. It was cooked but had no taste at all. I've got to say that it was the worst Italian food I've ever eaten! When she brought me the bill, she asked how the food tasted and I told her it was awful, and I wouldn't be back. Most restaurants will have the manager come out and talk to you and will apologize or may remove an item from the bill, but this place did not offer any of that. My message to you would be to save your money for another restaurant!

When you look for restaurant in the West Ashley section of Charleston, you'll find lots of places featuring barbecue and others featuring Southern specialties. My wife and I were thrilled to find La Fontana on Route 17 featuring Italian food. My wife is partial to gnocchi and she feels the gnocchi at La Fontana was as good or better than what she is served at Italian restaurants in Connecticut, where we live. I had the chef's special of Salmon, clams and mussels on fettuccine -- it was excellent. It was particularly quiet the Wednesday night we were there, which is hard to figure. We're looking forward to going back the next time we are in the area.

This was our second visit to this restaurant and the first time was much better. The AC was clearly not working so it was very hot inside. Our food was so-so, not horrible but also not great. This dinner was for my husband's birthday, and they did bring out his dessert with a candle so we could sing happy birthday, so that was great of them to do. I wish the experience had been better, but hopefully they can get their air conditioning repaired and things will be better.

This was our second visit to this restaurant and the first time was much better. The AC was clearly not working so it was very hot inside. Our food was so-so, not horrible but also not great. This dinner was for my husband's birthday, and they did bring out his dessert with a candle so we could sing happy birthday, so that was great of them to do. I wish the experience had been better, but hopefully they can get their air conditioning repaired and things will be better.

The food was very good and the portions quite large. We had veal saltimbocca (also a chicken one), the special sampler with 4 entrees, and the special salmon dish with mussels and clams.

Service was ok, and they actually added 20% surcharge without notice, RUDE!

Atmosphere: 2

Food: 4

Service: 2

It's tough to say this but this was by far the worst Italian food ive ever had. The food was poorly seasoned and also the quality was not good at all. $305 tab could've easily been cut in half.