La Fontana - West Ashley

Review summary

1. J

   Juergen

   New York City1 review

   1.0

   Dined on 27 August 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   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.
   

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2. P

   Pete

   Charleston1 review

   1.0

   Dined on 9 August 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 1
   4. Ambience 1

   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!
   

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3. T

   Timothy

   New York City4 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on 31 July 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   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.
   

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4. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Charleston2 reviews

   3.0

   Dined on 21 July 2024

   1. Overall 3
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 2

   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.
   

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5. C

   Cindy VIP

   Charleston62 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 14 July 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 3
   4. Ambience 4

   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.
   

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6. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Charleston1 review

   1.0

   Dined on 4 July 2024

   1. Overall 1
   2. Food 1
   3. Service 4
   4. Ambience 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.
   

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7. MC

   MarkCis VIP

   Charleston141 reviews

   4.0

   Dined on 13 June 2024

   1. Overall 4
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 3

   This was an interesting place. If you drive by...you'll never notice it. Reviews are all over the board. My wife and I made a pre-concert reservation (4pm) and for most of our time there, we were the only ones in the place! Our waitress (Veronika, I believe) was delightful. She's originally from Naples. My wife enjoyed conversing with her in Italian since that's where here grandparents are from. Not an extensive wine list, but we found a very nice bottle of Italian red for a reasonable price. Had the Eggplant Parm app, which was delicious with a basket of their $3 bread (very good...but they shouldn't charge for it). Our entrees were Veal Sorrentino, which my wife really enjoyed and a veal special, which I thought was very good albeit extremely rich with a heavy cream sauce. We knew the veal would be tender because we heard them pounding it out in the kitchen! All in all, I'd say don't pass it by because of its looks. Give it a try!
   

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8. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Charleston1 review

   5.0

   Dined on 25 May 2024

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Our night was great with good food and excellent service! I was very happy with the atmosphere and taste of the food!!!!
   

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9. AS

   AndrewS

   Charleston2 reviews

   2.0

   Dined on 12 May 2024

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 4
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 1

   Very dark and dingy. Food was better than average. However, prices compared to similar restaurants was much higher here. So, the value was not there. The meals we had were both over $28.00 yet we got NO salad and bread is optional for $3.00, Really! Despite the good food we will not be back as we can get good Italian Food elsewhere. One last remark, a small slice of Limoncello cake was ...$12.95 We won't be back until the show Restaurant makeover shows up.
   

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10. AS

    AudiSnob

    Coastal Georgia16 reviews

    3.0

    Dined on 20 April 2024

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 2
    3. Service 4
    4. Ambience 3

    The service was about the only thing that was good. We were a party of three and all decided to order the same thing. First we started off with the calamari appetizer- the calamari was rubbery and the sauce was okay. As our main we all ordered Frutti di mar Fra Diablo(Seafood Pasta Dish). The seafood in this dish are Calamari, Shrimp, Clams and mussels in the shell. The clams and mussels (3 of each) were very small so the meat was barely there. The shrimp (x3) were overcooked and the calamari (x5) were rubbery that it was difficult to even cut with a knife. It was over sauced and the sauce was not spicy at all. We also ordered two loaves of bread ($3) that are made in house. The bread came with a dipping sauce that was not great and the bread itself was very doughy and somewhat bland. Overall we were disappointed with our meals. The establishment is dark and drab and has a displeasing smell. I would not recommend this place to anyone.
    

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