07/10/09

Not very accomodating but good value

by mchelly

I came here for my birthday and made a reservation for 15 people a week in advance. Thank God i called again to confirm because the have NO RECORD of my reservation! After we sat down, 3 of my friends didn't want to eat but the waiter told us we all HAVE to order food. So my friends try to order an appetizer as their entree but were told NO, they HAVE to order an entree otherwise they'll be charged $15 for a SITTING FEE. I was outraged because i'm there for my BIRTHDAY and i have 15 people with me, 12 of which are all eating full entree and appetizers so i'm sure they are not losing any money from our table!!! On top of that they friggin RAN OUT of lamp chops which 4 of my friends try to order....Anyway So my 3 friends were forced to order food even when they did not want to eat it, which made me feel TERRIBLE, and when the bill came they already included 15% gratuities due to the large group, which is fine. BUT he DARE to say to my finace that "you can add more, you know"!!!!! What a stupid rule about having to order, which they don't even tell you! And i'm shocked by the lack of accomodations or understanding for such a large group of customers! They embrassed me on my birthday and eventhough they're food usually is good for a value price, i much rather go to Branzino across the street

• Pros: Great value, location, BYOB
• Cons: Not accomodating and silly rules

03/09/09

Good Service, Average Food (not bad!), expensive for a BYOB

by MikeinHavertown

Four of us had dinner there in 'prime time' this past Saturday evening. It was an uncharactestically warm March evening---diners sat outside until well after 9 pm! Dinner was perfectly pleasant; service was attentive for the most part. On of four entres was served 3-4 minutes after the others had theirs--not good. All in all, however, hostess and servers did a nice, unobtrusive job. All of us enjoyed our appetizers (salads) and entrees. Desserts were rather tasteless (refrigerated too long or had been frozen --would recommend skipping them). One pet peeve (and it's not unique to La Fontanna) is that the server cleared plates while my girlfriend and my buddy's wife were still finishing their dinner---definitely not cool.

Would not hurry back mainly due to the cost: cost per person with tip was $45 which, from my persective, is way to high for a BYOB with average food (one person out of four had a "special" which was probably a cost driver; the rest of our party selected entrees from their menu).

• Pros: Pleasant wait staff and the street scene with the sidewalk dining
• Cons: Expensive for a byob; desserts were, at best, ordinary

03/07/09

horrible horrible restaurant!!!!!!

by Fixhu1

The above review left by 'fixhu' is fake. Somebody used that nick name to promote the restaurant and to write fake good reviews. From the writing you can tell that it is not fixhu because he does not write broken english like in the comment left above. It is for sure one of the owners (former shpeherds) that barely speak english. They write reviews about their restaurant to make it sound good indeed, if you want your night to get ruined this is the place to go to. Bad service, bad food, horrible atmosphere.

• Pros: Nothing
• Cons: Everything

02/26/09

Decent BYOB, not the best

by sidewinder72

I've been to a fair number of the (many) BYOBs in Center City, and would say that La Fontana is good enough, but not really anything all that exciting compared to some of the other choices in the area. The menu is fairly traditional, "old school" Southern Italian -- which can be fine, but it is not as unique or innovative as say Melograno or Mercato. The bread was bland and the olive oil on the table for it was flavorless. Portion sizes are generous for the prices, but nothing I ate on a recent visit truly "wowed" me. If given a choice, there are many other places nearby I would go to first (Casta Diva, Roberto's, Bronzino) whether for traditional dishes or something a little different. I had no real issues with the service, but was there on a quiet weekday night.

• Pros: generous portions
• Cons: not especially thrilling food

02/22/09

Bad for groups- very rude service and the food isn't good.

by trimalchio1

This is a poorly run restaurant- and we had a horrible experience. We had a group of 13 people for a 7:30 reservation. We arrived on time and were told seating would only take a minute. Unfortunately, that was far from the case! We waited patiently for ten more minutes. The hostess was completely frazzled- the place was crowded and lots of people were waiting for tables. We were constantly being told we would be seated soon, they were just waiting for another party to leave. This went on for another 15 minutes, then the hostess sat another large group before us around 10 of eight! When we asked what was going on, she had the audacity to say it would only take another minute- she said she couldn't control how long people took for dinner! She should have had a table ready at 7:30!

We were watching the food go by while we were waiting for our table, and it did not look good. There were a ton of people waiting for tables and there wasn't any space to stand, we were practically in the kitchen and people were cramped. I saw the wait staff reuse bread by putting half used loaves back in bread baskets! And all the desserts were frozen and in packages. The waitstaff were completely rude, bumping into people and running around like chickens. The food going out just did not look good, and nobody finished their plates- we saw a ton of food go in the trash because people weren't finishing their meals.

Finally at five past eight we said if we didn't get seated in 5 minutes we were leaving. The hostess could care less- she wanted us gone so she didn't have to deal with our table.

Now, I don't mind waiting- I know things get held up, but don't tell me it's going to be a minute then expect us to wait for forty five. Don't trust this place with a large group!

• Pros: None
• Cons: Hostess was rude

02/20/09

Classic Italian Food

by mazimus

I went last week to La Fontana Della Citta resturant . When I walked the atmosphere was warn. I didn't have a resevation, but they found me a table with out waiting five minutes. I had for appetizer a fried calamri ,for dinner veal chap comb which was grilled veal chop with shrimp, procini mashrooms in brandy demi-glaze sauce and for dessert a homemade tiramisu all of this food was amazing.The service was the best and food amazing.Thank you La fontana staff ,I can not wait to come again and visit your place.

02/09/09

lafontanadellacitta

by fixhu

If you like to eat the real italian food go eat to la fontana i go to lafontana and they treat my like a king the servic was the best

02/07/09

HORRIBLE HORRIBLE HORRIBLE and did I say HORRIBLE? What is the appeal of this place? Someone please tell me

by newhopemom

We just had dinner there tonight. We had 11 people in our party and we had been there before and were very excited for a good meal and nice dinner. I guess since we went during the week and early, it was much better. Tonight, was SAt night.

It was HORRENDOUS. We were seated next to the door that the waitstaff go in and out of--11 people!!! Not to mention, the 11 of us were at a table for 8 people so me, my husband and my father (who is 64) had to sit in the aisle. The waitstaff were nice, but they bumped into us a million times, my dad had a few plates bump the back of his head, we had the dirty dishes from other tables lifted over our heads the whole meal as they entered into the kitchen and the table was very wobbly. I was kicked in the back and bumped by the waiter who was serving the table behind us because there was not enough room! Everyone was squashed--it only seemed like that on the upper level, but unfortunately, that is where we sat. We literally had to scream to talk to each other and I was about to be arrested if the stupid wait staff dinged my head with a dish one more time.

We were there for my brother-in-laws 40 birthday. What a shame-we could not even all sit at the table together, the food was brought out at many different times and I couldnt hear a word in that place due to being so overcrowded. I understand want to make money, but sitting a large party of 11 people near that door was ludicris.

I will never go back there and I will be telling all my friends what a horrible place it was.

The food was eh. The salad was 7.00 and all it was, was some lettuce on a plate. Come on-at least put a tomato or something. I got chicken cacciatore and it was 17 bucks for a flattened piece of chicken that was prob 3 oz with some tomato, onion and roasted pepper. NEVER EVER EVER AGAIN

• Pros: The food was hot
• Cons: Too expensive for what you get, too crowded, too loud, everything else. HORRIBLE

12/13/08

Rude, rushed service and so-so food

by ddc2344

I understand that Friday night is a busy night for La Fontana, but this does not excuse the fact that they rushed us--in an unacceptably rude manner. My party arrived 20 minutes late, but I had called beforehand to notify them of this and they said it was fine.

When me and my party of 9 arrived, they said that there was a party arriving one hour later and that we had to finish our meals by then. Again, I understand that it was a busy night and that we were a little late, so we didn't mind. However, the server told us this in an impatient, arrogant manner. I must admit that I was taken aback by this rude attitude; however, not to ruin the mood of the evening, I just brushed it off and forgot about it.

During dinner, the waiters, though polite, rushed as and we definitely felt their persistent pressure. They told us to quickly choose our options and also physically took away our bread plates long before we were finished. TO ADD FURTHER INSULT TO INJURY, at one point during our group's conversation, the same server (who had rudely talked to us early) was passing by our table, turned to us, and loudly SHUSHED US. Excuse me?! We felt like children being berated by a schoolteacher. I did not think that we were, by any means, being louder than to our surrounding chatter and, absolutely by no means, loud to the extent that warranted a rude SHUSH. He could definitely have been polite about this.

These types of actions are not only absolutely unacceptable from a classy BYO but from decent human interaction.

Furthermore, if the food is a consideration, it was so-so and by no means spectacular. I feel that their selling point is more about the portion size than the quality.

There are too many excellent BYOs and good restaurants in Philly for you to waste your time in this one.

• Pros: Cheap
• Cons: You pay for what you get: poor, rude service; loud, cramped environment; sub-par food

10/29/08

Great Service

by plarocco21

I went to this restrount right after I proposed they were amazing. I droped off a bottle of champan earler in the day when I came in with my new feince they knew right away to bring out the champan with out any direction from me or me asking for it. The service was great and the food was amazing. I simply love this place!