La Fontana Authentic Italian Restaurant

Food excellent, dog eating off plate at bar. Weird. Never experienced this before. Have to get a service dog!

The food was delicious. The staff is friendly and knowledgeable about the menu items. The wait was short. The ambience was great. We’ll be back soon!

Great service. Didn’t have to wait to be seated. Amazing food and wine. Had the sparkling mascato is sweet and yummy. The pasta was perfect. I would definitely come back here again. Perfect way to celebrate a wedding anniversary.

I’m really liking this Italian restaurant! I had pasta with fantastic mussels! The bread is baked fresh and so yummy! My four year old daughter even devoured it! I’m not that big of Italian fan unless I’m in the mood and tonight satisfied my craving. The service was fantastic too! I’ll be back to this neighborhood gem!

The food and service at la fontana was excellent! We went here on our honeymoon and my wife and I were very satisfied with the whole experience. We definitely recommend the personal pizza. We will surely return here on our next trip to Charleston.

This is one of the first close-​to authentic Italian food restaurants I have ever eaten at. The food is excellent! I went out with my boyfriend at the time and we ate off of their 2 for $ 10 menu and each of us ordered the Penne Pasta and Tomato Basil Sauce bowl. The atmosphere is very notable. It’s peaceful, despite the highway being right outside, and the wait staff are incredibly generous and kind.
The restaurant is located right off of the highway and if you aren’t paying attention, you will miss it as it tends to get caught up in all of the other roadside restaurants in this area. Location is not incredibly great but the restaurant makes up for it by serving excellent, homemade Italian dishes. The pasta and basil sauce platter was very simple yet quite elegant at the same time. This is not a white tablecloth restaurant, so feel free to wear a polo and jeans.
The price is excellent as well. You may end up paying up to $ 50 for other Italian restaurants such as Olive Garden not to mention the wait time for other restaurants can be upwards of 2 hours long. We were seated immediately and served within 15 minutes of placing our order. While you enjoy the atmosphere of a peaceful and quiet restaurant, you can also enjoy the authentic décor and Italian bread with olive oil. Definitely worth looking into if you are wanting to enjoy Italian food at a low cost and a 0 wait time.
Location: C–
Staff: A+
Wait Time: A+
Price: A
Atmosphere: A

Not worth your time or money. Have written a stellar review in the past, however so much has changed, I think we would be better off going to Olive Garden. We won’t be back. Imagine, lunch manicotti nine dollars and you get one manicotti. Or, Basic spaghetti and meatball nine dollars and you get one small meatball.

Excellent — had the lamb shank and it exceeded my expectations. Service was good. I highly recommend.

Unpretentious cozy welcoming deliciousness. Excellent authentic Italian food in West Ashley just outside of Charleston. We had an early dinner on a Saturday and were treated to Impeccable service and flawless mouth watering food. Our table had salads, pasta with clams, Osso Bucco, Spegetti with meatballs, and chicken piccata. Everyone was very very happy. Go there now !

Would have given 5 stars if I didn’t have to wait at the hostess stand for such a long time while servers just looked at us. Having said that, the place is nice, food is good and plenty of it. Prices are ok. Service is very good once you get to sit down. If you are looking for just good Italian food, this is it. Are there better, sure, but like everything else, you have to determine this by yourself once you try it. I would try it. Oh, parking is not the best, so go early.
Frank G

I agree with James D. Attentive Service and great tasting food is right on. The Arancini appetizer was delicious and could be considered a main course. After the bread, appetizer and Lentil Sausage soup we We were getting full. The Eggplant Parmesan was the best I’ve ever tasted. Thick slices perfectly tender with incredible marinara sauce. My husband had the trio plate and was very pleased with tastes and portion size. Our services, Ashley was excellent. Don’t miss an opportunity to experience this nice local gem.

Charleston has many fine-​dining establishments where menus are filled with elegant entrees made from sophisticated ingredients. La Fontana is not one of those restaurants. Instead, it’s like going to your buddy Guido’s mama’s house up in Jersey, where you’re going to be fed fresh, delicious, hearty, and filling Italian fare. You will leave with a happily full belly!
I have had the eggplant Parmesan and the veal saltimbocca and both were outstanding. Their respective sauces were thick and rich, seasoned to perfection. The eggplant slices were thin, nicely breaded, and cooked until tender. The veal had been tenderized into submission and melted in my mouth, commingling with the saltiness of the prosciutto. The accompanying pasta was cooked to the definition of al dente. Each entrée was served with a choice of a leafy green salad or soup of the day (which was a hearty sausage lentil on the day of my visit). A warm, fresh-​baked loafette of bread was part of the meal and was equally memorable. Baked to a lightly crispy crust that surrounded a soft inside, it tasted like perfection without butter or the olive oil provided.
Even though I was full from the large portion size, I ordered a cannoli because… well, why wouldn’t I? My first taste and I felt like Meg Ryan in the diner scene from the movie When Harry Met Sally. They don’t skimp on the filling. With each bite I closed my eyes and savored every molecule of the creamy goodness that is made from a ricotta cheese base. When I finally finished I felt like I needed a cigarette. And I don’t even smoke. It was that good.
La Fontana lives in what used to be a Pizza Hut along West Ashley’s motor mile on Savannah Highway. But be prepared to be transported to another world once inside and eating!

Went here after coming from the airport. We wanted pizza and it was very good. I got the caprese pizza (buffalo mozzarella, basil, tomatoes) simply, yet delicious! I also got a Mojito after our waiter recommended it and that was also good. The only thing I have to say is the menu was a little on the small side and limited however, I’m assuming that means the food is good and fresh. They give you bread with olive oil and herbs and that was really nice. There’s a cute patio outside to eat on to but it was raining.

Solid old-​school Italian family-​style restaurant that has some really good lunch specials and it does have some cool outdoor seating and it’s good to have a decent normal restaurant in this part of West Ashley and I’ve always had a good experience here and they do have a decent little bar two and the owner is a very nice and approachable person

Came here to eat lunch during a break from work. We were seated immediately and given menus. There aren’t a lot of options on the menu but the prices aren’t bad. I wanted to customize my food order and they had no problem doing it. I give 4 stars because the menu is limited but the atmosphere is cool (they have Christmas lights throughout) food came out fast and portion sizes were decent. Definitely more authentic Italian than Olive Garden or Carrabbas.

I had heard good things so I thought I’d try it for restaurant week. The bread was yummy, crusty on the outside, soft on the inside. I decided the zucchini fritte to start, it was breaded deep fried (I think). They were really good especially with the dipping sauce but kind of greasy. The portions were huge, I could’ve only eat the appetizer and been done. I ordered the braised pork for my entrée, it was served over mashed potatoes and wasn’t hot when it got to the table, which was disappointing. It tasted good, but I was already full. Took most of my meal home to go. Had cheesecake for dessert… Ate that as soon as I got home.
I’ve heard so many good things about this place, maybe the pasta is better. The service was great, the people were all very nice. The place was packed, it was a happy friendly local atmosphere which I love.

I went here on a Friday evening with my parents after a day of moving. We had Angelo as our server and he has personality by the bucket full!
This place is very tiny, but the food was very good — we split the crab cake appetizer, I had the eggplant appetizer as my meal, mother had the lobster ravioli and father had the clam and mussels marinara pasta. All food came out very hot and tasty.
I will definitely eat here again.

What a disappointment. So it’s 900 degrees outside and it’s still cooler than inside the restaurant. The server said «yeah… It gets hot in here with the ovens going.» WTF? We were dying. My hair fell. The back of my neck was sweaty. I felt like I was doing a PSA for people left in hot cars! And no happy hour…
So about the food. First off, it’s WAY over-​priced. $ 18 and up for most entrees including chicken dishes. I ordered an over-​priced seafood dish. A big bowl came out. Now let me paint this picture. Big bowl with less than a cup of pasta sits in the center. On top was a salty Ragu sauce with 3 clams, 3 mussels and maybe 4 shrimp. I should remember how many shrimp because they were buried beneath this sauce and still had the tails on. Who does that? I could’ve choked to death. Everybody but the one who ordered the pizza complained about the salt and the commercial taste of their sauce. (i.e. Ragu, Classico, Prego…)
To sum it all up… Go with the pizza, but know that I warned you about the piercing shrimp tails! Do folks really return a second time?

I would like to tell you how the food was but I wouldn’t know. After standing at the hostess station for 5 minutes, being looked at by several employees sitting at the bar jaw jacking, I walked out.
I won’t be back to tell you how the food is, but from looking at the interior, I don’t think I want to eat there anyway.

First off, the server was very polite and the ambiance was kinda nice.
There was one other table besides ours and service was slow to begin with. They seemed to be overstaffed that night too, so I’m not quite sure what the delay was.
Anyway, the quality of the food… blah. I think I could’ve made the dishes better myself. I was hoping to be impressed… I LOVE italian food and was so disappointed. I think the noodles in the shrimp scampi and spaghetti were overcooked. I thought noodles were supposed to be served al dente at Italian restaurants?
Anyway, for the price I paid… not worth it. I guess I should have read the reviews beforehand, but we were in the area and starving!