La Fontana

This haute Italian palace sustains the style of an earlier generation, which equated fine dining with rich cuisine and Broadway extravaganza.

By: Kate and Tom O’Neill

   At La Fontana, the décor is over-the-top, the service polished and amiable and the food elaborate, if of uneven quality. Gold-tinted mirrors on walls and ceiling, gilt brocade wallpaper, brass railings, chandeliers, velvet draperies, the eponymous fountain, a magnificent carved bar, large glass vats of grappa and a wine list that includes some noble vintages with four-figure prices — all these make La Fontana a setting to close a deal, mark an occasion or induct a new partner into the firm. Manager Mariann Loch says La Fontana is a popular spot for engagements, and couples often return on anniversaries to commemorate the romantic moment.
   Joined by our friend Michelle and our son Tim, we settled into low upholstered chairs and flinched only slightly as waiters whipped the napkins off the table and draped them in our laps. Our captain, Diego, exemplifies the restaurant’s hospitality. We were seated like guests, not customers, and promptly offered and served drinks. While we chatted, a server delivered a basket of good, sliced sourdough bread followed by a plate of bite-sized tomato-topped bruschetta. The leisurely pacing invited leisurely conversation rather than the usual rush into menu presentation and food selection.
   La Fontana’s wine list invites broad consideration. Leather-bound, it offers 16 pages of selections ranging in price from $32 to $2,225 (a 1985 Chateau Petrus), and is strongest in its Italian and California offerings. We chose a modestly priced ($38) Chateau Sancerre that was cool and crisp, with summery citrus overtones that nicely accompanied our meal.
   Menu choices are wide, offering temptation for vegetarians well as those who prefer seafood over meat. Tuna carpaccio ($12) was a delectable array of translucent shavings of tuna, topped with a delicate basil sauce and served with plump, zesty capers and pungent olives. Funghi ripieni ($12) offered wild mushrooms in a sauce of Barolo wine and herbs. The fresh mozzarella platter ($12) included a roast eggplant, roasted peppers, sun-dried tomatoes and nearly flavorless fresh tomatoes that got a slight boost from an intense balsamic vinegar. A special, risotto pescatore ($10), offered a generous portion of saffron rice that was on the soft side of al dente, laced with chunks of fish. Unfortunately, an assertive tomato sauce masked the delicate flavors of saffron and seafood.
   Between courses, our palates were cleansed with miniature scoops of tart lemon sorbet, served in tiny pewter bowls over each of which hovered a life-sized hummingbird. The elegant staging and props for this ritual typify La Fontana’s approach to dining.
   Most entrées are elaborate, with sauces and imaginative presentations: Scaloppini mare monte ($32) consisted of shrimp and porcini mushrooms with a glutinous cognac sauce atop a stringy, overcooked slice of veal. Rustica ($40) proved to be a tender lobster tail jauntily perched in a crusty sourdough bread bowl half-filled with sauce, swimming with shrimp, scallops, mussels and clams in their shells. From the bread bowl arced a whimsical scorpion-tail crafted from a damask napkin, reinforced with tinfoil. The piping hot sauce of cognac, champagne, shallots, cream and butter complicated the bare-hands removal of clams and mussels from their shells. But with a little time to cool, the fresh seafood flavors and stunningly rich sauce complemented each other. Even the bowl was tasty.
   Capesanta gamberoni ($32) was composed of three scallops and three shrimps served on rounds of roast zucchini atop a bed of spinach. The seared scallops retained a delicate texture and sweet taste that was enhanced by tangy sauce with a touch of fresh ground pepper.
   Schienale d’agnello ($32), two interlacing trios of lamb rib chops, resembled clasped hands and offered much to be thankful for. Rare, as requested, the lamb had been roasted in an herbed salt crust that locked in the juices, while infusing the meat with light, fresh flavor. Satiny mashed potatoes and steamed, al dente broccoli completed the dish with admirable flavor and simplicity.
   Our desserts (all $12) also featured memorable presentations. La Fontana’s tiramisu, mostly a creamy pudding, was presented in a margarita glass with a single ladyfinger pointing skyward. Our other choices, truffle and tartuffo, were elegantly served: quartered, for ease of eating and surrounded by raspberries and sliced strawberries and wild swirls of syrup. The truffle consisted of raspberry sorbet, marbled with vanilla ice cream and covered in white chocolate, while tartuffo offers vanilla ice cream flecked with maraschino cherries in vanilla ice cream surrounded by a milk chocolate shell.
   Lest anything about the meal had not conveyed elegance, another captain arrived after our espressos with a cart laden with a vessel of grappa, the quintessential Italian digestif, infused with lemon and kiwi. Each of us received a complimentary glass of the searing liqueur, poured from a long brass ladle, in a single, swooping movement.
   Today, many diners’ tastes lean toward simple preparations, with the spotlight on the interplay of natural flavors, but La Fontana sustains the style of an earlier generation, which equated fine dining with rich cuisine and Broadway extravaganza. Those seeking ostentatious pampering can dine well at La Fontana, but may find better cuisine among the more straightforward selections. Diners who seek the restaurant’s warm hospitality along with simpler food at off-Broadway prices also have excellent options: stop by for the Monday-night pasta dinner ($20), visit on Sunday when the cost is half that of a Saturday-night dinner, or enjoy the prix fixe lunch ($13.95), offered daily.