La Fontana

Michelle (2 November 2008)

This is an absolutely amazing place. My husband and I eat out a lot and are, for the most part, disappointed. I don't know why we hadn’t heard about La Fontana before, but thank goodness we drove past it one night and decided to give it a try. It's very conveniently located so parking was easy. On entering, we were immediately impressed by the great décor and lovely ambience - modern and funky but with traditional touches in deep colours. We found it very warm and welcoming; there were lots of candle-lit corners for romantic dinners but plenty of large tables too. I also saw some people sitting in a sofa area having pre-dinner drinks. We received a warm welcome from the guy behind the long bar area who also waited on us and did a great job. We ordered a beer and margarita while we pondered the extensive and reasonably priced menu. It was nice to see a menu with more creative choices, but if you are a less adventurous diner you can be sure there will enough choice on the menu to keep you happy too. The restaurant wasn't that full, being mid-week but I have since driven past on a Saturday and it was pretty packed so I would recommend reservations on weekends, especially as they have theme nights with live music and dancing. The possibilities include an Egyptian band with traditional dancers, Spanish with flamenco dancing, jazz funk, swing and salsa bands. All good so far but as well-travelled foodies, we usually try not to get our hopes up when it comes to the food. We were pleasantly surprised.

For starters, my husband had the grilled butterflied prawns marinated in cumin, garlic and chillies with harissa hot sauce. I had a taste and although I usually dislike shellfish, I can honestly say it was the first prawn in my forty odd years that I found to be mouth-wateringly delicious. I had the mixed meze; marinated olives, houmous, Egyptian salad, tzatziki and pitta bread, all were delicious and enough for two to share. By the time the mains came we already knew we would be back in a hurry, so my husband gave up trying to choose one and decided to just start with the first main on the menu, a chicken tagine, which he couldn't stop raving about. He also ordered a pizza just to taste - the chef obligingly made a small one - as that is another thing we find difficult to get a really good example of in the UK. It had the required authentic crispy base and ample toppings. I had the sirloin steak with harissa sauce. I found the sauce to be more like a paste and preferred the harissa that came with the prawns but that is the only thing I would change, next time I will try the red wine sauce. We were amazed at how fresh everything was; fresh cooked vegetables like peas and carrots, a fresh salad with a great dressing and real home made chips, nothing was frozen. The portions were very generous, more than ample really and almost a shame as it tasted too good to waste. During the meal the owner came over to ask how everything was which we thought was a nice personal touch. Unfortunately we had to leave early so we didn't get to try the desserts, but they all sounded delicious. I am not someone who usually gets onto a website and recommends a restaurant but I am going to post this wherever I can. We have to entertain overseas business people a lot, and could never find somewhere in Reading that ticked all the boxes; this place definitely does. The people of Reading deserve to know about this fabulous place. We definitely plan on taking our friends there as often as possible. Please go, I am sure you will be as impressed as we were.

Tara (1 September 2008)

I love the food and music in this restaurant, there is nothing like it in Reading, it is so different. My friends had the best night ever on Saturday, they said the food was so wonderful, we will be back.

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