Café Fontanella & Wine Bar

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  The food is mediocre at best. The service was mediocre.  I ordered a salad and soup combo.  i ordered a salad that had three ingredients: apples, Gorgonzola cheese and walnuts.  My salad came with no apples. The soup was brought to the table and only then I was told it had changed from meatball soup to cream of asparagus. My husbands order was just eggplant coated in sauce and cheese.  Not good.  
  
  The best part of the meal was the pizza dough my kids were given to play with.  Very nice touch and we all enjoyed it! That is the only reason for the second star.
  
  We had a gift certificate from <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Frestaurant.com&s=c5fe485af4df376130bee54f875814d79c4d7913e1258123b1206d2bdbf4873b" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://restaurant.com</a> (the only reason we chose to eat there) that they  wouldn't accept it because the beers we drank were on special but one get one free.  That negated the offer.  So we spent $50 on a below average lunch. Boo!  
  
  Probably will not go back. My voucher will just go to waste...

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  Posted on 09.17.13 Deanna L.

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  Have eaten here 3 times.  First time it was a motorcycle ride destination for my wife, myself and another couple.  The food was good but the service was a bit slow.  The second time was my wife, myself and our yorkie.  Again the food was good but the service was extremely slow.  They were having a concert that night so we chalked it up to being shorthanded.  We tried again last night with the pup again and it took several minutes for the hostess to show up at the hostess stand.  Once seated, it was obvious that others were getting frustrated with the slow service.  We waited nearly ten minutes and had not seen a server so we left.

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  Posted on 09.08.13 Joe B.

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  Do you like bluegrass music?  Italian food? Margaritas?Juxtaposition? Welcome to Fontanella!
  
  One of these stars is solely for the overly apologetic waitress who seemed embarrassed.  This place was one hot mess after another, from clientele to service to atmosphere to food.
  
  The menu is Italian... but they have a weekly margarita night?  They advertise live music, but we were caught off guard by the (way too) loud bluegrass band basically playing the "O Brother, Where Art Thou" soundtrack.  The number of contradictions this place has to offer is hilarious.  
  
  Wine selection wasn't great for a place that calls themselves a wine bar, but they do have wine (a red and a white) made specifically for them by Arrington Vineyards and only available there... except they were out of the red when we tried to order it.
  
  Our appetizer and salads came out quickly, so we were optimistic... but then our wine only showed up once we were done with those and waiting on entrees.  We worried we'd have no time to actually enjoy our wine since it came so late, but then we had at least another 40 minutes before our entrees showed up.  Thanks?  My entree was supposed to come with pasta, so I asked the waitress when it did not and she grumbled about the kitchen and went to check on it. It showed up another 10 minutes later.
  
  The food was ok.  I didn't love anything, but didn't hate it (except for the dessert - stay tuned for that). Just kind of average Italian. The sauce was pretty much just plain tomato sauce, nothing to it.  
  
  During our meal the waitress asked if we like tiramisu because she wanted to get us a free dessert for our wait.  We agreed, but ended up later asking for it to go since we'd already been there over 2 hours at that point with no end in sight.  She brought something that looked like flan drowning in hershey's syrup and said she had put on some 'extra chocolate' for us for our trouble. ummmm...?  Yeah, it was gross. If I wanted to eat hershey's chocolate syrup with a spoon I would have stayed home alone in pajamas on the couch.
  
  After our meal/before the bill showed up a manager came to our table to make sure the hostess had told us on our way in that the credit card machine was down.  She had not. And who carries cash? Although in the hostess's defense, maybe it was still working when we got there 3 hours earlier?  They had to manually take down the card number to run it later. (Please don't steal my boyfriend's identity, strange Italian redneck people!)
  
  The kicker is that we chose the place in large part because we got a 20% off coupon at Taste of Music City... we forgot it at home.

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  Posted on 07.09.13 Lisa G.

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  I have to admit, I was reluctant to try Cafe Fontanella.  I was a fan of the Farm House restaurant which was replace with Cafe Fontanella.  My husband and I wanted to try something different and I read that they had gluten free options, so we gave it a shot.
  
  I ordered gluten free pasta with chicken and my husband ordered a calzone.  They made a mistake in his order, but even with the mistake, he thought it was very good.  My pasta and chicken were very tasty.  They offered us a free dessert, due to the problem with his order.  We had the flourless chocolate cake, which was amazing.  
  
  In addition to the good food, they have live music, and believe it or not, it wasn't country music!!  The performers who sang the jazz covers were very good, and not too loud, making it possible to carry on a conversation during your meal.  
  
  All in all, it was a great experience and we are looking forward to going again.  If only they had gluten free pizza.....

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  Posted on 07.07.13 Frances S.

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  I ordered a pizza to carry out and was told it would be ready in 15-20 minutes. I arrived at the restaurant 18 minutes after placing the order and waited another 12 minutes until my food was ready. The waitstaff was very disorganized and was unable to tell me how long of a wait it would be. A woman at the bar told me they had a new staff. She wanted me to be happy so she bought my pizza for me. I was happy while driving home until I opened the pizza box. There was a good 1/4" of grease covering the top of a semi-cooked pizza. Two of the pieces had no toppings or cheese on them at all! It was extremely disappointing. I feel bad that ANYONE had to pay for that pizza, because it was pretty much dog food. The restaurant location is very convenient for me, but I don't think I will be going back any time soon!

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  Posted on 06.06.13 Theresa W.

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  My boyfriend discovered Cafe Fontanella when I gave him instructions to find us a new place for date night.  I asked him to choose based on the following specifications:  1.) The restaurant could not be a chain; 2.) The restaurant must be new to both of us and 3.) The restaurant must have something that makes it unique--whether by the food, the atmosphere, or anything else.  
  
  A tough assignment, for sure, but he scored a homerun when he found Cafe Fontanella!  We came here for our Sunday night date night, to be greeted with a wonderful singer/songwriter entertaining the crowd.  We were pleasantly surprised that Sunday night was 1/2 price bottle night, so we scored a fantastic bottle of wine for under $20!  The waitstaff was delightful and ready to make our dining experience as good as it could be  The food, while not fancy, is quite good; I particularly enjoy the pizzas (And I'm not much of a pizza person, so that says a lot!) and the homemade marinara sauce on the pastas.  The salads are crispy and fresh, and the garlic knots that accompany every meal are always a decadent treat.  
  
  Don't come here expecting gourmet Italian food, but do come expecting good service, a lovely and warm environment, and wonderful entertainment.  We've now been here for dinner 3 times and each time we've enjoyed a different local musician--they've all been incredibly talented and have helped to make our trip to Cafe Fontanella romantic and special.  We're looking forward to enjoying a concert or 2 on the grounds this summer!

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  Posted on 03.24.13 Tracy F.

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  I met a friend here for lunch.  I'm not sure what I expected but I was pleasantly surprised.  The lamb stew was very flavorful and satisfying and the wine list was great.  I love the atmosphere and the service was good.  I will definitely return.

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  Posted on 03.23.13 Teresa B.

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  Decent food not on par with places like Macaroni Grill or Carrabba's. This is not signature dining by a long-shot but their menu prices imply it is.

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  Posted on 02.02.13 Steven W.

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  Nice decor. Good service and the food was good. I had lower expectations but was suprised.

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  Posted on 08.24.12 Mark H.

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  What a great place! My wife and I went out here because there was a concert.  The place was packed at 5:00. We ordered a pizza to go and sat outside on a picnic. Just a fun place. The pizza was good and I will go back soon!

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  Posted on 08.05.12 Kurt R.

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