Our Story
La Fontana Del Mare was first opened in 1998 by Bujar Daku, the head chef and Gani Daku. It is a landmark restaurant, only a block away in small town Strathmere (midway between Sea Isle City and Ocean City). It is a place where diners by the sea can get a splendid taste of Italian from the City of Brotherly Love in a round-about way. The restaurant offers adjusted menus for all kind of diets, therefore making the place open to everyone. We are also accessible to those with disabilities fulfilling the ADA requirements.
Based on 309 reviews, the restaurant has received a rating of 4.1 stars. Price $$$$
✔️ Dine-in ✔️ Takeout ✔️ No-contact delivery
Address:
1 Commonwealth Ave, Strathmere, NJ 08248
Phone: (609) 263-7700
Social Profile: 
Hours
| Tuesday | 3–8 PM |
| Wednesday | 3–8 PM |
| Thursday | 3–8 PM |
| Friday | 3–8 PM |
| Saturday | 3–8 PM |
| Sunday | Closed |
| Monday | 3–8 PM |
Menu
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Photo Gallery
Reviews
Raphaelle Lessard
Delicious restaurant, excellent service. The staff was very kind and was taking great care of us.
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Kristi Decarlo
The food was good and our waitress was great! Management is useless and horrendous. Everything was great until our bill came and we were charged 26 for kids pasta and meatballs. The pasta was two spoonfuls. When we asked to speak to the manager she said we don’t set the prices. Ok lady. We know it’s inflation and pasta is 1.50 a box but 26 for 2 meatballs and two forkfuls of pasta you should be ashamed. We won’t be returning!!!! If you are gonna price gouge you need to disclose!!! Who has ever paid 26 for pasta and 2 meatballs on a kids menu. Said no one ever!$
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Michael Hill
Very good Italian restaurant in Strathmere, NJ. Had a dish with breaded chicken topped with greens and tomatoes. The menu titles were in Italian, which I don’t speak. I love that! Food was good. Service was great. Our server Raquel was awesome. The dessert was a caramel peanut butter chocolate ball cut in quarters. Yum. I’ll go back.
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Jay Remmy
Food can be decent traditional Italian…but for the price, it sucks.
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Carol Dickson
Was our first time here tonight.
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Alexis Monteith
I ordered take out Penne Alla Vodka with salmon. When I got there it was ready, which is great, but when I looked in the bag it was just the food. I’m down in Strathmere for the day, so I asked for some plastic silverware. The hostess, who was young, responded simply with “no we don’t have any”. How are you going to say you serve take out and can’t even provide utensils? I drove to wawa to grab some and once I started eating, I realized I should’ve just ordered from wawa in the first place. Salmon dry, and extremely over salted, I mean it was $8 I guess so. But the pasta? I eat penne vodka EVERYWHERE and love it nearly every time. Hard to mess up. But oh my gosh this is the worst I’ve had it my life. Overly greasy, tiny pieces pancetta, my stomach hurts! It looked like such a nice place to sit and eat, but unfortunately I won’t be returning.
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S B
Place is nice and similar in vibe to their Sea Isle location, but not worth the price. It’s an old school NJ style Italian Restaurant, not like a finer dining location in the city. Some of the stuff is homemade, but most is not. They used canned crab meat for example, which they’ll only disclose if you play 100 questions. Seriously, “we get it every day” = we get not new cans of crab meat pretty frequently. We got the clam appetizers, and they were chewy as rubber bands. My seafood risotto was watery, so the consistency of the risotto was way off. Defeats the point of spending a bunch at an Italian restaurant. The arugula special salad could have been amazing, but it they didn’t actually cut the ingredients and turn it into a salad (it was arugula. a few watermelon wedges with rinds on, cantaloupe wedges, a massive chunk of burrata and slices of prosciutto. It would have been amazing had it been incorporated into a proper salad; it wasn’t.) Of our 8 dishes, the best ones were the 2 chicken dishes even though this place advertised itself as an Italian seafood restaurant. The service wasn’t amazing, but they tried their best so it was fine. For example, they kept asking us to pass dirty plates down the full length of the table, rather than moving to each end to collect them. We were glad to help, but not do all the work.
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Holly Tampe
Service and food were amazing. Had 2 of the special appetizers and the pasta/seafood special. OMG the homemade angel hair and big chunks of seafood including lobster. Definitely worth the drive and will go back again BYOB
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C B (krisbuck)
Made reservations and showed up on time. Was told they were setting our table. Apparently they tell that to everyone else as there were MANY parties waiting outside who had made reservations long before us.
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Mark S Smith
The food is nearly always excellent!! Straight up Italian and Seafood. Prices are reasonable for the shore although some might find them to be a little steep for a large party. When they are not busy, the service is very good. However, when they are busy the parking is horrible, the service tries their best but they drop off, and the wait (even with a reservation) can be ridiculous.
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