Fontano's is my very favorite Naperville restaurant. Not only is the food excellent, it is also totally unlike most restaurants in the area. Fontano's is really two places in one. Located in a strip mall next to a hair salon and down the way from Jewel, it's a sub shop. But step to the back and you find an excellent Italian sit down restaurant -- with table and wine service.
Up in front they serve a great variety of sub sandwiches along side of pastas and other goodies. Their pepper and egg is fantastic --- it's served up fresh everyday and contains just a hint of garlic and oil. My daughter loves the turkey because the bread is so good.
The back is really the gem here. It's a small, nicely decorated space with both booths and tables. The menu offers loads of choices from traditional Italian entrees to a selection of 'design your own' pasta dishes. I've eaten here many times and taken a bunch of different people and never had a bad dish yet. The pasta is fresh --- yummy gnocchi and flavorful orzo. My Chicken Marsala was to die for --- perfect balance of wine and 'shrooms in the sauce. The coconut cake is perhaps the best dessert I have ever tasted --- share a slice with a friend and enter a total food coma.
Before writing this review, I searched a bit on the web to get some background. Fontano's is a small Chicago based chain. The original is in the Taylor Street section of Chicago and was founded in 1960. There are several locations around Chicago and also in Colorado --- some are family owned and some are franchise locations. As far as I could tell, the Naperville location is the only one with the full-service restaurant.
Suburbia is full of chain restuarants which offer decor and theme over quality food. Sure I dine in them, but I would rather opt for the local place anytime. The Olive Garden and it's ilk have nothing on Fontano's --- please check it out.
Check out what other think about it on Yelp.com
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