Fontanos Subs

First time eating in the restaurant, instead of getting subs to go. Hands down the BEST Italian food I’ve had in years! Delicious! Excellent service. I ordered the gnocchi, husband ordered the chicken parmesan. Highly recommend!

Service was good — greeted when entering, prompt order taking at counter, can customize sandwich. Tables were clean, washroom clean and soap in dispenser. The 3 star rating is because the food was meh. The sandwich was mainly bread and difficult to eat. I’ve had better subs at other place (Firehouse Subs, Jersey Mikes).

What a find! A tiny, very good Italian restaurant masquerading as a sub shop. Seriously, unless you know the restaurant is there, you could walk in, grab a sub and never see it. Behind the sub counter is a small, comfortable — tables and booths — restaurant. We arrived at 6:15 on a Wednesday night and were the only people there by the time we left there were three other parties. I hope this was just a quiet night as now that I’ve found it, I don’t want Fontanos to leave.
The owner/​server was friendly and attentive, giving us just the right amount of attention and not rushing us. We brought our own bottle of wine (corkage just $ 5) and were quickly brought out glasses and poured our first taste. The bread wasn’t particularly good — it had the taste and texture of white bread (I hope they use something different for their subs) but the side salads we ordered were fresh and full of tasty things. I ordered the creamy balsamic dressing and it was delicious. For dinner, I ordered the Handmade Spinach Manicotti Alla Alfredo and my dinner companions ordered the Pork Chops Alla Zingara and the Linguine Shrimp Puttanesca. All three of us were delighted with our dinners. The Spinach Manicotti could have been a tad hotter but was still excellent.

I have used them to cater some events and everyone seems to love the food. I prefer «not chain» restaurants and this fits the bill

Naperville best kept secret hidden gem Great homemade Italian food a really reasonable prices. Nice staff friendly owner but the best thing they have. Are there sandwiches fresh cut Italian deli meats. Great bread. Order the wise guy or blockbuster. Nice quite quaint dinning room have been coming here for years for good reason

Super yummy! Pastas are amazing and plentiful but save room for the banana cake or the carrot cake. Heck have them both!!! Panini sandwiches are excellent and assortment of salads will be able to please anyone!

Such yummy food and friendly staff! My first visit will definitely turn into many visits down the road.

Try the alla Strega salad with grilled chicken added. Bam! This place is great. Good service. Friendly owners. Good food. Works for me.

The subs are pricey, but they’re worth it. This ain’t no subways or Mike’s. The cook is a nice guy that engaged me in conversation — feels like a family-​run business, but I don’t know if that’s true — feels warm.
The other food, and there is plenty of it, is pretty good. Scallops were a little pricey too. Pretty good, but not big enough to justify the price. Overall, a good 4 stars. I’d go all the time, but they’re not by me.

I was sent here on a run for the office I work at to grab lunch for everyone, and I gotta say, this was a good choice! The girl at the counter was very helpful, and made a very good suggestion on the Old World, delicious! I was happy with the food, how fast the order was completed and would definitely return and recommend their food anytime!

This place doesn’t catch your eye from the street but that all changes when you come inside. The place has pretty good cold subs and numerous other italian dishes. I’ve only had the their subs and it’s a nice change from the other sub shops out their if you like cold subs. I’m a bigger fan of hot subs. If your looking for a change from the run of the mill type of places give them a shot. I know when I go back I will get something other than a sub.

Fontano’s Subs… It’s more than just subs… it’s pasta, it’s panini, it’s Banana cake…
The food is good, the service is great… (The owner could use a shirt a few sizes bigger) and it’s exactly what you’d expect. Good food, fair price, nice people. The more you go the more you feel like part of the family.

I was pleasantly surprised by this place. From the storefront, it looks like your average, run-​of-​the-​mill sub shop. But don’t let that fool you.
I step inside to see the counter, a couple of high-​top tables, and then in the back were quite a few tables as well as cozy booths. I decided to order the Angel Hair pasta with Arrabbiata; arrabbiata is a spicy sauce (for those who don’t know) and Fontano’s makes theirs with Prosciutto, Peeled Hand Crushed Plum Tomatoes, & Fresh Basil. For $ 10.95, I presumed the portion to be a healthy size.
I decided to dine in, so I went and sat in one of the booths. It was 3:45 or so on a Friday afternoon, and I was the only patron. I was pleased, as I’d be able to take in my surroundings, relax, and photograph my food without any weird looks from other diners.
The atmosphere has a romantic vibe with low lighting, yet the kitchen is attached to the small dining area, so you hear a lot of banging and rustling. I wouldn’t recommend this as a first date place, unless you’re in high school or with someone that thinks Olive Garden is high class. The lights are almost too dim, but it didn’t bother me as much as it might bother others. The booths, while cozy, smelled a bit. Like a mix of urine and sweat. It was pretty gross. Nothing a good wipe down with bleach wouldn’t cure, but it did ruin my appetite a bit.
My food was brought out in about roughly 7 minutes or so. I was correct on my portion assumption; the amount of pasta I was given looked to be a 4 person serving size recommendation. I took a few pictures, and then dug in.
The arrabbiata was good and quite spicy, which surprised me. It was delicious nontheless, albeit a tad on the watery side due to poorly drained pasta, I presume. I look around for some parmesan cheese only to discover there wasn’t any readily available at the table. I stood up and walked to the counter and asked for some. The kid (not the same guy who took my order or brought my food) lacked enthusiasm as he handed me the cheese.
I ate as much of my meal as I could, but it hardly looked as though I put a dent in it. I waited for the guy who brought my food to come back and check on me, but he never did. Again I stood up, walked to the counter, and requested a box. The same kid, in the same motion as the first time, grabbed one and handed it to me.
I boxed up my leftovers. Unsure whether to leave a tip, I decided against it, as I had already tipped when I paid. Not to mention the waiter/​cashier who took my order never came back to check on me, nor did he ask if perhaps I wanted cheese when he brought my food.
All in all, I’ll probably go back. Their menu is vast, and despite the odd service (maybe I just came at a bad time), I enjoyed my experience.

Had the Meatball sandwich. Wonderful!
Little location tucked away in a nondescript strip mall. Don’t let this fool you. The food is great. We normally do the carry out but nice for date night for a quiet evening with great food and atmosphere.
Stop by and check it out for yourself.

Great food at an affordable price. We have been going to Fontanos for many years.
I love the eggplant and the chicken limone. The owner is really nice. Great neighborhood place and I highly reccomend.

I love Fontanos subs. This one is strange in that it is not a sub shop. It is more of a sit down restaurant, a dark sit down restaurant. You can still get subs here but it isnt the traditional deli counter set up. I would go here again to try the sit down italian food but mainly I just order a pick up subs to eat while watching my kid run amok at Café N Play.

Yeah, if you want to carb load, come here, as they have pasta, paninis and subs. In terms of environment/​aura, it is dim to the point where it is almost stressful on the eyes. It does not help that this restaurant faces east either, so it gets dark in there pretty quickly later in the day. The restaurant is pretty small and REALLY EASY TO MISS.
I ordered the Old World sandwich with a minestrone soup. Frankly, I have had better. There was very little meat/​cheese/​tomatoes, and WAY too much bread. The sandwich had really good brie in it though. The bread-​to-​contents ratio was REALLY high, and the minestrone soup was comfort food-​worthy.
All in all, the food was okay, it’s dark in there, and easy to miss. So if you do miss it, you are not missing much.

My husband and I used come here a lot a few years ago, and really loved this place. Since we were in the area, we decided to stop in for lunch, and were sad to discover Fontano’s has gone DOWNHILL in a hurry.
We decided to go with the daily special Spaghetti & Meatballs. Not only was the food below average (I’ll get to that), but they refused to honor the «special» price displayed on their Daily Specials chalkboard. They said the special only applied to meals after 5, even though they acknowledged that it didn’t say that anywhere. We ended up having to pay $ 10 more for less food (the special would have included a salad and unlimited pasta).
As for the food, their version of a meatball was a hunk of ground beef; it completely lacked flavor. Their runny sauce wasn’t much better than a jar of Ragu. Long story short, for the $ 32 we spent on lunch, I would have rather gone down the street to another restaurant.
I’m sad to say, with so many other, superior, options, we’ll never go back again.

Local Italian Cuisine Specializing in Handmade Pasta
This is a small local place with really good food. The menu is strong on Pasta and Sandwiches. The seating area is unimpressive and squeezed in to the back but the food and friendly staff makes up for it.
Things I’ve Eaten:
Italian Sub Sandwich
8 Finger Cavatelli (A Must Have)
Italian Sausage Sandwich
Bruschetta

Pasta, panini, sub sandwiches, what more could you want when you’re in the mood to carb-​load yourself at lunchtime?
This restaurant is cute, and you can tell the put some thought into the décor. It isn’t as stark and manufactured as other sandwich places. It’s actually a little dim inside by the front counter (there’s a restaurant in back), and there’s one table in front and some chairs to wait for a to-​go order.
I ordered the chicken parmesan to go. I overheard a guy in the kitchen ask about a previous order, «eggplant parm? that’s the eggplant in the breading, right?» I crossed my fingers hoping he was new and not stupid. People should have working knowledge of their own kitchens and basic cuisine before working in any restaurant.
Anyway, about 10 minutes later, my order was ready. There’s a steady stream of lunchtime customers, and they prep your food as you order, so the wait was expected.
My chicken parm was okay. Average. Mediocre. Acceptable. A fair portion of chicken, smothered in mozzarella with fresh bread. The bread was a little chewy, but I liked that it wasn’t soaked through. Where was my sauce though? I could tell the chicken had been possibly dipped in some sauce, but there was no sauce on the bread which made the sandwich very, very dry.
For such a basic menu item to fail, I have to wonder if Fontano’s is worth re-​visiting. I’ve heard good things about the pasta, and I like the «choose your own sauce» option. Maybe for pasta or a panini, but I’ll skip the chicken parm.