Some of the best plates of pasta in Oklahoma come out of buildings you would drive right past without a second glance. I had passed this one more times than I can count before curiosity finally won, and the smell of warm bread and garlic hit me before the door even closed behind me.
What followed was a plate of baked pasta so generous I needed a box, plus a basket of rolls I thought about for days. If you have ever wondered whether a small strip-center kitchen can outcook a chain, this is the place that settles the argument.
A Small Storefront On NW 12th Street
Tucked at 854 NW 12th Street in Moore, Fontana – Italian Restaurant does not announce itself with neon or fanfare. It sits in an unfussy building with a big parking lot out front, the kind of spot locals pass on their commute for years before finally pulling in.
Inside, the room is compact. Guests often mention there are only about a dozen tables, which means the place fills fast on weekend evenings and feels pleasantly quiet on a slow weekday afternoon.
The kitchen deals in red-sauce classics: baked pastas, pizza, veal parmigiana, chicken dishes, and a salad-and-bread setup that arrives with most entrees. Prices generally land in the $10 to $20 range, which is a big part of why regulars keep coming back.
Drive time works in its favor too. From downtown Oklahoma City, it is roughly a 20-minute run south on I-35, and Norman folks can be there in about the same.
For Tulsa travelers heading through on a longer trip, it makes an easy, affordable dinner stop that beats another interstate chain.
The Family Behind The Kitchen
Ask anyone who eats here often and the word family comes up quickly. Roughly twenty diners have specifically pointed out that the place is family owned and operated, and it shows in small ways, like an owner circling the room to check that everything is landing right.
That hands-on approach is the whole personality of the restaurant. Dishes are made fresh through the day rather than pulled from a corporate playbook, and the recipes lean traditional instead of trend-chasing.
Visitors describe the staff as welcoming and genuine, with the owners themselves often part of the service. A few guests have noted uneven experiences with service on busier nights, which happens in a small operation where one or two people may be covering the whole floor.
Still, the through-line is consistency in the kitchen. Longtime customers who have been showing up for years say the food has not slipped, and that kind of steadiness is rare.
For an audience that values places run by the same family for decades, that alone is worth the trip down I-35.
Beef Ravioli, The Quiet Headliner
Beef ravioli here is not a side note on the menu. It is one of the baked pastas the kitchen builds its reputation on, arriving hot with marinara that guests describe as savory rather than sugary.
Lunch portions of the beef ravioli are listed at $11.99, with other menu listings showing $7.99 or $9.99 depending on the size or time of day. For a plate that comes with a fresh green salad and a basket of Italian bread, that is a hard number to argue with.
Diners who order it alongside other baked pastas tend to report the same thing: the filling is well seasoned and the sauce carries real tomato depth. The house marinara has earned its own following, mentioned repeatedly as one of the better versions around.
If ravioli is your thing but beef is not, the kitchen also runs cheese ravioli and a sausage ravioli. Those variations keep the section interesting without wandering far from the traditional formula.
Order it for lunch, box half of it, and you have dinner handled.
Lasagna, Manicotti And Cannelloni On One Plate
Indecisive eaters, rejoice. The Pasta Combo puts lasagna, manicotti, and cannelloni on a single plate so nobody has to commit to just one baked pasta.
A lunch portion runs $11.99, with other listings showing $7.99 or $9.99, and like the rest of the hot entrees it comes with salad and bread. Considering three distinct pastas are involved, the value math is generous.
Guests who order it tend to rave about the cannelloni in particular, calling the marinara robust and savory instead of sweet. The manicotti gets frequent praise too, described as packed with cheese and nicely presented.
One honest heads-up from diners: the three pastas are not labeled on the plate, so figuring out which is which becomes a small guessing game. Most people consider that part of the fun, though a few have wished for a little more separation between them.
Fun detail worth knowing: cannelloni and manicotti are close cousins, one rolled from pasta sheets and one stuffed into tubes, which is exactly why a sampler like this is such a satisfying way to taste the difference.
Rolls, Dipping Oil And The Salad Situation
Thirty-one separate mentions in customer feedback go to one humble thing: the rolls. Warm, soft, and brought out complimentary with seasoned olive oil for dipping, they set the tone before your entree ever appears.
Several guests have said flat out that they are the best rolls they have had, and even people who were lukewarm on other parts of the meal have singled out the bread and peppered dipping oil as standouts.
Salads come with most hot entrees, and the house dressing is its own conversation. Some diners love it enough to mention it by name, while others expected something closer to a classic Italian vinaigrette and were surprised.
A Caesar option is available if you want a safer bet, and one regular swears by chicken Alfredo with a Caesar and extra dressing.
Portion sizes on the salad can run heavy on dressing, so asking for it on the side is a reasonable move. Between bread, salad, and a baked pasta, most people leave with leftovers.
Beyond The Baked Pastas
Alfredo gets talked about here more than almost anything else, turning up in roughly 45 separate mentions from diners. Chicken fettuccine Alfredo is the common order, though the kitchen also runs a pink sauce and a creamy tomato style that fans describe as fantastic.
Chicken parmigiana has its own loyalists, with several people claiming it is done right in a way they have not found elsewhere. Veal shows up often in conversation too, including veal parmigiana, which fits the old-school Italian-American template perfectly.
Stuffed mushrooms are the appetizer people reach for most, though a few have noted the plate could use an extra mushroom or two for the price. Garlic cheese bread is another popular starter.
The menu stretches wider than you might expect from a small dining room, covering pizza, calzones, grilled salmon, chicken marsala, and a chicken creamosa that curious diners have found genuinely interesting.
Save room if you can. Strawberry cheesecake has earned quiet praise from guests wrapping up a heavy meal.
Old-School Room, Come-As-You-Are Vibe
Walk in expecting polish and you will recalibrate fast. The dining room is described as older school and unpretentious, with soft background music, a couple of muted televisions, and roughly a dozen tables packed into a comfortable space.
That modesty is the appeal. Guests have said you can show up in almost any level of dress and feel fine, whether you came from church, the ballpark, or a Saturday of errands.
One diner compared the mood to having lunch in a small Tuscan town, which is high praise for a strip-center spot in central Oklahoma. Lighting is warm, noise levels stay manageable, and conversations carry easily across a table.
Families do well here. Portions are large enough to split with kids, the menu has plenty of plain pasta options for picky eaters, and nobody blinks at a booster seat.
Because seating is limited, the room can feel cozy on a Friday and downright peaceful at 4:30 on a Sunday. Pick your time based on which experience you want.
Hours, Prices And Planning Your Visit
Mark Mondays off your calendar. The kitchen is closed that day and runs 11 am to 9 pm Tuesday through Sunday, which gives you plenty of flexibility the rest of the week.
Lunch baked pastas, including the beef ravioli and the Pasta Combo, are available from 11 am to 3 pm Tuesday through Friday at that $11.99 lunch price. Showing up midday is the smartest value play on the whole menu.
Typical spending lands in the $10 to $20 per person range, and one group reported about $70 for a full table with fountain drinks. Phone ahead at 405-703-0911 if you are bringing a crowd, since the small room fills up.
Parking is plentiful right out front, no parallel-parking stress required. Weekend evenings can mean a wait, and a few guests have noted that to-go orders sometimes move ahead of dine-in tickets during rushes.
Hours and prices shift, so a quick call before driving down is never wasted effort.
Worth The Exit Off I-35
Plenty of Oklahomans have made the same discovery: a modest little room in Moore turning out red-sauce cooking that outpaces the big chains for less money. Holding a 4.4-star average across nearly 900 reviews, it clearly connects with far more people than the quiet storefront suggests.
Not every visit is flawless. Some guests have run into slow service on packed nights or a dish that arrived overcooked, and a handful have found the front-of-house warmth inconsistent.
What stays steady is the value and the flavor. Between the $11.99 lunch plates, the free rolls with seasoned oil, and portions big enough to send home in a box, the money goes further here than almost anywhere comparable.
Go for the beef ravioli if you want one great thing, or the three-pasta combo if you want to taste the kitchen’s range in a single sitting. Bring the family, skip the chain exit, and let a place that has been quietly feeding this town keep doing what it does best.
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