Business Profile: Le Fontane Ristorante, Somers

Somers residents Antonio and Alfredo Abbate were already fixtures in the local restaurant scene when they opened Le Fontane Ristorante in Somers in 1991.

The siblings had already owned The Blue Dolphin in Katonah. “We were busy and one day this (building) was vacant and we took over,” Antonio Abbate recalled last week.

The 100-seat restaurant specializes in serving seafood, as well as fresh vegetables, which are purchased daily, Abbate said. Many of the fish offerings, including sole, are cooked with their bones. Swordfish is offered in the summer.

While Abbate said seafood is featured in many of the restaurant’s signature dishes, another popular item is the 100 percent grass fed Angus steak. Le Fontane also offers such dishes as pasta, rabbit and veal.

Patrons can also choose from daily specials. “All the specials are based on the season,” Abbate said. Le Fontane stresses the purchase of local foods. “To be fresh you’ve got to be local,” he remarked.

The co-owners strive do something different every day, Abbate said. “Every day we start with some new idea,” he said.

The brothers are also part of the group that owns the Bacio Trattoria in Cross River.

Le Fontane is taking part in the Hudson Valley Restaurant Week, which continues through March 22. “It brings new people” to the restaurant,” Abbate said. Restaurant Week lunches are $20.95 and dinners are $29.95 and include an appetizer, entrée and dessert.

The name of the Somers eatery means fountains in Italia, Abbate explained. “Every square has a fountain” in Italy, Abbate said, adding the restaurant formally had an indoor fountain of its own.

The restaurant has many regular patrons, Abbate said. “We know our customers,” he said. “We have a good time.”

The Abbate brothers grew up on the island of Capri, Italy. They moved to Westchester in 1987. They made a few visits to the home of their uncle, Giovanni Abbate, while the brothers were working in the restaurant business in Bermuda for three years before making Somers their new home.

“We liked it here and we stayed,” Abbate said.

Le Fontane Ristorante is located at 137 Somers Town Road, at the corner of Routes 100 and 139 in Somers. The restaurant is open daily except Mondays. For more information call 914-232-9619, visit http://lefontane.net or send an e-mail to AntonioAbbate@msn.com.

Neal Rentz