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Wow! What a nice surprise. This place is fantastic. I would never expect a place like this in this neighborhood.
The taste, presentation and service is spot on! I ordered the soup, which was good but the smoky taste was a little much. For my entree I ordered the sole. Delish! It was topped with a tomato caper sauce and came with garlic mashed potatoes, spinach and carrots. I finished off the meal with the profiteroles. I left this place being so satisfied. I will be back very soon.
I used to love La Lanterna when they opened up while I was in high school -- but I will say that I went a month or so ago and while the company was wonderful, and same with the service and staff -- the entrees just didn't totally do it for me.
The polenta starter was awesome and so was the carpaccio (just like I had remembered) -- but their risotto of the evening was a let down, and so were the veal ravioli I had. They were fresh and homemade, but they just weren't anything to rave about.
If I was in the area, I would maybe go back-- they are the best place to eat on 25th if that's saying anything... or not?
As this is my first Yelp review, I'm pleased to be writing about an establishment that I would have given a high mark to long before today. La Lanterna is a no frills Italian restaurant that delivers with great food and very accommodating service. I've been there a couple of times and both experiences have been very consistent.
This time around, the restaurant was very slow. It being a Monday night, I understood and actually enjoyed pretty much having the whole restaurant to ourselves. And since I had great company joining me, I could look forward to a good time with some nice food.
We started with a Caprese salad that was both fresh and seasoned well. It was also served very cold which held the Mozzarella and tomatoes together instead of it being limp and falling apart before you could get it in your mouth. My entree was a prosciutto wrapped chicken breast stuffed with ricotta cheese and spinach. Probably the best version of this I've ever had so there's no surprise that I've ordered it repeatedly. From the looks of the lovely lady's plate sitting next to me, she enjoyed her's as well. We finished with some simple vanilla gelato and biscotti....a little too crunchy for me but this might be my only tiny complaint.
Go check it out.....Great food....Good prices.....and very nice peeps running the place.
This place is an extension of my personal kitchen, and we have taken family and friends almost once a week for the last 3 years. Great local place that many people from the neighborhood eat at regularly. The service is always very nice (ask for Michelangelo, great guy and your gal will swoon) and the food great. My favorites are the bolognese, the gnocchi, veal picatta, and the fish specials are always good.
On the salad front try the Spinach salad, or the steak salad.
All of these meals are also great for the price. Enjoy.....
Trying to be nice but just not quite there. They have beigy-browny-tany booths along a brown wall with tables lined with white tabecloths. And to complete the set up, they set the table with two forks, which look as if they were on different transformational plates.
My dining partner noticed the cheeseburger on the menu outside but was sad when he didn't see it on the lunch menu. He simply asked for it anyways and got it.
The food is mediocre at best. There isn't much flavor, but if you want flavor you have to pay for it, and you're not paying for it here.
Great place to dine locally. Service is superb, food never fails. Larger groups are accommodated so well-nice large back room.
I was shocked to see so many mediocre reviews from this spot. I thought the pleasant, upscale atmosphere along with the friendly and unobtrusive staff creates a casual and comfortable atmosphere. The waiters are can really lay on the charm with the woman I was dining with and made her swoon. I swear its that freaking passionate accent, times like this I wonder why couldn't Asian accents sound as sexy as European accents....
My first time here I had one of the best mushroom and Parmesan risottos ever, it was rich, creamy, flavorful. The risotto was perfectly cooked, still had texture and structure with each bite, gently encased in a thicken broth with a subtle but aromatic mushroom smell. I've had a number of risottos over the years, but I swear, this was the best risotto I have ever had...
A number of the types of pasta are all freshly made to order and are priced pretty fairly... Most places I know charge even more for it. They also do a pretty good anti pasta tasting plate with with a number of cheeses, cured hams, fruit and olives, all with different cooking preparation styles, I usually get this if I am going with 3 to four 4 otherwise it is alot of food.
I desserts are pretty good as well I enjoyed the Vanilla Pana cotta with with a apricot/raspberry reduction sauce, the Pana cotta is rich but delicate I highly recommend to saving room for this, and savor it with a cup of coffee or espresso.
Great little down low Italian joint on 25th. Risotto was full of flavor as well as the veal cannelloni. Tiramasu was authentic. The service was solid from start to finish. Definitely is my go-to Italian restaurant in SM.
If you want a cheeseburger don't come here, go to Carl's jr or somewhere else.
I've walked by here so many times while on my way to/from lunch at other places on 25th and always thought "it looks like a nice place with a good menu, why is it *always* empty?"
Finally made it here for a work lunch, didn't bother making reservations because, well they're always empty! Was surprised to find the place nearly full, we just managed to snag their second to last large table. They didn't have enough menus to go around so our table shared. The wait staff was busy but remained pleasant and apologetic for the slowish service throughout the meal.
I was very happy with my cappellini, though there was way too much of it, I nearly finished all of it and now it is 5 hours later and I am *still* feeling weighed down by magnificent carbs. Every one else at the table was pleased with their meals which ranged from tortellini to veal. We devoured their antipasti plate, calamari covered in a very awesome green (pesto but even better) sauce, toasted bread with olive tampanade, caprese, melon with proscuitto and potato chips (fancy made from scratch ones) with salmon.
We saved room (sorta) for profiteroles (cream puffs filled with vanilla bean gelato covered in chocolate sauce, sounds awful doesn't it?) and tiramisu. The chef was kind enough to send out a creme brulee on the house too! All of the desserts were divine, including the tiramisu that I am not normally a big fan of.
Since this was a work lunch, I didn't get the bill but based on the prices on the menu, I don't think we spent all that much for 6 people.
There is a big glass walled room in the back of the restaurant for private parties, there was quite a happy group of ladies celebrating a birthday here today. Would be a nice place to have some kind of gathering.
oh! be careful walking around, their floors are made of this very lovely, but very slippery tile.
I grew up nearby this restaurant. I even remember when it opened.
Nine years later, I try to make it in here once every 2 weeks, which is mostly my budget for eating out on a week night. If there was one restaurant that I wish more than anything would pull through these economic times, it would be this one. For the following reasons this restaurant is possibly the best place for Italian on the Peninsula:
- they change up their menu, so you have to make sure to try something you have your eye on before it disappears.
- Their signature dishes are always fabulous
- dim lighting, snugly booths and romantic ambiance make this a great date place.
- Al dente pasta with bold flavours and simplistic plating combinations makes this place suitable for all family members from you grand parents to your friends.
- They have risotto, if you're like me that's reason enough to go
- They have a fantastic fish, meat and poultry menu
- Dessert menu is divine complete with a creamy tiramisu
I love how much attention they give you here. The waiters are very sweet, knowledgeable, friendly and overall make the experience a fantastic one. There's always this very serious waiter with the Parmesan cheese and black pepper ready on hand when ever you'd need him.
Oh, tonight I asked for a special order of Alfredo sauce, pasta, chicken and mushrooms and I got it., exactly the way I asked for. :) Yay! They were so sweet. It was fantastic. I just love this place and I hope they get more business.
This was lovely. Good date or special occasion place. The salads all looked delicious, but I went with the special butternut squash soup. Bellini was tasty, but light on peach. Prosecco was a nice sparkling wine. Bread and olives were great. We had the antipasto misto plate which was plentiful in quantity and taste -- an eggplant something, melon/prosciutto, tomato/mozzarella, bruschetta, mortadella, and two breaded/fried somethings. The bolognese sauce was very meat-heavy. Pumpkin ravioli was good, but not the best I've had. The gnocchi tartufalata (sp?) was great, but heavy after a large meal. Affogato and sorbetto nice desserts. Charming restaurant and staff. Delightful candy on the way out.
DISCLAIMER: It's been a while since I've dined here. I found this to be slightly over priced. The food is decent by peninsula standards, but nothing to write home about. To give you an idea, this place would last in San Francisco about as long as I'd last in Federal F*&^ Me Up the Ass Prison (Office Space reference). If you're hard pressed for a reservation somewhere in San Mateo, I guess it's ok. Personally I'd rather drive down to Vivace in Belmont.
After reading reviews for this place I decided to check it out. It's all the way at the end of 25th Ave, and I'd never even passed it before.
The place is cute, with nice big banquets lining the walls, white linens covering the tables and very friendly italian wait staff. I was hoping for a meal that would knock my socks off, but it was mediocre at best.
Here's what we had:
polenta al forno - parmesan crusted polenta cakes with a creamy mushroom sauce. this was pretty good, just maybe too heavy on the parmesan cheese.
ceasar salad - not bad, could've used more anchovies though
risotto w/ mushrooms, chicken and veggies: a little undercooked, couldn't tell sometimes if the crunch was from the rice or the corn. i probably wouldn't order this again.
homemade cannelloni stuffed with veal and spinach - i didn't notice any spinach on this, and the meat was over processed...sort of looked like the meat from the jack in the box taco's. my son at the entire plate claiming that it tasted like "chef boy r dee"... no further comment.
profiteroles w/ vanilla gelato & chocolate sauce - excellent! profiteroles were nice and fresh.
creamy dessert trio - creme caramel, creme brulee and tiramisu. wasn't too crazy about the creme caramel, but that's just because that's not usually my favorite. loved the tiramisu, it was rich and creamy.
so basically, two stars for the dessert and the polenta. not sure that's reason enough to visit again, although the place is cute, for the price i just wasn't impressed with the quality of the entrees.
A+ all the way across the board. i'm italian and i'm tellin youn this is as good as it gets. The waiter is a huge asset to this place and make the experience that much better.
I just returned from my first dinner at La Lanterna. I am amazed it only has a few stars because I had a wonderful dinner with an amazingly awesome and charismatic waiter.
I started with Bruchetta which was HUGE and plenty filling.
We ordered our main courses:
Me: Linguine with clams
BFF: veggie ravioli
Co-Worker: spaghetti w/ sausage
Our dishes were served hot and quick and were very tasty. I had many clams in my pasta and they were plump and juicy and completely lacking the normal sand grit! I was very happy!
We ordered coffee and dessert too! I had some of my BFF's creme brulee (amazing) and my creme puffs with vanilla bean gelato and chocolate drizzle were to die for. I'd go back just for that!
Our waiter was funny and taught us Italian (he's from Sicily) when we ordered. I had a very enjoyable meal and will definitely be back to La Lanterna again!
"Bad Service and Food!
15 mins after we were seated, my bf had to flag down the hostess to have our order taken. In the middle of taking my order, the waiter stopped to seat some people. WTF?
My bf had shrimp pasta, but the pasta was hard and the shrimp was overcooked. How can an italian restaurant not know how to cook pasta?
During our entire meal, no one came by to check on us, to see how our meal was. I didn't get it? This place wasn't packed, but had waiters in the back just chilling.
I didn't feel bad that we didn't leave a tip."
This place is just okay, but not bad either. I went here b/c there was a 1,000 bonus point reservation on http://opentable.com and we were in a pasta mood.
in general, everything was just okay. Don't go expecting to be wowed with service ala Gary Danko and food from Acquerello.
The wine list is rather small, but they feature wines from the Purple Pinot Co. who recently had a lengthy article written about them in the Chronicle. Purple's "Avalon" Cabernet and Mark West Pinot Noir are decent, well made wines for the price, which were available by the glass.
UPDATE 12/31/07: Downgrade for my most recent visit. They charged me for refills on my iced tea (which was all ice anyway)... and they actually charged me for one more refill than I actually ordered. The server apologized for charging for the refills and said it wasn't his decision... Fine, but I was disputing the fact that you charged me for THREE $2.50 all-ice iced teas, when I only actually ordered ONE refill (for the idiot waiter: that's TWO iced teas, not three). It's a really bad move when you feel you have to start charging people for refills on drinks. If you're going to do that, at least get the number right, and you should warn people, too. Who charges $2.50 per refill on a soft drink that's all ice anyway? I'm putting this in the category of "avoid - or at least be warned of the overwhelmingly bad policies."
//
The food is above average -- solid. Nothing super amazing to write home about, but we feel like we get our money's worth here.
When you want to eat someplace where you can make a reservation (OpenTable rules), there's plenty of parking, and it's not full of crowds of loud people or screaming children, La Lanterna is the low-key place to go. The booths are cozy, even, and it feels like you're dining someplace upscale.
Only time I've ever seen it packed was on a Friday or Saturday night at like 7pm.
All very good: desserts, entrees, bread, service, free dish of olives... In all, a good bet.
Everything is excellent here. Extrememly solid food. Quiet and the watiers are very kind to us. I have been going here for years and have never had a bad meal. I know the wait can be a little long but dinner should not be rush rush.
Nice to sit down and enjoy company over a glass of wine or scotch.
The cannelloni is good. The veal is great stoppped with arugula over a bed of pasta!
I have eaten for the past few years and have always found the food consistently good. The prices are reasonable and the portions are adequate. i am always full when I walk out of this restaurant. The service can be a little off. Tonight it was a little too fast. We were still eating our salads when they brought out our entrees.
Every time my mom comes to visit (from Ohio) we always go to lunch here. The staff is fantastic. The food is wonderful. coming from an Italian family, I'm used to great home cooked Italian food. La Lanterna doesn't disappoint. I haven't eaten dinner here, so I'm not sure what the crowd looked like. The place was pretty empty when we went for lunch...I hope they stay in business in these rough times....
I went there last week and I really enjoyed the place. Staff was excellent, food was great, lighting a little dark for my nearsighted eyes, but other than that I would go back in heart beat. GF loved it andf I had food envy as her dish was better than mine. She also had the butternut or was it pumpkin squash, awesome stuff.
Yum yum yum! Had dinner there 8/24/07. Very inconspicuous location. Relaxed interior, very nice people there.
There was a salmon special that was fantastic. Wonderful presentation with green beans, pumpkin, garnish and a grilled peach. Portion did not look large but I was satisfied and too full for dessert.
Had a glass of house merlot which was just fine.
I will absolutely go back again.
Very nice neighborhood restaurant. The atmosphere is warm and inviting. The booths are very comfortable.
It's a great place to go if you want to spend a leisurely evening with friends or family. The food comes out at a comfortably slow to steady pace
The waiter we had is friendly and will chat and check on you every now and then, even after you pay the bill.
Their gnocchi is pillowy soft and flavorful.
$11 to $30 if you don't drink alcohol
$31 to $60 if you drink
Really really terrible food, do not risk your taste buds going here.
While the service and location are OK, eating is not a good experience. I got a salad with chicken, and it was literally a bunch of leaves over a huge piece of chicken breast. Not fun.
The other orders were gnocchi - how can you go SO wrong on gnocchi? it was nauseating, literally the gnocchi swamped in turkey gravy - TURKEY GRAVY.
TERRIBLE SERVICE - RUDE WAITERS! The food was passable but unfortunately, the night was horrific.
Nice decor, ambiance, and somewhat upscale looking for the 25th ave drag. The place is filled with business people and a larger table of old ladies. They give you a huge basket of bread and olives to start and the extra virgin olive oil is a great touch. Tried the clam chowder which was good but the veal torelloni a bit undersalted and overcooked. The service is also a bit curt but they keep your iced tea refilled constantly. A little disappointing for what the place is but my co-worker really liked his veal dish. 3.5 stars.
I discovered this place quite by accident having been invited to a party there for a friend. We had a wonderful time, excellent food though most of the fun was flirting with our cutie Italien waiter Michael Angelo. The osso bucco fell off the fork and the anti pasto was wonderful. I brought back my Italien auntie another time and the waiters fussed over her. All in all a great time.
Our family of 5 adults (1 Italian) dined here tonight and we were highly impressed in total. The food was outstanding. The Antipasto Misto was excellent with the calamari among the best in recent memory. The calamari steak was delicious, the cannelloni likewise and the tortelloni was the best of all of the dishes I sampled. What great flavors! The service was professional and excellent.
When we were undecided as to our wine selection, the waiter suggested we select a price and preferred intensity and he would choose for us. His selection was outstanding.
After a recent dinner at Il Fornaio where the noise level was deafening, as usual, the quiet atmosphere here with much better food makes this a clearly superior choice.
We all agreed that this was one of the nicest dining experiences we have recently had.
As an architect, I found the decor delightful with the yellow ochre walls, tan booths, and white table cloths.
I am not going to even try to respond to the negative reviews of this restaurant, because I am routinely puzzled at the inexplainable divergence of reviews on everything on every review forum. Maybe some folks ate at a different place and thought it was this restaurant. I apologize for being ignorant, but who orders a cheeseburger at an Italian restaurant, and what are transformational plates?
By far, this is the best Italian restaurant in the area. Tucked away at the end of 25th Avenue, it's truly is a "neighborhood gem" as I've heard it called. The food is always fresh and the menu is just right, plenty of choices for everyone, yet not overwhelming. Booths line the perimeter of the dining room and are the best places to sit. I believe they have a dining room all the way to the rear of the restaurant that would be a great place for a private party. The service is always attentive and we are recognized and welcomed whenever we're there. In fact, the last time we were there, our favorite waiter hadn't seen us in a while and brought us dessert on the house. If you are in the mood for a quiet evening with delicious food and great wine, dine here.
The bottom line: I've eaten here several times and am surprised by the bad reviews. The food is excellent, traditional Italian for a reasonable price, and the staff are professional.
If you want more details: I'm surprised at some of the bad reviews of this place, though I guess that's how it often is on Yelp, no? Sometimes you can't believe how different one reviewer's experience has been compared to another's. I almost feel guilty giving La Lanterna five stars after reading some of the other reviewers' comments about the service, but based on my experiences there, they do merit le cinque stelle (five stars).
While I am not a culinary expert, I can only say that as a part Italian-American whose grandmother was an AMAZING cook (she actually was raised in the kitchen of her mother's restaurant in Italy), I am hard to please when it comes to Italian food. I've eaten here several times and always enjoyed it, but after a recent meal to celebrate my parents' anniversary, I had to write a review.
Everything was excellent: the service, il cibo (the food), and the atmosphere. The appetizer plate (antipasti misto) was a good deal for $16 and easily satisfied four hungry adults: a delectable assortment of bruschetta, calamari, green and black olives, dry salami, gnocchi, and more. The calamari was perfect: it was not too greasy, nor was it rubbery. The gnocchi, which I normally don't care for anywhere, was light with a creamy filling.
For my main course, I had the risotto con pollo, which was creamy, flavorful, and contained plenty of chicken. For dessert I enjoyed a wonderful meyer lemon tart--not too sweet--served with a delectable raspberry sorbet. I was almost going to pass on dessert after such a filling meal, but I'm glad I didn't. My parents and my husband loved their dishes: the sea bass with risotto and the cannelloni with veal. (To another reviewer who says her young son said "Chef Boyardee" in response to the canneloni, I can only posit that maybe your child meant "This is the *antithesis* of the Chef Boyardee you serve at home, mom!") My husband also had the spinach salad and commented that it was the best salad he's had in a long time, anywhere.
Our service was very friendly yet professional; our waiter and the busboy were attentive without being obsequious or obtrusive. I should add that my parents and I speak Italian--not fluently but certainly well enough to order a meal and engage in everyday conversation. So, I'm sure that didn't hurt as far as us receiving great service. However, these guys really seem to take pride in their restaurant, so I'd be surprised if they don't offer good service to everyone. (Then again, according to some other Yelpers, they don't!)
Prices aren't cheap, at about $18-$30-something for most of the specials, but I'm sure you'd pay this much in the City for only cosi-cosi (so-so) Italian food and probably less friendly service.
If I may make one more observation: Like almost any restaurant in California, the dress code at La Lanterna is casual. We were no exception--somewhat dressy but still casual. However, I saw people at other tables wearing things like short shorts with tank tops (and they weren't all of the young-enough-to-wear-short-shorts demographic, either). Okay, it was a warm evening, but come on, people! I can only imagine how our handsome, tastefully-attired Italian waiter must have inwardly cringed at your wanton displays of cellulite. Please, folks, try to "fare la bella figura" when you're eating at La Lanterna. I think they merit a little effort!
We reserved a private room for New Year's dinner. Party of 12. Took an hour to get the entree after the appetizer, ON A SET MENU, only complaining about the delay 4 times to the staff. Two of my friends talking among themselves, grousing about the bad service and delay, were yelled at by one of the waiters working another table, who said, "You have no right to come here and complain. We're doing the best we can", then threw a glass of water at my friend. More shouting ensued. We were offered a pass on the check of $800. The wine was good so I paid the check. Owners are a husband and wife team. The wife has the personality and management talent of a wet dish rag, which is what she should be using while doing the dishes. Someone else needs to work the front of the shop.
Haven't been back. Don't ever intend to go again.
(9/2008 - still haven't been back. Still don't expect to go again.)
My mother in law recently purchased a passport card for my husband and I. The card gives you one free meal at several designated locations across the Bay Area. One of the restaurants was La Lantern. The first night we went we fell in love with the owners and the food. Their risotto is fantastic and they have new menus items every week. They also allow us to bring in our own wine without charging a corkage fee. I recommend the risotto, ravioli and the veal. Prices are great and we would visit even if we did not have the passport card.
This is a great Italian restaurant for a first date. The room is lined with booths and it is not very noisy. The food and service are both good. I love the atmosphere.
This restaurant should be called La wait. Everything takes about 30 minutes from the time of your request. We were there for 2 hours just waiting and waiting. They were seriously understaffed and the one waiter was in the back where the cook was 90% of the time and we had to continuously wait until he came out, and had to remind him several times of what we had requested.
The food is ok to good (not exceptional and some of the italian dishes were cold when we received them). This restaurant is absolutely NOT worth visiting due to the horrendous service. We were so disappointed since the restaurant had been reviewed positively by the SF gate!
Unfortunately, I have to agree with the naysayers. First of all, we waited three minutes to even be greeted at the door by the hostess. Then we waited more than five minutes for the waiter to come to our table. The salad was pretty sad but our entrees were decent. The problem with the entrees was that they took over an hour to arrive (and my gnocchi did a number on my stomach)! WTF? I was so embarrassed since I was the one who chose the restaurant. I won't be going back (even if they do hire two more waiters). I think I'll try the Italian place across the street next time.
the place is always empty for dinner, but the food was surprisingly good! i feel like its a hidden gem. i had the veal dish, and it was seasoned well and the tomato sauce was excellent, my boyfriend felt that sauce was pretty authentic and had reminded him of the food that he had during his 3 month stay in italy. the place is owned by people from napoli, and conversed w/ my boyfriend. I don't know if its b/c he was chinese and spoke to them in italian, but we got excellent service...
This place had delicious Italian Food and great service. I just came with my friends after our graduation on June 15. It was a perfect evening and had good service, with the best Italiano food!
We had a family gathering party in La Lanterna last month (Aug 07). We reserved the private room at the back of the restaurant for 12 of us. From a few bad reviews that I read from Yelp, I expect the service will be slow but to my surprise everything went very smooth and pleasant. The waiters were very helpful and friendly. The food was very good especially gnocchi, risotto, and roast pork. It's a good neighborhood restaurant.
San Mateo, CA
Category: Italian
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Category: Italian
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Category: Italian
San Mateo, CA
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