La Lanterna

My husband, son and i went here today for Mother’s Day dinner. It was our first experience with this restaurant. The food was excellent and the service was exceptionally good. We are happy to recommend it! We will definitely go back again.

Lovely quiet atmosphere. Very nice and quick service! So many fresh pasta dishes that I would like to return for! Spinach salad and Grenache rose was a perfect pairing!

Excellent Italian resto in the heart of San Mateo. My husband and I just popped in for an early afternoon snack and were so pleasantly surprised by the food and service. Fresh warm bread served to start. The bruschetta was scrumptious, the carpaccio - divine. And the service was efficient and friendly. Definitely check out!

We had our Italian family gathering at La Lanterna on a Sunday afternoon. They opened specially for our event. I had made all the arrangements in advance with Michael, including the menu. The event went off perfectly and flawlessly. The food, from the appetizers to the deserts was outstanding, especially the gnocchi. This restaurant is a perfect place to have a special event! And there is no charge for the room.

We had a family celebration for 13 including 5 young children (ages 2-11) and sat in their private room which was perfect. The owner and service staff could not have been more accommodating or nice. The food was delicious and beautifully presented and the children’s menu was perfect for the children. Everyone enjoyed their meal and drinks. Their prices are reasonable and the street parking is free. We highly recommend La Lanterna. We have enjoyed our meal everytime we dine there.

Hadn't been there since before the pandemic. Oh my! They've updated the decor and upgraded the menu. My wife and I started with salads. Large portions, very fresh, properly dressed. Next pastas. Squid ink pasta fuita da mare and penne with sausage and mushrooms. Both were al dente and sauces were tasty. Finished with very authentic tiramisu. Wine was high quality at a reasonable price.

Lovely Italian restaurant! It was busier than usual from my friend's perspective, but we still had a great dining experience. Service was slower because every seat in the house was taken, we were offered a second bottle of champagne on the house as well as any dessert selection on the house because of our wait. That's excellent customer service! The food was perfection and presented beautifully. Will definitely return.

Best plate of pasta in a very long time, happy service, nice place

My mom and I like to have girl dates here and love the food and wait staff. Michael and the rest of the team are incredibly kind and always make us feel welcome. I have loved every plate we ordered and the deserts are just as good. I definitely recommend this place.

Authentic Italian foods. High quality of the freshness and tastes.

The service is impeccable. The food tastes great to me. Very authentic Italian as I was told by friends. But I wouldn't know. The desert selection is pretty great. We work next door and pretty much eat here a few days a week. Still not tired of it.

Highly recommended. I have dined there dozens of times. It is always a great experience. High grades for both food (try the cannelloni) and the very friendly service. The cannelloni and Caesar salad are so good, I have a hard time ordering anything else!

Thank you Kathy! Our party of four had dinner here a couple of days ago. We were graciously seated outside - nice spot. The entire evening, our server Kathy, looked after us with much attention. Even though serving "outside seating" must be difficult during this tough virus times, Kathy made it look easy. Her charm and care added a special dimension to our evening. The entire meal - all dishes were tasty and delightful. The jewel in the crown was the bread pudding. Most Excellent. The risotto was perfect! The sauce with the polenta really added a whole new dimension of taste. We'll be back and hope that Kathy looks after us again.

Lovely ambience, great music, delicious food and superb dessert. Their steak risotto and frutti di mare (clams and prawns linguine) are DELICIOUS in a complex way! The lemon tart far exceeded expectations, the creme brulee is the richest I've had. Always leave this place happy!! Edit: no more steak risotto but the Sole and squid ink pasta are decent dinner eats. The sole was buttery and I like the lightly crisp outside, but could use more salt. The squid ink pasta is fragrant and tasty.

Good food, especially the appetizers (all of them), great service and great value.

Not only was the service and atmosphere spectacular, the food was out of this world. High quality service, delicious bread and appetizers, and bottomless water. The bruschetta was topped with fresh and crispy tomatoes. The gnocchi was buttery soft and the sauce danced in my mouth like your uncle at a family reunion. The silky, smooth exterior of these gnocchis could be punctured by even the dullest of teeth. The creamy smooth truffle sauce coated my tongue and was so flavorful that I used the fluffy white bread to soak up every last drop of that sweet, sweet sauce. To top it all off I finished with the chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée. These delectable treats were covered in a crispy, crunchy top and as I broke in I was met with a divine concoction that gracefully slid down my throat like a child on a slip n slide. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys good food. Good eats!

Delicious Italian sausage penne and ravioli pasta, with free bread and olives and olive oil. The pasta was very well balanced.

Really delicious Italian food in a cute bistro. The spinach salad was absolutely perfect! The service was fast and attentive.

We had first dishes to share. All were good, in order of preference: gnocchi, crab cakes, bruschetta, risotto, tortellini, polenta, ravioli. Linguine con vongole had a generous amount of clams. Sorbetto was great.

Kevin Lu

The service is impeccable. The food tastes great to me. Very authentic Italian as I was told by friends. But I wouldn't know. The desert selection is pretty great. We work next door and pretty much eat here a few days a week. Still not tired of it.

Roger Nolan

Highly recommended. I have dined there dozens of times. It is always a great experience. High grades for both food (try the cannelloni) and the very friendly service. The cannelloni and Caesar salad are so good, I have a hard time ordering anything else!

Fulldistance Going

Thank you Kathy! Our party of four had dinner here a couple of days ago. We were graciously seated outside - nice spot. The entire evening, our server Kathy, looked after us with much attention. Even though serving "outside seating" must be difficult during this tough virus times, Kathy made it look easy. Her charm and care added a special dimension to our evening. The entire meal - all dishes were tasty and delightful. The jewel in the crown was the bread pudding. Most Excellent. The risotto was perfect! The sauce with the polenta really added a whole new dimension of taste. We'll be back and hope that Kathy looks after us again.

Musho Pea

Lovely ambience, great music, delicious food and superb dessert. Their steak risotto and frutti di mare (clams and prawns linguine) are DELICIOUS in a complex way! The lemon tart far exceeded expectations, the creme brulee is the richest I've had. Always leave this place happy!! Edit: no more steak risotto but the Sole and squid ink pasta are decent dinner eats. The sole was buttery and I like the lightly crisp outside, but could use more salt. The squid ink pasta is fragrant and tasty.

Gerald Soo

Good food, especially the appetizers (all of them), great service and great value.

Eve Halbert

Not only was the service and atmosphere spectacular, the food was out of this world. High quality service, delicious bread and appetizers, and bottomless water. The bruschetta was topped with fresh and crispy tomatoes. The gnocchi was buttery soft and the sauce danced in my mouth like your uncle at a family reunion. The silky, smooth exterior of these gnocchis could be punctured by even the dullest of teeth. The creamy smooth truffle sauce coated my tongue and was so flavorful that I used the fluffy white bread to soak up every last drop of that sweet, sweet sauce. To top it all off I finished with the chocolate and vanilla crème brûlée. These delectable treats were covered in a crispy, crunchy top and as I broke in I was met with a divine concoction that gracefully slid down my throat like a child on a slip n slide. I would recommend this restaurant to anyone who enjoys good food. Good eats!

Anirban Nag

Delicious Italian sausage penne and ravioli pasta, with free bread and olives and olive oil. The pasta was very well balanced.

Izzie Newsome

Really delicious Italian food in a cute bistro. The spinach salad was absolutely perfect! The service was fast and attentive.

Gary Ogasawara

We had first dishes to share. All were good, in order of preference: gnocchi, crab cakes, bruschetta, risotto, tortellini, polenta, ravioli. Linguine con vongole had a generous amount of clams. Sorbetto was great.

Three of us went for Thanksgiving. It couldn't have been better. The food was wonderful and they did not rush us. We are thinking about going back every year.

Absolutely loved this restaurant! Every dish we tried was bursting with flavor and served piping hot, just the way I like it. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be coming back.

The staff is friendly. The food is delicious. I was there for lunch with friends and had their grilled salmon spinach salad. so good!

fran vin

The staff is friendly. The food is delicious. I was there for lunch with friends and had their grilled salmon spinach salad. so good!

Joy Thomas

Three of us went for Thanksgiving. It couldn't have been better. The food was wonderful and they did not rush us. We are thinking about going back every year.

Jon Clark

Best plate of pasta in a very long time, happy service, nice place

Claudia Bachoura

Absolutely loved this restaurant! Every dish we tried was bursting with flavor and served piping hot, just the way I like it. I highly recommend this place and will definitely be coming back.

Stephanie Christensen

Lovely Italian restaurant! It was busier than usual from my friend's perspective, but we still had a great dining experience. Service was slower because every seat in the house was taken, we were offered a second bottle of champagne on the house as well as any dessert selection on the house because of our wait. That's excellent customer service! The food was perfection and presented beautifully. Will definitely return.

The food was delicious. I would give it a 5 star if we didn't have to wait long for the food. We arrived at 6:30pm for dinner, was seated within 15 min. We ordered our food, appetizers arrived within 20min, but took another 45 min before the main course arrived. Otherwise, it was good.

Really yummy. Service can be pretty off sometimes. It is expensive, but the food is good. Service from the waiter was good as always. The other staff sometimes had trouble understanding. My food was delicious and it was a great ambiance.

Food was very good but we had to ask multiple times for bread and hot water. If I didn't know better I thought they had a bread shortage. Otherwise this place isn't bad. Pretty easy to find parking since there's always people leaving. If you can't find a space you can circle the block a few times and you're good.

Food was delicious. Came here for a work dinner, awkwardly there was an issue with my order (which was the same as one of my coworkers, so not like anything complicated) that caused it to come out pretty late... Like, once all of my peers were done eating already 😂 so I ate it, awkwardly... but I got a free drink out of it, so not all bad. Otherwise no complaints.

It was good food! There wasn't really alone there so not sure how poplar it is on a weekend. My girlfriend and I got the salmon and the steak, in which both were cooked very good. The godfather cocktail was mixed well. The cream puff dessert was not what I expected (the puff part was a little odd), tasty none the less.

This is our favorite local Italian restaurant mainly because of the caprese and because the waiters are super friendly. They have a big cocktail selection. The Ganster martini was good but was a bit too sweet after sipping it for a while. The Italian sunset was better but it had so much ice it was gone in a couple sips. I got the seafood linguini was which pretty standard. My wife got the risotto which was really unique. I wish they didn't take so long to break the check at the end of the meal. It's also kind of expensive.

I went there with my family on a Tuesday night. I noticed the restaurant was under staff (its the holiday season) and food was ok. The pork was greasy and over breaded. The Caprese salad was presented cute but not enough tomato and arugula. The tomato or Mariana sauce was good. The elderberry martini had a kick but it was delicious if you like something new. The dessert was the best part: bread pudding, gelato and crème brûlée. They sold out of tiramisu that day.

Javier Rey

This is our favorite local Italian restaurant mainly because of the caprese and because the waiters are super friendly. They have a big cocktail selection. The Ganster martini was good but was a bit too sweet after sipping it for a while. The Italian sunset was better but it had so much ice it was gone in a couple sips. I got the seafood linguini was which pretty standard. My wife got the risotto which was really unique. I wish they didn't take so long to break the check at the end of the meal. It's also kind of expensive.

Stephanie Hinckley

I went there with my family on a Tuesday night. I noticed the restaurant was under staff (its the holiday season) and food was ok. The pork was greasy and over breaded. The Caprese salad was presented cute but not enough tomato and arugula. The tomato or Mariana sauce was good. The elderberry martini had a kick but it was delicious if you like something new. The dessert was the best part: bread pudding, gelato and crème brûlée. They sold out of tiramisu that day.

I am not a big pasta person but my wife and family is so we came here. They had one server working and there were at least eight tables. I felt for the guy because he was working hard to get to every table. It took us 30 mins to get the bill. All the food came fast because he knew it will be busy I guess.

First visit to La Lantenna: Excellent food, friendly staff. really enjoyed it! Second visit: Still mostly fine, but my companion's entree (veal piccata) was nearly inedible. Bottom line: There are many good aspects to this restaurant, but it tends toward the ordinary.

Delicious food, reasonable prices, good service. Friend got tortellini, which she loved, and my cannelloni was perhaps some of the very best I've ever tried. Street parking was no problem, restaurant was clean, great Italian food for the neighborhood, especially. The only problem was that the spumoni came highly recommended (by the server, no less), but when I received it, it was only one flavor (chocolate), which was disappointing. The server should have told me that they were out of ice cream, rather than swapping it for basic chocolate with pistachios sprinkled on it... I felt overcharged and misled. I'd give them another chance, but be upfront about what's available and what's not!

Spaghetti Bolognese. The sauce was tasty, but the pasta was overcooked. Service was good and attentive, restaurant was busy.

I ordered Tortolloni, it tasted so sweet which I didn’t like at all. I felt eating honey!!! The food taste is well below average, it is not pricey though as google map shows. The customer service was great, very polite and kind employees. There was a guy, his name was Ali, made me feel home,. If I go back there it is just for customer service, my three stars are for service too not for products.

Elaheh Aria

I ordered Tortolloni, it tasted so sweet which I didn’t like at all. I felt eating honey!!! The food taste is well below average, it is not pricey though as google map shows. The customer service was great, very polite and kind employees. There was a guy, his name was Ali, made me feel home,. If I go back there it is just for customer service, my three stars are for service too not for products.

Food was good, one of the servers was super friendly, the others literally forgot to bring us menu for the first 10 minutes and we had to ask twice for our bill We only got appetizers and two pasta, and the dinner took us over 2 hours. Another couple who came in at the same time as us even got dessert and finished before us. I’m not sure if they’re just forgetful or if it’s something else but I’m quite disappointed

We recently got take out from La Lanterna. They said it would be ready at 6. I showed up at 6... and stood at the door until 6:34. No offering of a chair/water, how long it would take, or why... I just stood there like a door man, not sure what to do. They also forgot croutons in the salads. Paying top dollar, we expected more

Quality went down from the last time we were there. Wilted Caesar salad floating in oil, greasy crab cakes. Very sad day for us since we used to like this place. Will not visit again.

Helen

Food was good, one of the servers was super friendly, the others literally forgot to bring us menu for the first 10 minutes and we had to ask twice for our bill We only got appetizers and two pasta, and the dinner took us over 2 hours. Another couple who came in at the same time as us even got dessert and finished before us. I’m not sure if they’re just forgetful or if it’s something else but I’m quite disappointed

Jason Garvey

We recently got take out from La Lanterna. They said it would be ready at 6. I showed up at 6... and stood at the door until 6:34. No offering of a chair/water, how long it would take, or why... I just stood there like a door man, not sure what to do. They also forgot croutons in the salads. Paying top dollar, we expected more

claudia greif

Quality went down from the last time we were there. Wilted Caesar salad floating in oil, greasy crab cakes. Very sad day for us since we used to like this place. Will not visit again.

To all the Uber drivers do not pick up from this restaurant they take too long to prepare the food for delivery people. They're just gonna waste your time. They don't care

If you enjoy waiting over an hour for your food, this is the place for you! We went on a Friday night, and surprisingly, it wasn’t even busy. Yet, the service was terrible. The servers didn’t check on us, and we had to repeatedly ask for bread and follow up on our order, which they kept forgetting for some reason. Absolutely unacceptable. Never coming back, don’t waste your time here!

Brushetta was good. That was about it. The worst Chicken parmesan I have ever had. Dry and flat with a spoon full of pasta. $35?!?! Desert had chocolate on everything including the Tiramasu. Waiter was rushed and indifferent. Give me Lucetis any day of the week.