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La Lanterna Ristorante - Steakhouse in San Mateo, California

La Lanterna Ristorante

4.4 (275 reviews)

180 W 25th Ave, San Mateo, CA 94403

Italian restaurant

About La Lanterna Ristorante - steak house in San Mateo, California

Charming white-tablecloth Italian eatery with curved booths serving classic dishes.

Customer Review Summary

The food at La Lanterna Ristorante receives mixed reviews, with highlights on the appetizers and specific dishes like cannelloni but some complaints about others, such as overly sweet tortelloni. Service quality varies significantly; while some reviewers praise friendly, attentive staff, others report long wait times and forgetful service. The atmosphere is generally described as enjoyable and authentic, contributing positively to the dining experience. Overall, opinions are divided, with some diners highly recommending the restaurant, while others express disappointment and frustration over service delays and food inconsistencies.

Key Features

Service options

  • Outdoor seating
  • Delivery
  • Takeout
  • Dine-in

Highlights

  • Great coffee
  • Great dessert
  • Great wine list

Popular for

  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Solo dining

Accessibility

  • Wheelchair accessible entrance
  • Wheelchair accessible parking lot
  • Wheelchair accessible restroom
  • Wheelchair accessible seating

Offerings

  • Alcohol
  • Beer
  • Cocktails
  • Coffee
  • Comfort food
  • Food
  • Hard liquor
  • Wine

Dining options

  • Lunch
  • Dinner
  • Dessert
  • Seating

Amenities

  • Restroom

Atmosphere

  • Cozy
  • Romantic
  • Upscale

Crowd

  • Groups

Planning

  • Dinner reservations recommended
  • Accepts reservations

Payments

  • Credit cards
  • Debit cards
  • NFC mobile payments

Children

  • High chairs
  • Kids' menu

Parking

  • Free parking lot
  • Free street parking

Customer Reviews

Rating Distribution

4.4 out of 5
5
168
4
70
3
23
2
9
1
5
Based on 275 reviews

Helen

8 months ago

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

Gerald Soo

5 months ago

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

Mark Alcantara

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!

Kevin Lu

4 years ago

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

3 years ago

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!

Elaheh Aria

6 years ago

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.

Javier Rey

6 years ago

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.

Andre Belcher

9 months ago

This was a nice place with nice service. The workers were professional. The atmosphere was enjoyable. The people I was with liked this place and treated me to it. I was not too impressed with the recommendation of veal, but I did enjoy the pork tenderloin with spinach and mushrooms. The tortellini duck was not much duck for my satisfaction, but it was tasty. The pork tenderloin was my favorite dish this visit. I did appreciate the recommendation for the risotto to substitute the seafood for the steak. Although I did not do that this time, I should have. I enjoyed the salad with beets. We also enjoyed the bread pudding with ice cream but I recommend asking for 3 scoops so you don't run out of ice cream before the bread pudding. The hazelnut creme Brule was interesting to try. It's a nice little old feel hole in the wall. Parking was pretty full. But I found a spot right in front at just the right time. Music in the video: Track: PLEEG - Home [NCS Release] Music provided by NoCopyrightSounds Watch: C . PLEEG -Home [NCS Rele.. Free Download / Stream: http://NCS.io/PLHome

Location

Contact Information

Hours of Operation

Friday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM
Monday Closed
Saturday 5–9 PM
Sunday 5–9 PM
Thursday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM
Tuesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM
Wednesday 11:30 AM–2 PM, 5–9 PM

Price Range

$30–50