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La Lanterna Ristorante

4.0 (368 reviews)
ModerateItalian
Closed 5:00 pm - 9:00 PM
Updated over 3 months ago

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La Lanterna Ristorante Italian Restaurant Photos

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LA LANTERNA RISTORANTE ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Good for kids
Good for groups
Outdoor seating

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Linguini con Vongole
Lu T.

Wow, everything was really good and the service was great. Let's start with Michael our server, he was pleasant and attentive. We had some delays from our party so he stole the kitchen so the food came out all hot. As for the food, we order multiple plates, but let's start with the appetizers. The meatballs and calamari were really good as well as as the Caesar salad. The entrées, I had the linguine and clams and it was perfect. The others had chicken, Florentine and chicken Parmesan, which were really good according to them. Overall, the experience was fantastic and the service match. I highly recommend.

Pasta Special: penne with pesto sauce, sun dried tomatoes, goat cheese, and pine nuts
Camille E.

I always appreciate when outdoor space is accommodated--we had tables outside, even though it was just on the sidewalk in front of the restaurant (there is no established parklet or terrace space). The prices felt a bit high for the food, which was good but not great. Additionally, each of the mains came out at quite staggered times, so some members of our party waited quite a while from the time their plate was dropped, to when the final persons was, before they started to eat. It was a good meal, but nothing spectacular.

Dinner - Calamari Fritti
Cheryl M.

Delicious meal at La Lanterna...place is spacious, welcoming with a variety of dishes of appetizers, pastas, meats, salads to choose from that it was hard to decide what to get. Ordered: :: Calamari Fritti - whole calamari lightly dusted, seasoned and fried just right accompanied with cocktail sauce and a horseradish/mustard - 4.5 / 5 :: Tortolloni - housemade with veal, spinach, ricotta in a rich, creamy marsala sauce - lick your dish delicious! - 5/5 :: Squid Ink pasta with clams, shrimp - good dish but preferred my friends tortollloni! Dishes were all nicely prepared with great flavors...ended up with 1/2 my dish packed. Friend wanted dessert but next time will have it to-go as we left quite full! Wonderful dining experience with our server Michael taking care of us with old- school customer service. 5 star for the dishes, service and welcoming atmosphere this visit. I would definitely return again as there are plenty of dishes to try along with a repeat of the housemade tortolloni! Plenty of street parking with 4 tables available for outside dining. Approx $60/person with 2 drinks, tax and tip

Homemade Gnocchi
Leila F.

The best gnocchi I have ever had. Every time I come back to the Bay, if I want good Italian food, I come here. The sauce is delicious. It's flavorful and has a great umami flavor. They also serve perfect portions. The dish is sure to fill you up, but you'll still be wanting to eat the rest even if you're already full haha. Their bruschetta is also phenomenal. I love the decor inside. Very traditional and kinda upscale? I love the Italian paintings on the walls. Service is always really professional, attentive, and quick.

The evening special with Chicken Risotto and veal.

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4 months ago

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3 months ago

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1 month ago

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8 months ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

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2 years ago

Neighborhood gem. Great food and service reasonable prices. On street parking usually pretty easy.

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2 years ago

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6 years ago

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4 years ago

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4 years ago

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2 years ago

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7 years ago

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2 years ago

Delicious food, great atmosphere and excellent service. This restaurant always impresses.

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5 years ago

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2 years ago

This place was recommended and it did not disappoint. The service was professional and courteous. The food delicious and portions generous.

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8 years ago

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6 years ago

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Pausa Bar & Cookery - Pizza

Pausa Bar & Cookery

4.2(1k reviews)
1.6 mi
$$$

Pausa is hands down my FAVORITE restaurant in San Mateo…read more They make their pizza crust in-house and you can truly taste the difference. The crust is chewy on the inside and has a perfect crunch on the outside. They also give you scissors to cut it up which is fun!! The menu changes with the seasons and I always try to get something new I'm here. Service is always really friendly. The restaurant itself is gorgeous and almost is too pretty for San Mateo. You feel like you're in a restaurant in LA (I mean that as a compliment)! This restaurant will wow anyone on a date night. This is my go-to spot to take guests whenever they're visiting me in the bay. [this review was written in connection with a Toast promotion]

Decent Italian food! Pretty pricey though, dark ambiance. Not my particular cup of tea though I…read moreunderstand the allure. I get why people may like it but just not for me! Food (6/10) - I have mixed feelings about the food. On the one hand, all the appetizers were absolutely DELICIOUS. The creamery burrata with the slightly charred bread had an amazing crunchy texture that was followed by the smoothness of the burrata. The bone marrow had a super rich flavor (that also paired great with the focaccia). On the other hand, I wasn't the biggest fan of the entrees, which arguably, should be the stars of the meal. The mint with the lamb was definitely interesting and added a nice zing. I wasn't a super big fan of the overall lamb taste and texture though. The lamb's pull apart texture reminded me a lot of ribs (which is FINE) but didn't give me that characteristic lamb flavor. Since it was slow braised, that kind of flavor was lost. Additionally, the pasta was extremely chewy and borderline hard. I fully understand the concept of al dente BUT this was not a pleasant mouth feel. It was such a strange texture to bite straight through the pasta with this super firm texture. Price (5/10) - This kind of restaurant is bound to be expensive; you can kind of read from the vibe. I just don't find this place to be particularly worth the cost. I'm sure they use "the freshest ingredients" but the taste is not reflective on the price. I've had comparable or better food for cheaper and much better food for relative prices. Even a small pasta dish costs $30+. Ambiance (7/10) - The dark ambient lighting is intended to "set the mood" but it's just so dark in there :') Service (10/10) - What they do hit on is the amazing service of a restaurant like this! The servers are super friendly and amazing. They know the menu well and give great recommendations. Overall, this particular restaurant wasn't my cup of tea but I can understand if you ARE a fan. Give it a try if you're a fan of Italian but I wouldn't make the trip again.

Photos
Pausa Bar & Cookery - Great ambiance

Great ambiance

Pausa Bar & Cookery - Pizza Margherita

Pizza Margherita

Pausa Bar & Cookery - Valentine's day complimentary

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Valentine's day complimentary

Sapore Italiano - Seafood Pasta

Sapore Italiano

3.8(1k reviews)
3.2 mi
$$

The food is amazing the ambiance is great and the people are super friendly. Thank you Sapore for…read morealways making my mom's birthday special. I highly recommend this restaurant. Perfect to celebrate your special occasion.

Look, I'll be honest, if you're coming here for seamless, polished service, you might be…read moredisappointed. We went on a slow night and still dealt with a total "slow turnaround" and some classic operational gaffes. They couldn't find the bottle of wine we actually wanted and then spent way too much time trying to sell us on a different bottle we had zero interest in. It was a bit of a circus just to get the basics situated. But then the food arrived, and that's where the magic happened. I've seen reviews complaining about a "lack of flavor," but that was not our experience at all. We started with the beet salad--the honey-lemon notes were nice, though nothing to write home about. But once the mains hit, everything changed. The Carpaccio was spot on, the Ribeye (prepared perfectly to medium) was delicious, and the Branzino special was fantastic. And the Rigatoni Rustica? Believe the hype. It's a classic for a reason. Bottom line: The service is definitely sloppy, but I wouldn't dismiss this place because of it. The food is genuinely good Italian and the prices are reasonable for Burlingame. My advice? Skip the salads, ignore the service "monkey dance," and go straight for the classics. I'd definitely go back just for the steak and the Rigatoni alone. Highly recommended if you actually care about what's on your plate. An A++ local find.

Photos
Sapore Italiano - 11/6/2025

11/6/2025

Sapore Italiano - Pizza Pepperoni

Pizza Pepperoni

Sapore Italiano - Seafood pasta

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Seafood pasta

Bistro Arancini - Pasta

Bistro Arancini

4.4(151 reviews)
4.2 mi
$$$

Our valentine's day extravaganza ended with a bang at this Italian spot. It's nice and cozy a bit…read moreaway from downtown Burlingame and it is THE PERFECT date spot. We had reservations and were seated right away. They seemed t be super busy and served us right away. They did take a while with the water and bread refills. We ended our meal with Tiramisu and it was delicious. The coffee taste stood out. We were trying to take a selfie and the hostess offered to take one for us. Such a happy restaurant with happy employees!

A nice neighborhood restaurant that has a classy ambiance yet comfortably casual. They have a small…read morebar area and a couple of bar seating available. A good selection of wine but is still waiting on their liquor license to serve beer and other cocktail drinks. Service was a bit slow. Though the place was not packed, it took a bit for our food to be served. It helped that the bread came out quickly. The dip for the bread was very good. That was really enjoyable. The heirloom burrata starter was a missed. Although good portion, it was bland and poorly seasoned. Our entrees however, were delicious! We had the Octopus Spaghetti and the Linguine Vongole. Each dish had very distinct flavors and tastefully pleasing! We ended the meal with the tiramisu. It was simple, light and homely.

Photos
Bistro Arancini - We're delighted to serve delicious pizzas, pastas, salads, desserts, a wide selection of wine, and more! The best restaurant in Burlingame!

We're delighted to serve delicious pizzas, pastas, salads, desserts, a wide selection of wine, and more! The best restaurant in Burlingame!

Bistro Arancini - Pappardelle with truffle oil

Pappardelle with truffle oil

Bistro Arancini - We're delighted to serve delicious pizzas, pastas, salads, desserts, a wide selection of wine, and more! The best restaurant in Burlingame!

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We're delighted to serve delicious pizzas, pastas, salads, desserts, a wide selection of wine, and more! The best restaurant in Burlingame!

Tomatina - Large 1/2 Margarita + 1/2 Carne Combo

Tomatina

3.3(435 reviews)
1.6 mi
$$

Went here on a Monday. We were the only few that stopped by. I met my friend here after work,…read morethinking it was going to be good (my last experience in SC was), I was a little excited thinking it would be the same. It was busy at all and it was pretty slow inside. It had a nice ambiance, nothing special just quiet and open. Anyways, so here we are and we ordered our food. The food came pretty quickly, it wasn't hot and felt like it wasn't freshly made. I was disappointed and didn't pack my leftovers bc it was not good.

Closer to 3.5 stars overall. It's amazing to me that I had never tried out Tomatina even though I'm…read morein the area literally once a week if not more often. I finally had a chance to try them out this past weekend. We came on a Saturday evening and it wasn't crowded inside, at least not yet. Probably because it was early in the evening. Parking can be a pain because it's downtown San Mateo but I have my side streets I try first, and that usually does the trick for me. The interior of Tomatina is filled with woods and has a warm feeling to it. Once we were seated, our waiter came over quickly and introduced himself. After browsing the menu for a few minutes, I decided to order their Pasta Pomodoro with Shrimp. Our table shared the Garlic Knots and both dishes did not disappoint. There were plenty of shrimp and the Knots were tasty, maybe a little oily but I would order these two dishes again for a future visit. Our waiter was excellent. This space can accommodate large parties and has a good seating capacity overall. I look froward to coming back soon to taste more of their menu.

Photos
Tomatina - Bread

Bread

Tomatina - Steak loading

Steak loading

Tomatina - Tomato basil soup

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Tomato basil soup

La Lanterna Ristorante - italian - Updated May 2026

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