This fabulous Asian fusion restaurant on Franklin St is one of Chapel Hill's hidden culinary gems -- an unparalleled blend of service, atmosphere and taste that makes it worth the drive from anywhere in North Carolina. On a recent visit, our family started off with an delicious order of Pork & Chive Dumplings, while I enjoyed a perfectly prepared Old Fashioned from the bar. For our entrees, we shared plates of tender Shaking Beef tasty Sticky Rice and succulent Pork Ribs, all paired with a fabulous Pinot from the restaurant's impressive selection. Service was outstanding throughout our visit, and Lantern's softly lit, intimate setting makes it the perfect spot for a date night or just to escape the Carolina heat. Everything about our visit was wonderful, and the prices were more than reasonable for a meal of this caliber. An amazing find in Chapel Hill! read more

A favorite for many years revisited after too long--birthday celebration with a couple that joined us every Friday night for all the years we lived downtown. This is a very special, romantic New York or Paris kind of spot. It was a great evening with killer soft shell crab and for me a perfect Black Manhattan. We all loved the evening. No detail was not perfect! read more

Lantern - Bar area--always our favorite spot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Not for me. Visited last evening and had pleasant service. The food and flavors were not to my liking. The salt and pepper shrimp were battered and cooked with the shell remaining. That didn't work for me. The dumplings were ok. The wontons had a flavor not to my liking. Expensive for the experience. read more

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Our daughter brought us here to dine when we came to visit this weekend. She had been telling us about this restaurant for sometime. We ordered the tuna, cauliflower, dumplings and warm squash salad to start. For dinner we ordered the steak as the restaurant is known for it and the bento box as I am gf and could not partake in the steak. Everything was just delicious! My favorite is the tuna and the squash salad, the steak is my daughter's and husband's favorite. Highly recommend and of course how could I forget the amazing drinks to start! read more

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Returned for the first time in over ten years (had moved overseas for eight of the years) and it has not missed a beat. I would describe the menu as modern Asian but the most important thing is everything is excellent. Started by sharing two dishes with my daughter. We both loved the salad. The lettuce wraps were okay but probably the one thing I would not order again; they just lacked flavor. The true highlight was the shaking beef, cooked perfectly medium rare (without having to ask) with a perfect sauce, it was simply great. Tempted to order dessert but was too full, until next time. read more

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Food was fairly good. Bad experience with server. There were eleven of us and we had made a reservation. At the end of the meal, our server informed the table that we were more than two hundred dollars short of their $65 per head minimum. We had read that that was a penalty for no shows, not a requirement if eating there. The manager waived the extra charges, but we think they should make this policy clear when you sit down, not after the meal. read more

The steak was good as well as the bento box. We also had the shrimp which was so so, the pork dumplings which were great and ended with the chocolate cake and ice cream. The service was incredible read more

Lantern - Oysters - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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Walked in on a Tuesday evening for drinks and light bites! Were able to get a table without a reservation and were seated promptly. Service was great and food was great! We got both orders of the dumplings and the steak. Ambiance was cute and would come back for a nice dinner or date again. read more

We were hoping for a nice relaxing evening with friends but we were being pressured to order dinner at the same time as our appetizer and then the dinners came out at different times. Drinks were forgotten about and a glass of wine had about 3-4 small sips in it at $15/glass. Food servings were also very small. We all left hungry after ordering multiple apps and each having a meal. read more

Food, service and experience always consistently good. Was inspired to write a review after I saw people complaining about the expectation they had for a 30 meal. The spinach is life changing. read more

The food is always high quality and displays the talents of a gifted and conscientious chef. Service is top notch. We think it is the best restaurant in Chapel Hill. read more

From the moment you step foot inside, the Lantern staff and ambiance delivered. Great place for date night, my wife and I tried a variety of dishes and we fully enjoyed each bite along with the bottle of Nebbiolo; which ended pairing well with each course. For starters we sampled the Clara' Salad, Pea Shoot & Scallion Dumplings, Lettuce Cups and Korean Style Fried Cauliflower. Followed by The Shaking Beef entree prepared with caramelized red onions and water cress, I requested it medium. We also had the Lemongrass Grilled Country Pork Rib with perfectly cooked jasmine rice a fried egg and a fresh cucumber mint salad that had a slight hint of spice. Each dish was perfectly cooked and really paired well with the Nebbiolo. We topped of the meal with 2 decadent desserts the Hot Chocolate Cake which had delightfully Toasted coconut pieces. And we thought we would explore and try something unusual so the warm Native Persimmon Pudding was our non-conventional choice and we both agreed it did not disappoint. The service was great, the food quality was outstanding and truly delicious. With 3 kids we don't venture out on dates as often as we like. Therefore, we try to make the best possible choice and I am happy to say Lantern was a true pleasure, moreover, not having any digestive tregrets afterwords was a plus. We will definitely return soon and highly recommend the Lantern restaurant. read more

Lantern - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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New York City level dining--not inexpensive but less than you would have to shell out for this quality in NYC

I recommend requesting the back bar tables when making a reservation - a neat space with great ambience. Also the outdoor seating is great when in season. This is one of my favorite restaurants in NC - excellent food and cocktails. I highly recommend the salt and pepper shrimp and the Lychee martinis. The staff are very friendly and professional. read more

This place is a vibe and is the right pick for your next party! 10/10 would recommend :) read more

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Bento box is fun and tasty. The drinks were good but not amazing. Not sure if they change their menu much? We enjoyed the relaxed vibe

The Bento box was a fun appetizer and pairing the salt and pepper shrimp was a great move! Good tastes, and fun to eat with my partner! The pork belly was complimented by yummy crisp cabbage and carrots that were full of flavor. The peashoot dumplings didn't live up to the hype, kind of tasteless and a one dimension flavor note....even the pea sauce was salty and missing a lift... maybe a touch of acidity needed! We have been waiting to come here for 6 years and it was a fun menu! Singha beer chased everything down well and the cocktail, the Porchlight, were great complements to the meal. We will come back! read more

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Service was excellent. Staff great. Appetizers and soup great. Dessert great. The Black Sea bass 20oz was definitely not tried by any chef or server. Virtually all bones. What tiny bit of meat was good but maybe we got a total of 3 tablespoons of meat each. But we left hungry and $100 lighter as well. read more

We went here for restaurant week, and left having mixed feelings. We started the night with a cocktail that was incredible and a lot of green tea that was also nice. The appetizers were friend chicken which was perfectly crispy and their signature salt a pepper shrimp (a must try) But that's where the positives end. The entrees were a choice of 2 ramens and a vegetarian hotpot. My partner went with the pork tonkotsu and I went with spicy chicken. Both entrees lacked flavor, and left us wishing we had tried a different place. Especially at the price point ($150 for two), it left a lot to be desired. It gets 3 stars for the appetizers and drinks, but skip Lantern for entrees. read more

Lantern - Fried Chicken - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Service was good. They wanted to seat us right beside another couple when we were the only ones on the terrace. I asked and got some space. Food was good but at $30 per plate I was expecting better. If you like new things on tradition dishes then it's the place but if you want the traditional thing done well then someplace else. read more

Not the same good quality dining experience that it was ten years ago. Now it's fast food served slow at NYC pricing. Get the cocktails. They're worth the money. Skip the food. read more

Loved our meal here - great vibes, great food, great drinks. We got a variety of things to split. My personal favorites were the corn soup and the pork dumplings, but there wasn't anything that wasn't good. Perfect spot in Chapel Hill, would strongly recommend! read more

Yummmm. We were in mood for dumplings and wontons and we were not disappointed. I also ordered the cilantro jalapeño crispy shrimp as well as the pork and beef wontons. ( I was too hungry so forgot to take pictures) they were all absolutely fresh and delicious. Only negative (which was my fault) was not reading that gratuities were already included. I understand why it's there, but I'd like to have been informed since I added another 20%. read more

Lantern - Garlic Local pasture - raised pork and chive dumplings - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

The ambience is pretty cool but the "shell-still-on" fried shrimp was, um, unpleasant (to say the least) and the fish in the bento box wasn't any better, unfortunately. Something else good: my beer was cold and delicious. read more

Our server was lovely but the food came out slowly. The drinks were hit or miss, Penicillin was the best of the drinks we tried. 5 day weekend and negroni were simply not so good. The fried cauliflower appetizer was excellent, the pea shoot dumplings were very bland. The Bento box is a "build your own" or "deconstructed" sushi experience which frankly isn't what I like although the food was good. The catfish was okay, it was fried nicely but not a lot of flavor came through, it could have been any fried fish. The curry sauce was decent. I'm not sure why any pork would be "market price" but the pork was pretty good. A little bit overpowered with a vinegar taste but not bad at all. Very tender. Overall it's ok but overpriced and the flavors are not quite there. read more

Japanese crab cakes ($16) - 2 stars Way too salty - I couldn't finish it. I liked the yellow mustard seeds a lot but the black mustard seeds were bitter. Tea and spice smoked chicken ($25) - 3 stars Well-seasoned but too salty. Tea and spice flavors came through but chicken was dry. Fried rice had no wok hei. The barbecued pork in the rice had no flavour. Green beans weren't overcooked but didn't have much flavour. Warm native persimmon pudding ($10) - 3 stars Moist, tasted like fruit cake. Too sweet for me even with the whipped cream on top. Ambience - 4 stars Service - 3.5 stars Spotty - the hosts were great but I think the servers forgot about our dessert as the other tables that came after us got theirs first and we had to ask for it. Value - 1 star read more

Lantern - Persimmon pudding - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Total foodie in town from SF and so happy I followed several recommendations to Lantern. Everything ordered knocked it out of the park for me; flounder sashimi caught local, Seafood Hotpot and french broad hot chocolate cake! Great staff, cool vibe. Yes! read more

Lantern - Seafood Hotpot - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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I went to Lantern for dinner celebrating my graduation from the MBA program over at UNC. I had a reservation at around opening time and I when I got there, there didn't seem to be that many people. After a while, lots of folks started trickling in and the restaurant got full. Good thing I made reservations! I read a lot of great reviews about this joint which is why I made a reservation well in advance. Then when I got here, I was a little skeptical and asked myself is this just another overpriced Asian fusion joint where I won't feel full and the chef is trying too hard to make something creative? Alas, I'm happy I was wrong because the food ending up being very tasty, creative, and unique. I don't recall exactly what I got (can see pictures I uploaded) but I do remember that the big fried fish was mighty tasty. Service was decent and the atmosphere was a bit bland (nice big windows to let light in, but nothing real special). At any rate, I can confidently say that Lantern is good spot for a graduation dinner, especially if you're staying at The Franklin Hotel next door! read more

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Great food and cocktails... limited menu but what's available is all very tasty! Roasted oyster very yummy! Lettuce cups delicious, steak and fish large dish very good read more

The food is a combination of Asian flavors with a modern twist. I had the Japanese style steak which was cooked to perfection and the crispy spinach on top was a nice addition. We also got the duck congee and the peashoot and scallion dumplings as an appetizer and they were good, but I thought the dumplings could have been a little more flavorful. My friend got the roasted Moulard duck and thought it was pretty good. The sweet potatoes it came with were delicious. I also got the Junebug cocktail and thought it was really refreshing! Service was pretty good and the waitstaff were helpful in answering questions about the menu. The ambiance was on the fancier side. I would recommend coming here to celebrate a special occasion as it's got an intimate/cozy vibe. The menu is on the pricier side, but nothing too crazy for the service, ambiance, and food. read more

This was our 1st time here. In summary the appetizers (the dumplings and crab cakes) were delicious; the entrees, the Japanese Hot Pot and Chicken dish, were amazing, the service was slow however. (We visited pre-COVID but I just now found my review in my drafts. ) read more

We made a meal of four "small plates" and split a dessert. All our dishes were very satisfying, the seasoning on everything refined and delicious. My cocktail (a Manhattan) was perfect. The room is elegant and warm, and the service very attentive. Dining out has become a luxury, but entirely worth it in this case. Can't wait to go back. read more

So disappointing. I can imagine the restaurant week sucks for the actual restaurant, but I felt like I was at the Olive Garden and not one of the best restaurants in Chapel Hill. They ran out of the best thing on the menu, probably because it was the most expensive and I don't believe that was mistake. There was no replacement so you were either stuck with fish or a vegetarian rice dish. They probably had a certain number of orders to entice people into the restaurant and then just didn't care when they ran out early. We ordered drinks and they arrived 10 minutes after our appetizers. We sat there for 15 minutes without water. *sigh* Lantern used to be the best place in Chapel Hill with exquisite service and excellent food and this will make me think long and hard about ever going there again. For the quality of the experience is just not worth the price. read more

What a quaint local restaurant!! From the moment we entered the restaurant to the time we left, the staff were so attentive and polite. The food came out hot & tasty. Portions were perfectly sized...not too big not too small. Would definitely recommend. read more

Lantern - Roasted Oysters - Asian Fusion Near Me - Chapel Hill, North Carolina

We arrived a bit early for our reservation, and they allowed us to sit at the bar before our table was ready. I mentioned that we don't drink alcohol, but the waitress said it was fine and we could order our appetizers first at the bar and then later move to our reserved table to order our entrees. While at the bar, we were confused because of the lack of service, but eventually got our appetizers. Then, we moved to our table with our appetizers and ordered the rest of our meal. The food itself was mediocre, but I was overall very displeased with the service we received. We waited 30 minutes for our entrees...and another 30 mins for dessert, only to have a waitress come to ask us if we ordered dessert (mind you, we had given the male waiter our full order as soon as we relocated). Anyhow, we finally got our dessert and check. Come to find out, they charged us for 2 extra drinks and 2 extra appetizers. I can understand how they may have gotten confused about the appetizers since we had ordered them at the bar and then moved them to our reserved table, but I am still confused about why we were charged for alcoholic drinks when I made it clear that we do not drink. The waiter did not seem to believe me and went on to "confirm" my story. Not sure why a customer would lie about what they ordered, but it definitely left a distasteful aftertaste. Even the ladies next to us got a wrong check. Finally after another 10 mins and a manager confirming our order, we got the correct check. So, it's safe to say that they are not the most organized or service-oriented bunch out there. Food: The appetizers were OK, though I have to admit the Kyoto chicken was over fried and hard to chew. The entrees were probably the most disappointing. Both of the ramens were meh. The chicken yuzu seemed like a great concept, but did not quite deliver. The pork ramen was bland, but the egg was cooked very well. The desserts were good, but not spectacular (not the best I've had for sure). Ambience: They had weird wallpaper on the wall, but they could've been renovating (not sure if it was deliberate or not). Overall vibe wasn't too bad, though I will note that the place did feel a bit cramped. I likely will not return given the mediocre food (especially given the price) and poor service. read more

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I'll start with the good. The ambience is truly beautiful with a nice indoor and outdoor portion as well as the wait staff was nice. Sadly, this is one of the poorer food experiences I've had in the triangle. I came here with a gift card was was shocked how expensive everything was compared to the taste. It's interesting because it's a mesh of multiple Asian cultures but nothing stood out. The pea shoot and scallion dumplings were very chewy. They had this "chaat" which I believe was supposed to be Indian style but was not actually. The red curry catfish was bland. The bulgogi was not flavored well. Another positive was the cocktails were pretty good. But I would not recommend coming here for the food, especially how high the prices are. :/ read more

Lantern is just awesome. We were there for a team lunch. They managed everything so well. We had customized menu, they gave us a separate walled off room and we could chat business. The drinks are awesome. The ginger lyche cocktail was great. The vegetable rice noodles entree was like a great quality pad thai with variety of mushrooms. We stayed nearby at the sienna and hotel provided a shuttle for drop off and pick up at this location. We all really enjoyed our experience at lantern. read more

Meh. We'd gone to Lantern a long time ago, went again on 8/7/21 and was disappointed. The dumplings were overcooked, the bento box was lacking zing (blandest wasabi ever--how long had it been sitting out?), the waiter-recommended pimm's cocktail was boring, and the hot chocolate cake was eerily similar to something I've bought at Aldi. But the word part was the NC fried catfish, which was dry and tasted old. I've had better fish sticks. Other than the catfish, though, nothing was actually bad. And there were high points--the crab and pork spring rolls were excellent, and I enjoyed the mezcal cocktail quite a bit. Service was good, and I am actually a fan of them including a mandatory 18% tip. The outdoor setting was nice too--at least it would be if they routed foot traffic further away from the tables. So why am I being picky? Because at $140 for two people, "good" isn't good enough. The chef/owner(?) came out a number of times to greet diners she new, and they were effusive in their complements back to her. Maybe you have to know her to get good food? But because we don't, we likely won't be back. read more

Lantern has been on this list for years, finally made it. So long after Beard wondered if we'd missed its prime but simply outstanding, like, remarkable and memorable. Front room is being remodeled. Options currently are central patio (adorable) and back bar (chill, intimate, cute). Early seating at 530, ordered pretty much the menu. Simple, clean cocktails. Tomato salad, thought at first bite, ok a caprese riff. But the mayonnaise. Jesus. Almost ordered a 2nd. The beans. Then all the small plates. The tea spice chicken and noodles. Then figured, ok the desserts. Exceptional. Honestly one of the more interesting dinners I've had in years. Simple food, prep, presentation. But they just slay. Great service too. Bravo man. read more

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Recently enjoyed a leisurely dinner here with my girlfriends - we started in the charming back bar, where we probably annoyed the bartenders to death but got some fabulous cocktails (notably their Hurricane & the Todo Bien). For dinner, we shared the chaat (YUM), the bento, every type of dumpling, a couple steaks, and the pork shank that was on special that night, and I did not share the oysters on the half shell with trout roe & crème fraîche. While nearly everything was delicious, the oysters were a failure, in my opinion - the fussiness of the roe & crème fraîche overpowered the brine, leaving me with only the roe as a flavor profile. Wouldn't order again. The crispy spinach that accompanied the steak, though, was amazing! I'd never tried it and it became an instant favorite. I think we had dessert, but that was several Todo Biens in, so who can say. read more

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