La Lanterna by Franco Seccarelli

I have been here twice and I only rate it low because of the service, from the “hostess” who is supposed to be smiley and welcoming to staff! Our waiter was great but the food took for ever to come out. Now the food was good, the tuna was delicious, the burrata was also good but overall, for the fancy place they are, I expected much better. It’s very average.

Came for dinner and sat in the indoor dining room because we wanted A/C, but there is also a lovely courtyard. Service was excellent. A fantastic team of waitstaff made sure we had everything we needed. Food was excellent. I had the lamb chops and they were probably the best ones I have ever eaten!

This restaurant is perfect for a romantic evening, it’s a beautiful place. The service was 10/10. Delicious Italian food and a wide selection of wines. Tip: when making a reservation, be sure to request seating on the patio. The hostess wasn’t very friendly, but the rest of the staff made the experience wonderful.

At La Lanterna, an Old San Juan Italian restaurant known for its authentic Italian cuisine, Eva—the rude hostess who takes reservations and answers the phone—is very rude. We ate there once, and she was extremely rude. We called another time to make a new reservation, and she hung up on my friend because Eva didn’t want to speak English. Overall, the food was pretty good, but the bad service from the hostess was so bad that it ruined the experience, with poor customer service and reservations issues. Other reviews mention similar issues with rude hostess Eva.

Everything was great from start to finish! The servers were amazing with excellent service. This is more on the fine dining side and the food was very delicious! I started off with a burrata salad and for my main course I had the white truffle pasta. It was amazing!

The ambience is the only thing keeping this review from being lower — the restaurant is beautiful and has a great atmosphere. Unfortunately, everything else was disappointing. I came for dinner at 8 PM and didn’t leave until 11 PM. The place was almost empty (on a Wednesday night), yet the service was incredibly slow. Every step — from ordering to getting our food — took far too long. The food itself was just okay, which is unacceptable for the price point. I ordered the porcini pappardelle ($40), which was bland and even had some cold mushrooms. My partner’s truffle pasta ($50) was watery and lacked the rich flavor you’d expect. Honestly, you could get a better, faster meal at Olive Garden for half the price — and that’s saying something. I hope the owners take this feedback seriously. With improvements to the food quality and service speed, this could be a much better dining experience. But as it stands, it’s hard to justify the cost or the wait.

If you’re looking for an “experience”, make sure to come by La Lanterna. Our group dinner lasted approximately three and a half hours. To start, our group was separated in two tables, instead of a large table which we had called and requested and told they could accommodate a large party. No worries though, why would we want to sit next to our friend on his Birthday. The service was absolutely horrible, some well intended servers were around but it was as if they had lost their heads. Completely oblivious. We didn’t get handed dinner menus until about 45 minutes into our reservation, by then we were very hungry. I personally ordered a dinner special, truffle pasta, the damage cost me $55 alone. The pasta was below mediocre, with a white sauce that was less than creamy, watery I’d say. To get the bill it was a mission, having to separate items as we were in a large group. By hour two, we just wanted to get out of there, but everything was so delayed we just felt trapped as we hadn’t paid the bill. Thankfully hour three came by and we finally received the itemized bill. This restaurant was one of the worst experiences I’ve had in a while, and I suggest anyone else spends their hard earned money elsewhere.

The walk into the restaurant is magical. The staff greeted us with that 5 star service you would expect. Our sever Hanabal was knowledgeable and attentive. The food was amazing. So delicious I didn't want it to end. The cocktails were perfectly balanced. I give this restaurant 5 Stars all day.