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La Lanterna
631 996-2664
412 Montauk Highway, East Quogue
Seafood
Reviewed by joan s (4)
on Aug 12, 2011
I am sorry La Lanterna got such a nasty review. I enjoyed dinner there and was quite happy with the food and service.
Reviewed by seasalt
on Jul 12, 2011
This restaurant has a limited seafood menu - pasta and shell fish
a inexpensive wine list. although they should serve bread and butter with every meal, and use more garlic on the garlic bread with extra spice like rosemary, parsley etc to use when soaking up the wine sauce with the mussels. The salad was good - could use plain oil and vinegar and some other type of lettuce in the dish. Otherwise I have been their to eat three times - The staff is excellent and the new owner the son Stephen is trying hard to revive the restaurant after twenty years of different lease owners could not make a go of it. Keep up the good work
a inexpensive wine list. although they should serve bread and butter with every meal, and use more garlic on the garlic bread with extra spice like rosemary, parsley etc to use when soaking up the wine sauce with the mussels. The salad was good - could use plain oil and vinegar and some other type of lettuce in the dish. Otherwise I have been their to eat three times - The staff is excellent and the new owner the son Stephen is trying hard to revive the restaurant after twenty years of different lease owners could not make a go of it. Keep up the good work
Reviewed by Loose Cannon
on Jun 20, 2011
Stopped for lunch here with my family after skydiving out east and started off with the water which had a very poor aftertaste. Things worsened when our daughter's chicken dish arrived (sandwich) with lettuce and tomatoe on the side along with a garden snail walking alongside the lettuce. I discreetly returned the dish to the chef and requested another-not to embarrass them as another couple were dining alongside us. Never received an apology for the disgusting creature on the plate-waited another half hour while everyone else ate for her dish to return-with perhaps the most bland looking chicken I have ever seen (hint-grill marks might be a nice addition and perhaps more aesthetically pleasing). The flounder scampi I ordered was completely devoid of taste other than a sad fishiness coming off the flounder (never encountered this anywhere else). (hint-scampi usually for me involves garlic-butter and lemon-you might want to try adding some next time). The linguini as well was tasteless aside from the aforementioned fishy taste emanating off the "flounder". As a Long Island native and fisherman, I know what fresh flounder tastes like-and this was not up to par.The shrimp scampi dish which my wife ordered along with my son came with uncleaned shrimp (always most plesant to have the innards-intestinal tract-and dangling legs on the shrimp) with a most repellant and repugnant taste. PS-another friendly hint to our wait staff-you might sense something is wrong when everyones lunch returns the same way it arrrived minus one or two bites out of it! HELLO!! About the only thing good here was the unsweetened ice tea and the garlic bread-certainly not worthy of the 180 dollar price tag for a five-some for lunch, again with no apology for the garden snail addition to the bland, white-plasticene looking chicken breast ensemble, and nary an offer to take something off the bill for the disgusting addition. The least they could have done was knock off the price of THAT disgusting meal! Coffee and dessert were never offered (Lord knows we would have gladly declined anyway after that experience!). My best advice when you stumble across this sad excuse for a restaurant would be to continue driving east until the nearest McDonalds comes into view!! The chef apparently is still taking culinary lessons and has yet to graduate. KEEP DRIVING!!
We left a healthy tip because the young man who served us was pleasant enough and couldn't blame him for what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen. YIKES!!
We left a healthy tip because the young man who served us was pleasant enough and couldn't blame him for what goes on behind the scenes in the kitchen. YIKES!!
Reviewed by citykid2
on Jun 19, 2011
We were looking forward to La Lanterna's opening after reading the following in the Long Island Press
" will take advantage of the abundance of fresh local ingredients, including locally grown produce, with the main emphasis being on seafood from nearby Peconic and Shinnecock Bays as well as the Atlantic, brought to him by his many commercial fisherman friends"
I have to say that this is the first time I have ever written a negative review of any hotel, motel, restaurant, etc. but I feel compelled to do so.
The night started when I ordered a glass of malbec and my wife asked to see the wine list. So I was understandably surprised when the waiter (who later we found out was actually the owner) brought 2 glasses of red wine to the table and no wine list. When she asked what it was he told her it was the same as mine- she reminded him that she wanted to see the wine list.
As Ishewas not sure that she wanted a glass of malbec, she moved her glass of wine untouched to the side and took a sip of my wine. Deciding she could live with the malbec, she started sipping the glass that was brought to the table. It didn't taste the same. When the waiter (owner) returned, with the wine list - he started describing the wine that he had poured for for her in detail, a chilean wine, clearly not the malbec.
The menu had no local seafood - when I asked about this he told us that he had striped bass the night before but it sold out (we were eating on a Friday night). So much for emphasis on fresh and local seafood.
When our salads arrived, we were dismayed to see basically a plate of iceberg lettuce - so much for the abundance of fresh local ingredients, including locally grown produce.
Dinner arrived, and we ordered two glasses of Malbec. I have to say that my wife's chicken entree was probably the least appetizing looking entree I have ever seen - It was supposed to be a simple chicken dish in lemon and butter - but it looked like someone forgot to add the lemon and butter, just a bunch of white unappetizing chicken, with a side of linguine which was, wait can this be true...COLD.
While we were waiting for the wine, she tried two bites of the chicken and a bit of the pasta, but decided that it was really just not worthwhile.
We finally saw a waitress and flagged her over to get our waiter and also reminded her that he had not brought the wine. A few minutes later the waiter appeared with the wine and apologized, saying he had forgotten because several people had come in to the bar. My wife told him that her pasta was cold and she really could not eat the meal. He asked if she wanted anything else, and as I was almost done with his meal she said no. (I will say that my mussels were good.)
I should also mention that another couple came in the same time we did, ordered a glass of wine and then left after seeing there was no local seafood on the menu.
Okay, so the restaurant is just opening, and probably has a learning curve... I can buy that - I can even think about giving it another try after some of the kinks get worked out. Until the waiter (owner) brings us our check. Drumroll.... nothing was taken off the check. The glass of wine that we did not order (okay - we did drink it) The entree that my wife barely could get a few bites down (which he took away and didn't ask if we wanted it wrapped) and not the two glasses of wine that didn't come until we were almost done with dinner. Not one single item was "forgiven". I would have been ok if any one of those items had been written off.
We will never return to this local restaurant and will be certain to tell our friends and family to do the same.
" will take advantage of the abundance of fresh local ingredients, including locally grown produce, with the main emphasis being on seafood from nearby Peconic and Shinnecock Bays as well as the Atlantic, brought to him by his many commercial fisherman friends"
I have to say that this is the first time I have ever written a negative review of any hotel, motel, restaurant, etc. but I feel compelled to do so.
The night started when I ordered a glass of malbec and my wife asked to see the wine list. So I was understandably surprised when the waiter (who later we found out was actually the owner) brought 2 glasses of red wine to the table and no wine list. When she asked what it was he told her it was the same as mine- she reminded him that she wanted to see the wine list.
As Ishewas not sure that she wanted a glass of malbec, she moved her glass of wine untouched to the side and took a sip of my wine. Deciding she could live with the malbec, she started sipping the glass that was brought to the table. It didn't taste the same. When the waiter (owner) returned, with the wine list - he started describing the wine that he had poured for for her in detail, a chilean wine, clearly not the malbec.
The menu had no local seafood - when I asked about this he told us that he had striped bass the night before but it sold out (we were eating on a Friday night). So much for emphasis on fresh and local seafood.
When our salads arrived, we were dismayed to see basically a plate of iceberg lettuce - so much for the abundance of fresh local ingredients, including locally grown produce.
Dinner arrived, and we ordered two glasses of Malbec. I have to say that my wife's chicken entree was probably the least appetizing looking entree I have ever seen - It was supposed to be a simple chicken dish in lemon and butter - but it looked like someone forgot to add the lemon and butter, just a bunch of white unappetizing chicken, with a side of linguine which was, wait can this be true...COLD.
While we were waiting for the wine, she tried two bites of the chicken and a bit of the pasta, but decided that it was really just not worthwhile.
We finally saw a waitress and flagged her over to get our waiter and also reminded her that he had not brought the wine. A few minutes later the waiter appeared with the wine and apologized, saying he had forgotten because several people had come in to the bar. My wife told him that her pasta was cold and she really could not eat the meal. He asked if she wanted anything else, and as I was almost done with his meal she said no. (I will say that my mussels were good.)
I should also mention that another couple came in the same time we did, ordered a glass of wine and then left after seeing there was no local seafood on the menu.
Okay, so the restaurant is just opening, and probably has a learning curve... I can buy that - I can even think about giving it another try after some of the kinks get worked out. Until the waiter (owner) brings us our check. Drumroll.... nothing was taken off the check. The glass of wine that we did not order (okay - we did drink it) The entree that my wife barely could get a few bites down (which he took away and didn't ask if we wanted it wrapped) and not the two glasses of wine that didn't come until we were almost done with dinner. Not one single item was "forgiven". I would have been ok if any one of those items had been written off.
We will never return to this local restaurant and will be certain to tell our friends and family to do the same.
