Lanterna in Scarborough

We went to Scarborough to see a band in the open air theatre August 2024. Came to this restaurant for dinner and had such an authentic and delicious meal, as good as we have had it Italy. So good that we are still talking about it now, in October. Would love to come back. A side note to the wonderful owners: Hope you guys enjoyed your trip to Liverpool!

Have been coming to Laterna for many years when in Scarborough. If you want an excellent top notch Italian dinner, this is the place to come. It has a comprehensive menu, but there are always lots of extras depending mainly on what fish has been landed that day in the fish market. If there is velvet crab and spaghetti on the menu, this is my absolute favourite!

Old school feel with a really authentic, interesting, and varied menu which belies the location and appearance. There were numerous specials for both starters and mains hinting at fresh local seafood and in-season ingredients. The atmosphere is very relaxed, the service is friendly and it is nice that there aren't too many tables in each sitting. The food we had was wonderfully cooked, and some of the courses (all homemade by the chef) are really quite ambitious (gorgonzola ice cream with honey and walnuts!) but delicious. The cost of three courses for two people was £125 with a couple of drinks, so not cheap, but when ambitious and fresh food is done so well it feels like good value. Can't wait to come back.

This is a small cosy restaurant but opening hours are restricted (Thursday to Saturday only during our visit) so plan and book well ahead. Staff were friendly and welcoming and service throughout was very good. Two nice G&T served as requested (no Ice) while we perused the menu, also a significant number of “specials” to consider both starters and main course. We decided to skip starters, we already had our eye on the Italian cheese plate for desert! My wife had mushroom risotto main course which was very good. I had a (quite large) fillet steak Au Poivre in a very smooth and tasty sauce plus basic veg and sauteed potatoes. We chose a Valpolicella Classico wine which was very good and very reasonable price. The Italian cheese board did not disappoint and we found that one board between two people was adequate for us. Total cost was £110 including drinks but excluding tips, also very reasonable in our opinion for the quality and service. This was our first visit to the Lanterna restaurant, but we would certainly come back again. Well worth a visit.

First time we’ve been to the Lanterna in 13 years. It’s still as excellent now as it was then. The quality of the food is exceptional, everything we ate tasted incredible. The service is lovely, really welcoming and not at all over bearing. We went for our uncles 80th birthday, he’s been going to the lanterna for many years. They made him feel really special and it was a wonderful experience for us all. If you get the opportunity to go, you should!

Outstanding food served with charm and efficiency, this is one of the best restaurants we have eaten in over many years. We hadn’t been for some time- pre- Covid- but the atmosphere and food were of the same quality. We travelled 200 miles to eat at Lanterna,worth the journey!

Great little family run Italian, old school but with great food. Great flavours, we enjoyed hare with pasta as a starter, wolf (fish) as a main, and zabaglione made at the table as a dessert. Wines wide ranging and prices from modest to high. Recommended.

Great authentic food, the best place to eat in the area by far! Plenty of good wines available. The staff are lovely too.

Excellent food, wonderful service. Definitely coming back.

Moncalvo in the world 😃, excellent dinner, great Giorgio Alessio 👏👏

What’s lovely place! 3 courses, half a carafe of the house red and still only £84! Perfect night in the front window seat together 😊❤️

By far Scarboroughs best restaurant. The food is unbelievably good. The service is perfect too. Just book and enjoy !!

On arrival we were greeted with bigs smiles and shown to our table. After a few minutes allowing us to settle in, the absolutely lovely chef’s wife, (who looks after front of house) returned to our table and went through the specials, oh my…. this was going to be a hard choice … they all sounded amazing. I eventually settled on the local fish stew as a a starter and the steak with Parmesan, Parma ham and rosemary cream. The stew was a really well balanced show stopper with a very generous amount of perfectly cooked fish in it. The steak was cooked exactly as requested, well rested and anointed with a beautiful creamy sauce. I didn’t think it could get any better … Then came dessert…. A frozen Gorgonzola , walnut and honey extravaganza. Absolutely mind blowing! A clever mix of flavours and textures with a dash of absolute genius.

Wonderful authentic Italian, very highly recommended the monk fish starter, was out of this world, the Scarborough woof in a Italian olive sauce was also a match. Chatting to Rachel the Co owner was very interesting as to the history of the restaurant and was very attentive to everything, it would be the 1st restaurant we'll book on our return. *****

This is our favourite restaurant; the food and service are perfect. We can't wait to visit again soon.

Superb traditional Italian home cooking and a relaxed family atmosphere with attentive but unfussy service. Fresh fish specials recommended. Had a beautiful Dover Sole. Fully deserves its reputation.

My girlfriend and I had a lovely time at Lanterna on Thursday evening last week. The food was excellent, we particularly enjoyed the wine soaked pear starter and the monkfish main in the creamy sauce. The staff were lovely also, especially the young gentleman serving who helped us with our choices.

Our culinary journey of Scarborough continued with another return visit to Lanterna. This cosy small family run business doesn’t look much from the outside but inside there is a warm welcome from owner Rachel and a lovely ambience. This hidden jewel gets quite busy so booking ahead is strongly recommended. The staff are hard working and friendly. Our party of 4 was given nibbles to pick on and opted to dive straight into the main course. Two of our group chose chicken breast fillets in a sauce and hubbie and me opted for the extra large lemon sole which we chose from the specials options. WOW! When our food arrived we were speechless - the diver soles were A-M-AZING!!!!Our sides for the table included new potatoes, chipped potatoes, glazed carrots and a Mediterranean vegetable mix of red peppers, tomatoes and onion. Absolutely delicious and all plates were cleared!!! For desert the others chose nougat icecream and I chose chocolate and chilli icecream again from the specials on offer. Gorgeous!!!! You don’t get given the prices of foods on the specials menu but we considered them very fair when we received our bill. Another thoroughly enjoyable evening. Thank you Rachel, Georgio and staff. We will be back!!!!

This is a fabulous place. The food is unbelievably good. I missed a starter as I saw Zabaglioni on the pudding menu but seeing the starters come out they looked and smelled great! My main was Seatrout which was sublime and a very generous portion, my wife chose Lobster Thermidor , again fantastic. She chose a chocolaty dish as a pudding, I can't recall its name as I was too absorbed with my Zabaglioni- the best, most sumptuous I have ever tasted! You are served by lovely folk who clearly know what's being prepared in the kitchen. If you come to the North Yorkshire coast book well in advance and visit this gem!

The fried ling and monkfish starter were amazing! As was the seabass and spaghetti ragu! Very sweet traditional style restaurant with fantastically fresh food

Managed to grab a last minute cancellation on Saturday night whilst staying in the town. Glad we didn't miss out! Food was amazing and friendly service

So glad I treated myself to a meal here! Absolutely the best, freshest, most delicious food I've ever had. Everything was cooked to perfection and tasted amazing 👏 I was pleasantly surprised the meal was less expensive than I'd expected, given the top-notch quality... Also, i'm not particularly well-versed in the arbitrary etiquette of high-end restaurants, but was made to feel very welcome and at ease here 🙂 I highly recommend this restaurant 👌

Excellent authentic family run italian restaurant. All dishes very well cooked and tasty and the staff and chef very welcoming. My parter is an Italian chef himself, and thought the food was excellent. We will definitely return.

Well that was a thoroughly relaxed and satisfying evening we have experienced at this fantastic family run restaurant. By no means is this your generic Italian menu. This was real food cooked by someone who appears to confident in what they produce and really cares about what they present to customers. It was our first time at this restaurant but left feeling we had been been for dinner with friends ( might sound a bit soft but we really did leave feeling that comfortable). Only open Thursday Friday Saturday and one sitting per night so book in good time.

The food is super cook to perfection

We were really happy to find La Lanterns open on a very cold winter Thursday in January. We had eaten here a few years ago and remembered lovely food, and it still is. I had forgotten that these were also Yorkshire portions (in a very good way) so not only beautiful authentic tasty Italian food, but lots of it. We had Frito mixto in in a very light tempura batter and the most wonderful pasta with pheasant sauce for starters. Veal in butter sauce, and steak in a Gorgonzola, sweet pepper sauce for mains. Both lovely - veal especially is hard to get on menus these days and not many people can cook it properly. Only warning, if you don’t have a big appetite, these are rich dishes and filling. Desserts were great - chocolate and chilli icecream superb and the chestnut icecream was for my partner better than anything we’ve ever had in the Mediterranean - and we lived there for years. House white and red very good. We think it is great value for money - the prices are fair and reflect the great quality ingredients and the experience and effort of the hugely talented chef. (And I’m sure it’s not easy simply keeping going with huge fuel and other bills in the middle of a Scarborough winter when there are almost no visitors to provide a source of custom. So all the more kudos for a small family based business to keep going and to maintain such high quality food standards)

We met up with two old friends for the first time in three years (29th Dec) and decided to try La Lanterna. It has a wonderful rustic ambience. It isn't shiny and bright and doesn't serve 'modern' food' with tiny portions and dots of sauce. It serves really tasty italian food. The food arrived quickly - the fish starter was delicious (Ling) and the chicken Grigliato was superb. Service was provided by the Chefs wife and sister in law - and it really felt like a wonderful family buisness. We had a great evening. Great food, great service (and great wine) - What more could you want! Mike and Sheena Adams

Best Italian in Scarborough by far!

Great restaurant, it does need a freshen up though but the food is impeccable so flavoursome. Service was friendly and welcoming I would highly recommend it.

Enjoyed our visit. Food was excellent with generous portions and perfectly seasoned and presented. The specials list was extensive and varied. Staff were so welcoming. We loved seeing the chef/proprietor whipping up his special zabaglione table-side too.

Dos restaurant all way busy fully book the food was very nice and can parking outside restaurant

We had booked well in advance for this meal and we’re really looking forward to our evening. We all ordered steak, three of them been fillets all well done. When they arrived no garnish just a bit of steak on a plate except those with sauce on. The vegetables consisted of carrots plus four slices of battered corgette, well we think it was corgette is was so thin we couldn’t taste it ( one each) then the usual boiled potatoes and chips, very imaginative!! Two of the fillets not well done and had to go back. One would of thought a chef of his caliba would be able to cook steak just as the customer has request. This is supposed to be a high end restaurant and what did we get?…under cooked steak and carrots. Needless to say we didn’t stay for dessert and coffee. After sending back the steak asking if there was anything other than carrots the atmosphere changed dramatically. We all ended up at McDonald’s, I’ll say no more

Decoration a bit dated. Food very good as was the service. Not as expensive ad you may think

Amazing first visit. All the reviews are true. A real treat.

Haven't had a chance to eat here for several years and was worried that it may not live up to my happy memories - needn't have worried. The fish was delicious. We all started with the tempura ling with the amazing balsamic jelly, followed by either the turbot or the hake. Both dishes were excellent. The desserts finished off a marvellous meal. It's not cheap, but well worth the money.

We always visit every year we come to Scarborough. It NEVER disappoints! Lovely welcoming service. Although expensive value for money. Intimate setting. Food is STUNNING! I know it's main point is fish which is delicious and fresh but the steak was THE best thing I've eaten in my life! We WILL be back!

We have been coming to Lanterna for many years where Rachel and Giorgio have served many memorable dinners. Open Thursday to Saturday evenings, you definitely need to book. As always the freshest possible fish, landed in Scarborough in the morning and served the same evening. The standard menu is extensive with wonderful home made pasta, but it’s the daily specials that are entirely driven by what ever is landed that day, that makes Lanterna very special. House wine is very good as well.

For year’s friends have told us we should try out this restaurant and eventually we did. There’s a lovely relaxed atmosphere in the dining area where the decor is a little dated but this actually adds to the charm. The service is slick and professional with lots of added smiles. The food was delicious and just enough. Well cooked and nicely presented. All in all a very nice experience.

Do believe the hype! Seems it’s been there forever and a day, super-hard to go a table as there’s only really one sitting, but worth the effort. It’s old fashioned in a wonderfully charming way, really friendly staff, and the food was as good as I hoped - a fish special starter of tempura battered ling was especially good.

Very good food well worth a visit

Wonderful food, tasted fresh from the ocean. We gorged on the seafood specials and they were brilliant. The house white was stunning. The service was lovely, the hospitality was fantastic, probably as good as it gets if you aren't too bothered by lack of bling but believe quality beats style. Treat yourself

One can only describe a few restaurants as perfect but this one was, warm welcome , charming genuine staff, and the food!! Heaven on a plate, we both had baby dover sole to start, stunning, then hub had veal in Marsala sauce I had chicken in gorgonzola sauce, veg was delicious and a bit different too , then I had panacotta hub had poached pears, LOVELY

Absolutely fabulous, very few restaurants can one say every morsel was perfect, but this was, plus the owner, his wife and her sister made everyone feel so welcome, one couple was early one was late, the owners wife was positively charming!! We both had baby Dover sole to start, cooked perfectly

Lovely welcome from a lovely couple who love Italy and Scarborough so much they want to delight the socks off you. A combination of excellent fresh fish from the Scarborough coast with passionate Italian cooking. Wonderful welcoming people. Best house wine in Europe. About £120 for the best seafood meal 2 people could eve eat including brilliant wine, pudding starters, and service.

Lovely atmosphere. Friendly staff, and lovely food. Second visit when in Scarborough definitely worth a visit.

Genuinely my favourite restaurant in the world. Never had a meal which hasn't been incredible.

This is the best Italian restaurant I’ve eaten in outside Italy. Delicious, seasonal dishes served with a smile. We thoroughly enjoyed our evening.

Lovely meal at the Lanterna , first time for my husband and myself, the food was outstanding and Rachael was the perfect host ! I can highly recommend the Monk Fish which was delicious! We will definitely going back very soon.

Delicious meal in pleasant unpretentious surroundings. The service friendly and informative of the choice of meal. Look forward to going again.

Always a genuinely friendly welcome here from the owners and staff. The food is proper Italian food and of the highest quality - fish and seafood a particular specialty. If your in Scarborough and want the best meal in town, go here!

Excellent hosting. Lanterna is a special rarity. Typically real Italian decor and furnishing, simple and not overly fussy. Fabulous cuisine. Good cooking is taking top quality raw materials and working a magic into them. This place delivers class and quality in spades. Book well in advance. We were lucky on a fortunate (for us) last-minute cancellation. Lanterna's reputation means they don't struggle for customer's, and rightly so. For a very personal and authentic Piedmontese dining experience, try this at least once in your life. Just don't expect Pizza and Calzone.

Wonderful food and service always

Excellent food, wine and service. Always a lovely experience and well worth a visit.

Amazing sea food dishes, fantastic service - what more can you ask for? Wish you were nearer!!

Both of us thoroughly enjoyed everything about this place. The atmosphere was nice , the staff pleasant and the food was outstanding. This is not a cheap restaurant but as they say "you gets what you pay for" at least at La Lanterna

Great food and services. Proper Italian dishes prepared freshly and with care. Four of us had all different dishes, so covered the menu well. All excellent, everybody happy. Would definitely recommend this place. Better than some of the more highly promoted places to eat. It...

Such a wonderful restaurant. The food is second to none and the owners and staff are so knowledgable. A really wonderful place.

Attentive staff but not over bearing, lovely food and wine. Jerusalem artichoke soup to start very tasty and smooth consistency followed by turbot with garlic and white wines sauce - delicious! Couldn’t manage a dessert. Highly recommend if you are looking for good quality food...

Perfection!! If you love fish amazing service . Quality food .. amazing service quality food amazing service …… then look no further ! Prices are Not what I expected far less have eaten far less quality at a higher price very close to this restaurant...

Our friends has suggested we book a table, this was around 3 weeks before our visit and we got a table for 6.30 on a Saturday, earlier than we would've liked but we got in so that's the hardest part dealt with. We were expecting,...

We have been before and hoped it would live up to our memories.... it did. Amazing, perfectly cooked seafood and great friendly service. Zabaglione an extravagant and not to be missed treat. We've not been out much in the last 18 months and the careful...

Another visit to one of our favourite restaurants in the world, such superb tasty food and excellent service from all the staff. How do you cook your fish so perfectly - we'll be back. Martin & Maggie

As someone who likes to think he appreciates good food , at the age of 67 yrs , at this restaurant I had the best meal I have ever experienced. I started with a pasta dish , authentically al dente with a lovely rich minced...

One of the best meals I've had in my life. Five years ago we went here and I had crab linguine to start with and I'd never had anything that tasted so good. Went back again tonight and glad to see it's still the best in Scarborough, completely worth it.

The Lanterna is still the best Restaurant by a long chalk in Scarborough, excellent flavoursome food, great menu , good value including the wine list all backed up by excellent service .

My wife and I ate here last night for a special occasion. There has been very little change to the menu or surroundings over the years and this is where it differs from anything else Scarborough has to offer. In short, it is comfortable in...

This is a real gem of a restaurant. The food was.really delicious with no weak links in the options. Starter of ling tempura, secondi of pasta with creamy mushroom sauce and grilled sea bass (I was too full for pudding!). The sea bass and king...

Lovely restaurant, fantastic genuinely friendly service - attentive but never intrusive. Food quality superb and everything totally fresh and made in house. The atmosphere of the restaurant is lovely, relaxing and calm. Sadly on this occasion the atmosphere was tainted by a table of 5...

Lovely place - excellent food, friendly service, good atmosphere.

Incredible lobster. Great hospitality. Everything is just superb. The chef deserves a Michelin Star. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

Visited on Saturday evening. Excellent service and delicious food. We were made most welcome by our hosts. Nothing was too much trouble. Book well in advance as it is a popular eatery. Can't wait to go again when next in town.

Lovely food! Great atmosphere, service was spot on....oh and the house white is definitely a winner....

Wonderful meal at this superior Italian restaurant. Every dish was delicious and beautifully served. Friendly, welcoming staff and relaxed ambiance. Fabulous zabaglione! Would definitely recommend.

It is a place where you eat delicious... I come from Peru where you eat exquisitely and this restaurant is the same and better... Highly recommended Rest. Lantern

Would give more stars if available. Everything perfect

This is true Northern Italian cooking, having toured Northern Italy for 3 weeks, it was a pleasure to reaquaint myself to this authentic Italian cuisine. Everything cooked with attention to flavour. Can not speak too highly of this Chef.

Only open 3 nights a week, and as it’s popular you need to book, possibly a couple of weeks ahead. COVID safety has been considered, and on arrival you are fully briefed. Forget the decor and simply enjoy some of the best food you will...

Food was wonderful, the service was very friendly, quick and the two waitresses were so lovely and efficient.

One of, if not the best meals we have ever had - including a trip to Rome! Great food and friendly staff.

Lanterna is a well established restaurant in a slightly run down area of Scarborough. On a recommendation, we booked a table for the last night of our stay.On arrival, we were greeted pleasantly an the restaurant’s arrangements for COVID safety were explained clearly.The decor and furniture could do with updating, to be honest. As a matter of fact, some of the commendations (e.g. ‘Egon Ronay Recommended, 1994’) could do with relocating in the family scrapbook, leaving space for any more recent ones. That aside, the menu was authentic Italian and was imaginative without being pretentious. The starters, especially, were excellent - monkfish in green peppercorn sauce and pears in red wine, in a two-cheese sauce (sounds weird, but don’t knock it ‘til you’ve tried it). Really good first impressions. The staff were charming and happy to recommend from the menu, as well. The wine list is reasonably priced, too.The pasta, similarly, was of a good standard - a bit al dente, but all the more Italian for that. The portions are quite large, though. They also arrive with chips, potatoes and vegetables - lots of them - which we weren’t expecting. We simply couldn’t have eaten them and, sadly, they went to waste. Perhaps other diners manage all that food, but I’d prefer to be given the option.As one of the waiting staff cleared the plates, we said that we were leaving room for a dessert. Forty minutes later, we still hadn’t received a menu, whilst some diners who’d arrived after us were being served their dessert. Perhaps this had something to do with a large party having arrived. Guests who were familiar with the restaurant seemed to be receiving swifter service, too. We did notice that all the waiting staff seem to pitch in to cover all diners, rather than having responsibility for particular tables. That could be the reason why some tables ‘fall through the cracks’. Easily fixable, but intensely annoying.Also annoying is having to wait a long time for the bill and having to go to the bar to pursue it.So, we paid up about fifty minutes after finishing our mains. As a point of fact, we would have liked dessert, but were not prepared to wait indefinitely. (BTW - whatever heat source the chef is using to prepare zabaglione at the table, gives off a rather unpleasant petrochemical smell).We really wanted to like the place. They seemed like nice people and the food really is pretty good. But it needs a bit of a shake up. I don’t think we’d go out of our way to return.So - a three star review. Four could have been easily obtained, though.

Lovely, lovely restaurant. Amazing food, great service, lovely with kids

A stunning evening, food was sublime. Great wine selection and very C19 conscious! Will be going back asap!

Impressive little gem, excellent food and wine. romantic place. great quality and service. Easy to get too. Book in advance

Wonderful experience lovely people and the food great ,the desert alone was amazing.I definitely recommend 👌

Very nicely good food. Good service in relaxing surroundings. We went just they had reopened following lockdown. Food was perfectly cooked. Plenty of Hand sanitiser and waitresses were wearing face visors. This isn’t a cheap restaurant but it’s good quality.

Gordon for sure helped make it better

Don't understand the reviews for this Restaurant must be family members or just really local loyal people because we have been around Scarborough Italian restaurants and this isn't the best .On arrival nicely taken to are table served a few nibbles received the wine menu first and dew to the expensive list of wines we thought we wood go for a safe house wine we did seem to find the menu slightly confusing but trawled through it, Starter we had the Italian meats followed by a veal ravioli with a veal sauce followed by home made traditional Italian ice cream. 1/ The Italian meats would have been nice to have olives ,olive oil and balsamic for dipping 2/ The ravioli there was badly anything in side them no sauce but scattered veal mince very small portion for a main no wonder the come out and serve carrot and a parsnip and parmesan cheese with boiled and chipped potatoes never seen this one be for 3/Ice appsurluty not Italian we got a refund on the sweet when we got the bill the house wine was 23.95 rip off never again.

Thank you for a lovely New Year's dinner! We enjoyed very much the food, the atmosphere and you've had me at Meringata! Absolutely delicious!

We went as a belated birthday present - there were seven of us and can honestly say everybody was raving about the food. Lobster, steak, ox cheek, veal - it was all exceptional.

We were in town visiting family and this restaurant has always had a good reputation so we thought we would try it out with some friends. The atmosphere was lovely and the food was delicious. I highly recommend Lateran Ristorante for any occasion. There is so much more to Italian food than pizza and pasta and they certainly know how to do it!

Lanterna illustrates the value of a traditional approach, great food cooked and presented with skill and understanding. The Fritto Misto was delicate yet tasty and the Ox Cheek full of flavour.

I love this restaurant. Small enough to be intimate. I have visited several times and I’m always impressed. Food is excellent, especially if you are a seafood fan. You never feel rushed and that you are welcomed and valued. Great menu and wine choice. Scarborough needs more places like this!

Went here to celebrate my husbands birthday on a cold, windy November night. Lovely welcome, lots of gorgeous food. Very different to your run of the mill Italian restaurant. Great to watch the chef making the zabaglione.

The best as usual! Enjoyed every mouthful!

A really excellent Italian in Scarborough. The food was first class; we shared one of the white truffle starters which was expensive but worth it. The fish mains and the deserts were also very good.

The service was excellent an the food was great

I’ve been to fancy restaurants in London and nothing touches the quality of the food here. It’s the only place I’ve been where I can still remember the take your breath away taste of the food years later. On top of that, it is just a great place to spend an evening with friends and family.

I LOVED this place. It's old fashioned - and all the better for it. The quality of the food and service is just so good.All the dishes were beautifully cooked and the owner / chef comes out to make the zabligone himself. Few restaurants do thatThere was a rumour that chef will be retiring - which would be a major loss,

We ate here a couple of years ago and my husband still talks about the zabaglione, so pleased to find it was still on the menu. Had a wonderful dinner with friends, all courses delicious (venison ravioli amazing, plus the veal). Chef came out with his copper pan to make the zabaglione and it lived up to the memory ... SO delicious. Sorry to hear the restaurant is up for sale, but hope whoever buys keeps up the standard. Wonderful night, thank you

Great service and delicious food the best in Scarborough.