La Lampara Restaurant — Restaurant in uMgeni Local Municipality

I have visited this beautiful, quaint, ever bustling restaurant twice so far and I find myself craving the food there often. It'sa pity it'sso far from home! The home made pasta is the best ever. Honestly, after eating the pasta at this restuarant I don't eat pasta at any other restuarant, if I can help it. The pasta at La Lampara is legendary. My chicken Pizza as well as the Foccacia every table gets was the perfect texture and tastes wonderful. The desserts were also very good especially the Tiramisu. 👌 I plan on visiting very soon again to taste their other dishes.

The ambience and surroundings of the restuarant is just so beautiful and serene. Though the place was fully booked on my 2 visits and bustling with chatter and music it still felt so tranquil for some reason....maybe it's just the location of a special table I like near the window 😊 overlooking the garden 🤷🏻‍♀️.

The staff are just the cherry on the top - these local ladies that have attended to me are so friendly, full of smiles and meal recommendations. Love the spirit! The owners are also so very friendly and welcoming Keep it up!

Fellow readers you must try this restuarant when you next in the Natal Midlands. I don't regret taking the recommendation to visit this establishment from a complete stranger while staying in the Midlands 2 years back. I go back every year! It's truly well worth the drive off the beaten track! A little bit of heaven in the countryside.

I revisited in December 2024 and the service, the staff, the ambiance and the food are still all...

Bit of a wierd one - restaurant is out of the way on a graded dirt road. Once at the gate, still a bit of a long driveway on uneven bricks - so have a suitable vehicle to start. "Absolutely No Pets" is the sign that greets you, but even more importantly, this establishment is NOT child-friendly, in fact its quite child unfriendly. There is no baby change room/table (had to change my infant in the car boot), bathrooms are outside next to the car park away from the restaurant and no toddler seats in the restaurant. Service was average with only one server actually interested in our dining experience, the others just going through their motions looking annoyed with life. The food was averaged out: crab soup was decent but had tiny inedible crab claws for meat, prawn risotto is recommended though. The lamb shank was good, the pork belly was terrible, actually inedible - even the crackling seemed stale. The Margherita pizza was also as average as you can imagine - Italian restaurants without basil is now the norm in KZN i guess! Birthday cake was delicious and worth the R500. Everything else is quite pricey. With that in mind, and for the overall experience - not worth the trip! They seem to be cruising on a reputation from long ago rather than actually striving to be memorable now....

What a superb afternoon spent in the Midlands at La Lampara!

Janet, who is an institution here, ran through the menu in her normal animated way.

Orders were then taken by the owner herself, Caroline. Two of our table of four liked the sound of the penne pasta with lamb cubes ... except that it was served in a tomato based sauce. We asked if they could add a touch of cream to it, and they were happy to oblige! It was absolutely superb ... dishes could have been put straight back in the cupboard 😜

The men had the spatchcock baby chickens and raved about their meals.

The best was saved till the end ... I have been trying to find home made Cassata at every Italian restaurant we visit and it's always bought in and awful! Cue the violins ... Caroline makes the Cassata herself and she kindly put away two portions for us! Yummy! It was worth the wait.

Lovely spot to spend an afternoon with good friends celebrating a birthday ... and the staff even obliged with a candle and a Happy Birthday sing to the Birthday Boy!

Highly...