Lanterna — Restaurant in London

I really wanted to like Lanterna when it opened but during my few visits, i've always left with some degree of disappointment. Today my experience was so bad that i won't be back. The food is passable but what's dramatically wrong with this place is the service.

Two friends and I met at Lanterna tonight for some food and drinks. Upon arrival we were ignored by the manager who was taking care of the seating and after 5min of no one acknowledging us, I asked for a table (whilst it was a game night, we arrived at 6.30pm and there were only a few tables occupied). We were led to one by the manager who dumped the menu on the table and left without, once again, acknowledging us.

We ordered drinks (2 wines, one margarita) whilst we were deciding for food and we received 2 wines and a margarita...in pizza form. This was taken back to the kitchen without an apology and the liquid margarita arrived 10min later. At which point we were asked if we wanted to order food.

The ragu pasta was edible but really salty. Upon ordering a second drink my friend's glass was taken away although it wasnt empty.

The table behind us got their starters after they received their main dishes. The waiter blamed it on the place being very busy (again...only a few tables were occupied).

We asked for the bill and received the wrong one 3x, incl one brought by the not so friendly manager. I flagged the consistent poor service and she blamed the temp staff brought in tonight because of the game (the 2 people who served us are regular staff however). The 4th bill was correct but we didnt feel it was fair to pay the service charge however it couldnt be removed from the bill (although it is discretionary) and the manager had to manually key in the amount, whilst being upset at her staff (the only guy who was actually ok).

If the owner of Lanterna reads this, tonight you have lost 3 customers, all locals. Please take care of the service issue has you have a good space on your end but the poor expeirence we get each time is...

Disappointed!!!!

I have eaten here a good few times and the service has always been on point with the food to match.

However, I attended this morning and was met by a very sour looking woman as our server, I believe she is the manager. For context, the restaurant was nowhere near capacity. She seemed unhappy and certainly didn’t make us feel welcome into the restaurant.

There was another male server (not young) who also stood and did nothing. There were many moments whilst we were seated where he looked at us without drinks and turned to return to the bar area.

It took 20-25 minutes for our drinks order to be taken. The same female server (presumed manager) took our order and did not engage with our table, mumbled her questions and seemed to have sucked a lemon before picking up her pen and pad to attend our table.

Once ordered it took a further 20 minutes for our drinks order (orange juice and Pepsi) to be delivered, I also had to prompt the same woman that ‘welcomed’ us into the restaurant for our drinks. At this point we were 2 minutes away from leaving the restaurant.

A young server arrived into work halfway through our time at Lanterna and was fantastic. He was attentive and friendly and apologised for the delay to the drinks after I prompted the female manager (presumed) that our drinks order was delayed.

Our food was scrumptious and credit to the chef for improving the mood of the table.

As said earlier, typically I really enjoy eating at Lanterna but this experience has made me second guess whether I want to return to this restaurant after today.

I am unsure what caused this female server to be grumpy and unwelcoming but I would suggest someone has a quiet word in her ear about the basic concepts of hospitality so she can ensure that her temperament is unaltered, professional and welcoming for all future customers. Otherwise, perhaps you should consider an alternative...

I don't normally leave reviews but this time i walked out really upset. And its been happening not a first time now. I came to get my dinner and asked staff where can i sit down as i was polite and didn’t wanted to jump to any table, i did mention what seat near plug would be great and i know where the plugs are as i been regularly coming in last 2years. So i was only offered back seat facing kitchen where looked like the staff area is. there was also some boxes on the tables and i cant understand why i cant sit down in the nicer part of the restaurant, so i expressed myself and was told what i cant have a dining table or any other part of the restaurant apart that kitchen facing area or the bar.. which absolutely made no sense as it was completely empty and i wanted to have some proper food. I did ended up walking out and said i get my food somewhere else as they are super unwelcome and i was just told im being rude and i cant say anything like that. I just wanted to sit down in nice chill atmosphere and have a nice food, don't think it was rude and if i did i was just purely upset and trying to make myself feel better being in nice place but no i had to be staring into...