Lantern Pizza Co. — Restaurant in Downers Grove

This place is my new obsession- came her with my kids to pick up some pizzas but the patio was so cute, we decided to eat there! TLDR- Perfect summer patio, simple menu, high quality ‘za 🍕

The place was well staffed and everyone, including the owner, was going out of their way to help. Someone from the open concept kitchen gave my daughter a piece of dough to play with while we waited!

I love their simple menu- they only make 12 inch pizzas! We had the pineapple & bacon, sausage & peppers, and the pepperoni. The P&B was INCREDIBLE, and the other two were super tasty, too. Another bonus was that they came out FAST- maybe 5 min!

The patio. Im in love. It’s on the east side of the building, so at dinner time it was fully shaded, which is a huge bonus on hot summer nights! Some comfy chairs, modern tables, and ceiling fans really rounded out the space. There isn’t a ton of indoor seating so this space is clutch.

One thing to note- this is not a Little Caesars. These are high quality pizzas, with ingredients made fresh in house, and they are priced as such. If you want cheap pizza with rubber cheese, look elsewhere.

As a former Chicagoan, I was spoiled with good pizza. This place holds up against city classics like Coal Fire, Forno Rosso, and...

Picked up pizzas for my daughter's birthday party from Lantern today, and it was just an all around great experience. There was a wonderful warmth in the place as soon as I walked in. One that, in my experience, only comes from people who love what they do and believe in their product. Lots of smiles & genuinely friendly people. I was already 100% sold at that point.

Then I got home and tasted the pizza.

They could have been mean to me when I walked in. They could have thrown the pizzas right in my face and slammed the door on me. Even then, I would have a really hard time not coming back for more. This pizza was absolutely delicious. Every variety we got. Not to mention the amazing salad. Everything was loved by the whole party. Luckily I managed to hide a couple slices because we "ran out" (and now I'm eating them by myself after everyone left).

You really don't find such a perfect matching of truly high caliber food and great people very often, so I'm beyind happy to have found Lantern. Im just upset it took me this long to do so. I'll separately give myself a 1-star review for that oversight.

Thanks...

I have been wanting to stop here for quite some time and I am soo glad my husband & I finally had the chance to do so tonight...I mean oh my goodness where to start!!!! The service was top tier. We got to sit up at the little bar watching them prep the pizzas and in doing so we got to meet the whole crew. Every single one of them were so friendly & attentive!! We honestly felt like family by the time we left. As far as the pizza goes, I truly cannot say enough good things. We ordered the buffalo chicken & bacon along with the special spinach & artichoke (with the addition of sausage). The sauces were bursting with flavor, all the ingredients were soo fresh, & the crust was PERFECT. Almost ordered a 3rd pizza just because we loved the first 2 so much but we ended up getting the cannoli dipper dessert instead. It was a fantastic way to conclude our meal!!! I am already so excited for our next visit here :) Whether you've been thinking about stopping in for a while or you're just hearing about Lantern Pizza Co., just know that the longer you wait the more you are missing out on the best pizza in town. 10/10...