After a little spot of aimless wandering to blow away the lunchtime cobwebs, I alighted upon La Lanterna, an Italian on Hope Street. I popped in to try it, thereby continuing my occasional series on “places in Glasgow with the same name as places in Edinburgh that aren’t in the same ownership.” Catchy.

A compact downstairs dining room was abuzz with lively lunchtime conversation when I wandered in. It had a classic feel to it. It felt very welcoming but with a sense of refinement. It made a good first impression.

The menu is typically broad, with a nicely focussed subset as their lunchtime and pre-theatre selection. I was happy to start with their minestrone, then followed by the risotto rather than the cannelloni, on the advice of the attentive waiter.

Soup was delivered very promptly. It was replete with veg, beans and pasta. It was a very good example of this classic soup and pleased me muchly.

The main course continued the theme of elegant effortlessness. It was not as “wet” as I prefer risotto to be served but it packed well-judged flavour, nicely prepared vegetables and was topped with wonderfully flavourful pieces of Italian sausage. It was another winning dish.

So overall, I was very pleased with La Lanterna’s work. It has the feel of a Glasgow institution to it, with an audience of customers that gave the sense of having dined there for many years. I’d be happy to visit again and would recommend it to you.

Scores
Blythe scores La Lanterna
4/5 for food
3.5/5 for presentation
4/5 for setting
4/5 for service
giving an overall 15.5/20

I ate: minestrone; risotto with sausage

I drank: water

I wore: blue

Total bill: £11.95