When a surprise thunderstorm hit Dubrovnik one afternoon, we were soaked, both from the rain above, and the rainwater quickly accumulating on the ground below. After running around and looking at a few menus, we stumbled upon Konoba Lanterna, which had a decent-looking menu typical of Croatian "Konobas", and decent prices as well. What followed was easily our worst culinary experience in Croatia.
Konoba Lanterna is a harmless looking restaurant located at 2 Nikole Gučetića in Dubrovnik's old town. It's not to be confused with the Konoba Lanterna in Mlini, near Dubrovnik on the Dubrovnik Riviera (which we haven't been to so cannot comment on). It's located on one of the narrow side streets in Dubrovnik's old town, next to a pizzeria and another restaurant that we can't remember. It has a sidewalk patio that looks okay, but not amazing and not awful.
The waiter gave us a seat inside at a tiny table, barely big enough for two plates. The seat on my chair was broken, not attached to the chair at all, and it kept slipping when I moved around. We got salads to start, and while my wife's was passable, the lettuce in mine clearly had not been washed, and there was dirt and grime on it. Disgusting.
When we got the main courses, Calamari for my wife and Ćevapčići (a Balkan style grilled mince-meat), they looked okay at first, but that changed as soon as we put them in our mouths. The Ćevapčići was extremely tough and chewy, but the calamari was even worse. The fishy taste in the calamari was overwhelming, and we're pretty sure it had gone bad. My wife could only eat about three pieces before she gave up. In addition, there were somehow a number of sardines mixed in with the squid. Luckily the french fries were okay and my wife was able to get something to eat, but when she asked for ketchup, the waiter kind of laughed (get over it, North Americans like ketchup with their fries!), and brought us a bottle that was pretty much empty, meaning we had to ask for another bottle, which seemed to really annoy him.
After we finished eating, we sat around for 10 or so minutes with the waiter not coming by at all. Finally I had to go seek him out to ask for our bill. When we got out, the rain had stopped, but we both agreed that wandering around in the rain for that hour would have been more enjoyable than the meal we just experienced.
Konoba Lanterna is a harmless looking restaurant located at 2 Nikole Gučetića in Dubrovnik's old town. It's not to be confused with the Konoba Lanterna in Mlini, near Dubrovnik on the Dubrovnik Riviera (which we haven't been to so cannot comment on). It's located on one of the narrow side streets in Dubrovnik's old town, next to a pizzeria and another restaurant that we can't remember. It has a sidewalk patio that looks okay, but not amazing and not awful.
The waiter gave us a seat inside at a tiny table, barely big enough for two plates. The seat on my chair was broken, not attached to the chair at all, and it kept slipping when I moved around. We got salads to start, and while my wife's was passable, the lettuce in mine clearly had not been washed, and there was dirt and grime on it. Disgusting.
When we got the main courses, Calamari for my wife and Ćevapčići (a Balkan style grilled mince-meat), they looked okay at first, but that changed as soon as we put them in our mouths. The Ćevapčići was extremely tough and chewy, but the calamari was even worse. The fishy taste in the calamari was overwhelming, and we're pretty sure it had gone bad. My wife could only eat about three pieces before she gave up. In addition, there were somehow a number of sardines mixed in with the squid. Luckily the french fries were okay and my wife was able to get something to eat, but when she asked for ketchup, the waiter kind of laughed (get over it, North Americans like ketchup with their fries!), and brought us a bottle that was pretty much empty, meaning we had to ask for another bottle, which seemed to really annoy him.
After we finished eating, we sat around for 10 or so minutes with the waiter not coming by at all. Finally I had to go seek him out to ask for our bill. When we got out, the rain had stopped, but we both agreed that wandering around in the rain for that hour would have been more enjoyable than the meal we just experienced.
very good posting. i liked it. :-)
ReplyDeletebathmate
My friend and I visited Kanoba Lanterna in Dubrovnik Old Town the other day and it was great! It's been a while since you visited so maybe it has new management but the food was delicious and the waiters were really attentive and always on standby for when we wanted service. Definitely worth a visit- i recommend it :)
ReplyDeleteNO! I love this place! I've been twice this week and plan on going again. I agree that your visit was a while ago so it probably has changed but please do visit! It is a great restaurant with great service and great food.
ReplyDeleteAwesome!
I agree with Tim, it's definitely a place to avoid.
ReplyDeleteWe had our first dinner in dubrovnik in this restaurant, and also our worst. We went in july of this year. The restaurant is also next to Taj Mahal restaurant, where there were no tables free that night. So we ended up in Lanterna konoba. My friend had a bolognese and I had the seafood spaghetti. Not good at all. We barely ate something. The house wine was also very bad. We had half a litre but didn't drink it up. Again, don't go there! Taj mahal, Spaghetteria Toni, and the pizzaria next door are so much better!
Very bad food.we ate fish bit was tasting like plastic.worst food i have ever had in my life!the good comments here maybe come from restaurant owners..
DeleteI have to agree! We had the worst meal there tonight. We had soup for starters which were not cooked but only powder mixed with water. For main dishes we took their mixed grill platter for 2. The waiter said there would be a lot of mushrooms but forgot to mention that it was canned mushrooms. The whole mix of the plate was very strange, on top of the meat they had put scrambled eggs. The meat was dry. Only OK thing was the fries.
ReplyDeleteI ate here 2 weeks ago and the food was fantastic. The table to our left had the seafood platter and loved it. I had a meat platter and my wife had the steak. The food was superb. The owner is a quiet man and very polite. Whatever we asked for, he made it happen. They run on a small staff, but everything was just quality. I enjoyed Laterna above any other restaurant I at at. Just to make sure we are talking about the same restaurant - it is next to the Taj Mahal restaurant.
ReplyDeleteWe had a bad experience there too. Seafood spaghetti with disgusting mussels. One of mine was off. Waste of money. Woman on door looked uncannily like the mother out of the Goonies that added no attraction to the place.
ReplyDeleteWe had a wonderful meal here; the food was exquisite, the waiter was charming and made us feel really welcome and the whole experience put a final gloss on an already excellent holiday. We enjoyed the fish platter immensely, mussels, shrimp, sea bream, squid, all beautifully cooked and delicious (and several times better than the fish platter we tried two nights earlier at the Lokanda Peskarija in the old port). Far from being a place to avoid, this is a place you must go to try the fish platter!
ReplyDelete