In the ongoing battle between Pasta and Pizza... I have this latest entry, on the Pizza side! Actually... there is a bit of a mix here... some pizza and one intersting Pasta-like dish!
La Laterna was a lucky find... we were looking for a place to eat after a concert which my wife was playing in... and we found ourselves in this particular area, just because it was where we happened to park the car! In fact, we've never been to this part of The Hague and so we had absolutely no idea what to expect...
So, after consulting our good friend Google, we settled on this Italian place... which seemed to have pretty decent reviews! Why Not?!?!?
The Space
The interior is quite cosy... it is a very long restaurant, in the style of many Dutch based restaurants. However, the lighting is pretty dim in the eating places... it isn't terrible, and I do like dimmer lighting in comparison to too bright lighting... but I did think it was a bit too much!
Seating is quite close, but the layout makes it such that you aren't seated NEXT to other diners but behind each other... it makes a big difference!
There is a good deal of light that comes from the back of the restaurant... however, if you are seated more to the front of the building, you are covered by that huge awning at the front... in the colder and darker months, that is less than ideal... however, in the warmer brighter months... I can imagine it would work better!
A very nicely stocked bar is always a good sign... and there are various bottles of wine along the walls... of course, you do have to pay for what you drink!
The Menu
Okay... this menu is a bit of a mess! There are hundreds of entries... and from various pizzas and pasta, entrees, main courses and drinks!
It can be a bit overwhelming... but it is a pretty common thing for these sorts of Italian pizzeria restaurants. Still, I would prefer that they stuck to a handful of really good things rather than trying to cover every single combination of possible pizza combinations!
The Food
Starting off the evening's dinner eating was a little meat platter... lots of interesting cold cuts of Italian origin. The girls really love this stuff... despite wanting to be vegetarian! The quality was really very good... a great start to the evening!
Now, this was a bit of an indulgence... a baked gnocchi dish! I had never tried to serve gnocchi in this fashion, and so when I saw it on the menu I knew that I had to try it! The easiest way to describe it would be that it was like a lasagne... with gnocchi instead of lasagne sheets! I loved it!
Pizza Hawaii... this is my oldest's favourite pizza style... despite it's controversial status as a "real" pizza. To be honest, I wasn't expecting that much good about these pizzas... so, I was really quite pleasantly suprised when the the base was nice and light.... and the toppings were not too heavy! REALLY PLEASANTLY SURPRISED!
Likewise, the Salami and Mushroom pizza was also high quality in terms of the base and the topping depth. The base is really the thing that makes or breaks the pizza... it is something that many places try to cover up with too much toppings... but if you get the base right... well, then you don't need to hide it with too much cheese!
The Experience
As I had mentioned before... I wasn't expecting that much from a Pizza restaurant on the tourist strip of the beach. However, I have to say... that the Google reviews turned out to be true. This was a pretty good place... It is a pity that we don't live close by, as I would definitely be coming here more often if we did!
The staff were friendly and generally left the diners alone... which is great... I hate it when people keep bugging me at dinner! The seating was decent... but the lighting was a touch on the dark side for my tastes... however, if I had to choose, I would prefer this level of lighting over a glaringly bright version!
Opening Times
Monday 12–11pm
Tuesday 12–11pm
Wednesday 12–11pm
Thursday 12–11pm
Friday 12–11pm
Saturday 12–11pm
Sunday 12–11pm
Contact Details
Address: Keizerstraat 30, 2584 BJ Den Haag, NETHERLANDS
Phone: +31 (0)70 355 5340
Email: info@lalanterna.nl
Website: https://www.lalanterna.nl/
Account banner by jimramones
Restaurant Information
La Lanterna
Keizerstraat 30, 2584 BJ Den Haag, Netherlands
This post participated in the Tasteem contest Pasta vs Pizza
