LANTERNA is the bed & breakfast and private restaurant of Italian Chef Luigi and his wife Gladis Barbolla on the island of Boracay. Chef Luigi was actually one of the first Italians to settle in Boracay in the early 80’s and is regarded to this day as one of the island’s best chefs in his native cuisine. The private home dining restaurant serves Italian home cooking with everything made from scratch using sustainable ingredients.
It is considered as a best kept secret among locals and their guests because of its simple yet authentic Boracay Island experience, from the ambiance to the food and island hospitality.
If you’re not staying in Laterna, you can still organize a private home dining for a group of 8-10 people. Here’s what to expect…
LANTERNA by Chef Luigi Barbolla
Bulabog Beach, Boracay
Facebook: Lanterna Hotel and Villa
Mobile: +63 998 575-2540
Lanterna is on the road towards Bulabog beach. You can just tell the tricycle driver to take you to English Bakery or near the Mad Monkey hotel.
We organized a dinner for 7 adults and 4 kids. I always have fun hunting down restaurants like this, where you have to walk along dark alleys.
Lanterna is quite homey with an 80’s Boracay feel and al fresco dining. Make sure to reserve and pre-order in advance.
There’s no menu as Chef Luigi typically serves what’s freshly available in the market. This usually is an Italian 3-course meal of antipasti, pasta, and dessert which costs P850/head.
Bread is served while the food is cooked upon your arrival to make sure it’s hot and fresh.
Carpaccio Zucchini with Parmesan. Antipasti (P250/head)
We had a nice salad of thin slices of zucchini with parmesan on a big sharing plate to start the meal.
Carpaccio Octopus. Antipasti (P250/head)
I had doubts about the chef’s carpaccio dishes, but this octopus was fresh, thinly sliced, and cooked just right. We really enjoyed its simple flavors.
Seafood with Fresh Homemade Pasta (P400/ person)
The pastas are the best because each ingredient is homemade, from the noodles down to the sauce. The seafood, of course, is fresh from the island.
For an Italian establishment, they surprisingly don’t serve pizza. They serve mini-pizza like bread instead to accompany the pasta.
Bolognese. (P500/kid for pasta and pizzeta)
The kids had their own plate of bolognese meat pasta. I would have preferred different types of pasta to share than just one plate per person.
Pizzeta
They serve these little pizzas for the little ones. Why not just make a bigger pizza?
Be prepared for brownouts since electricity on the island is not stable. You can still enjoy your dinner al fresco and have good conversations.
Cheesecake (P200) and Chocolate Mousse (P150/pc)
We like the homemade cheesecake more than the chocolate mousse, but there are better dessert options along white beach.
An Italian meal is not complete without a shot of limoncello to aid in digestion.
We love Laterna‘s homey Boracay island ambiance, the warm hospitality, and the Italian food made from scratch and using local ingredients. While the carpaccio and pasta are good, I was left longing for pizza or even meat sharing options. Hopefully they could add this to their menu in the future.
I also prefer having different flavors of pasta shared family style instead of just getting one plate of pasta each. I felt that being charged for a 3-course set meal instead of on an a la carte family sharing basis was quite restrictive. Budget about P850/head for adults and P500/head for kids.
Locals consider this a hidden gem and I can see how they want to keep it that way.
Congrats to Chef Luigi and Gladis on the success of Lanterna! And thank you to Irene Isip Klaa for the tip.
LANTERNA by Chef Luigi Barbolla
Bulabog Beach, Boracay
Facebook: Lanterna Hotel and Villa
Mobile: +63 998 575-2540
Live an Awesome Life,
Founder, www.OurAwesomePlanet.com
Disclosure: We paid for our meal. I wrote this article with my biases, opinions, and insights.
P.S. This was our actual bill for our group. It was a bit expensive for 11 people. Make sure to reserve seats in advance, negotiate, and pre-order your menu. You may want to have more variety.
